Peking Opera performer cultivates an eye for art's beauty

Nearly every month, Zhou Li, deputy director of the Chongqing Peking Opera company, leads her troupe to local schools and colleges for Peking Opera workshops.

These sessions feature introductions to the art's historical stories, hands-on vocal training, and performances of classic excerpts.

A Peking Opera practitioner since age 10, Zhou earned the Plum Performance Award in 2013, China's top honor for traditional Chinese theatrical art. She sees traditional Chinese opera as a powerful tool for students' aesthetic education.

"Peking Opera's visual splendor cultivates an eye for beauty while its morality-driven narratives nurture character," she explains.

Last year, Zhou and her troupe organized 27 school outreach events and regularly held Peking Opera camps, allowing students to experience the art up close.

"Many came in with little knowledge of Peking Opera," she recalls. "As we revealed its artistry step by step, their faces transformed from bewilderment to concentration, then to bright-eyed fascination and, finally, joy. That shift was moving."

Zhou, 49, sees the art as forging resilience in youth, with her own life as proof.

At 10, she enrolled in a local arts school at her father's suggestion.

"I had no grasp of Peking Opera then, I just adored the actresses' dazzling headdresses," she recalls. "That childish fascination started my journey."

The path proved harder than imagined. While her peers played freely, she endured years of predawn training including leg splits, back-bends, and strict diets to maintain a performer's physique.

She joined the Chongqing Peking Opera troupe in 1993.

"Zhou was gifted — bright, composed, and perceptive," comments Sun Zhifang, a veteran performer of the company.

"Her edge was her grit. She trained relentlessly and refused to quit."

Zhou attributes this tenacity to her formative years: "The opera's rigor instilled endurance in my bones."

Her dedication led to her admission into the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts' elite graduate program in 2004. Soon, she starred in classics like Yang Silang Visiting His Mother and The Mirror of Fortune (Qiankun Fushou Jing).

"In Peking Opera, every gesture, every glance, conveys the world's exquisite beauty," she reflects.

"When you pursue such perfection, you never grow weary or lonely. Even without applause from others, the art itself brings joy."

Her passion remains undimmed: "To this day, stepping onstage electrifies me."

Zhou is a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, where she is dedicated to promoting traditional Chinese opera education.

Meanwhile, the Chongqing Peking Opera company has been actively staging Peking Opera productions.

In 2019, it successfully reconstructed the long-lost classic Qin Liangyu, which premiered in the 1920s by legendary dan (female character) master Shang Xiaoyun.

In late 2023, the company collaborated with the Chengdu Peking Opera Research Institute to create a new production titled Xue Tao based on the life of a Tang Dynasty (618-907) female poet of the same name.

The innovative production caters to younger audiences by creating ethereal visuals with ink-wash painting-inspired lighting and color palettes and using holographic projections that trace the protagonist's dramatic life journey.

"Our primary responsibility is producing excellent works that keep pace with the times. A theater company's true cohesion comes from three pillars — quality plays, skilled performers, and a robust repertoire," Zhou says.

Additionally, they are planning to open an experience center that will feature a 200-square-meter performance space for regular Peking Opera highlights with an exhibition area displaying the distinctive costumes and makeup styles of different roles, according to Zhou.

"Visitors then can drop by anytime to explore and interact with the performers, experiencing the beauty of Peking Opera firsthand," she says.