

# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Curator’s Talk - Making Mei Lanfang, a Modern Icon
- **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 12 Mar, 2026 at 06:30 pm – Thu, 12 Mar, 2026 at 08:00 pm
- **Event Description**: This special three-part program on the exhibition's first day traces the evolution of Peking opera through the powerful work of Mei Lanfang.About this EventThis special three-part program traces the evolution of Peking opera through the revolutionary work of Mei Lanfang, one of the most influential performing artists of the twentieth century. His groundbreaking work transformed Chinese theater and captivated audiences around the globe.The program opens with a lecture by the exhibition curator, Dr. Catherine V. Yeh (Boston University), who explores Mei’s pioneering interpretation of female roles in Peking opera, especially his origination of the novel huashan role.In the second part, Dr. Kui Wang, historian and director of the Opera Research Institute at Chinese National Academy of Art, examines the specific cultural and historical context of Mei's innovations.The program concludes with a conversation with the two speakers and Dr. Xiaojie Shao, associate director of the Library at Chinese National Academy of Art about the intersections of their research and Mei's remarkably well-preserved legacy continues to influence theater, gender representation, and cross-cultural dialogue today.For more information and tickets, please contact Tracy Jiao at tjiao@chinainstitute.org.Lecture One: Mei Lanfang and the Twentieth-Century Global StageSpeaker: Dr. Catherine V. Yeh, Professor of Chinese Literature and Transcultural Studies at Boston UniversityMei Lanfang’s visit in 1930 was a milestone in US-Chinese cultural exchange and had a major impact on the development of global theater in the 20th century. At the heart of Mei Lanfang’s success was his ability to adapt to the spirit of the times. By introducing dance to Peking opera, Mei transform Peking opera and helped articulate its 20th-century aesthetic form. In creating the new female huashan role that combined three distinct traditional female types, Mei Lanfang ushered in the modern female to center stage.While Western critics celebrated his performances as representing two thousand years of Chinese culture, what Mei brought to the American stage was a thoroughly modernized female centered and dance-driven version of Peking opera. In turn, it inspired Western artists to move beyond the conventions of theatrical realism.Lecture Two: Mei Lanfang's Art in its TimeSpeaker: Dr. Kui Wang, Director of the Opera Research Institute at Chinese National Academy of ArtMei Lanfang was a visionary representative of Chinese theater in the twentieth century, and a defining symbol for traditional Chinese culture.His artistry was grounded in an era of tremendous social transformation in China during the first half of the twentieth century. Rather than merely inheriting tradition, Mei Lanfang evolved from it. His controversially modern style fundamentally reshaped the female roles (dan). He carved out a new space for Peking opera’s development.At the same time, as a cultural emissary, Mei clarified the essence of Peking opera on the world stage, revealing how its distinct local cultural characteristics could articulate shared human experiences. His contributions continue to transcend the boundaries of time and ethnicity, a testament to art’s independent and irreplaceable value.About the CuratorDr. Catherine V. Yeh is Professor of Chinese Literature and Transcultural Studies at Boston University. Her research interest is in global cultural interaction and flow in the fields of literature, media, visual and entertainment culture during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She has published widely on the subject, and her books includes Shanghai Love: Courtesans, Intellectuals and Entertainment Culture, 1850-1910 (University of Washington Press, 2006), The Chinese Political Novel: Migration of a World Genre (Harvard University Press, 2015) and Asia at the World’s Fairs: An Online Exhibition of Cultural Exchange (Project editor and co-author, Boston University 2018). Her current book project is Improbable Stars: Female Impersonators, Peking Opera and the Birth of Modern Star Culture in 1910s China.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/new-york/curator’s-talk-making-mei-lanfang-a-modern-icon/100001983818967936
- **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, exhibitions, performances, entertainment, nonprofit, theatre
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 0

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: https://consumer.pxf.io/c/1339408/3151484/39691?partnerpropertyid=1191892&MediaPartnerPropertyId=1191892&svlink=14105511&level=1&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.com%2Fe%2Fcurators-talk-making-mei-lanfang-a-modern-icon-tickets-1983818967936
- **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 15, currency: USD

## Event venue details

- **city**: New York
- **state**: NY
- **country**: United States
- **location**: China Institute of America
- **lat**: 40.708606
- **long**: -74.01477139999997
- **full address**: China Institute of America, 100 Washington Street, New York, United States

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 10
- **organizer**: China Institute (https://allevents.in/org/china-institute/22759083)

## Event gallery

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- **Alt text**: thumbnail
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events4/banners/2dbed8cfd5cfdda4b181ec6604a3f7843c92c9031da17ee02610be6c71e79959-rimg-w400-h400-dc050505-gmir.jpg?v=1772215235

## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Thu, 12 Mar, 2026 at 06:30 pm
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** China Institute of America, 100 Washington Street, New York, United States
- **Q**: What is the ticket price?
  - **A:** starting from 0 up to 15 USD
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** China Institute
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
  - **A:** art, literary-art, exhibitions, performances, entertainment, nonprofit, theatre
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Curator’s Talk - Making Mei Lanfang, a Modern Icon ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

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