"I may have given up but for my teacher's encouragement," Hu says.
The dan is the only female role of the five main roles in a Peking Opera show, so the issue of men playing these roles often gives rise to curiosity and questions about their sexual orientation.
Hu, who earned fame as a pop singer dressing and singing as a woman, is candid about switching to Peking Opera in his quest for more respect from audiences. At the peak of his career as a singer, Chinese society was more conservative than it is now, he explains.
"Peking Opera is a stylized art," says nan dan performer Bi. "We don't imitate real women but only present an abstract image, based on classic novels and paintings."
Yang, meanwhile, is offended when asked about his sexual orientation, and insists it is a private matter.
"Onstage and offstage are two separate lives for me," he says.
He also stresses a real man is one who is tolerant and takes responsibility for himself, his family, and society.
Yin Jun, 23, from the xun school, is the youngest of the new-generation nan dan. An undergraduate student at the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts, he is preparing to enroll for the post-graduate exam.
Hu, meanwhile, held six solo concerts in the United States in March, reprising the time when Mei Lanfang toured there in 1930.
Hu Wenge, Yang Lei, Mu Yuandi and Yin Jun are often called today's "Four Young Dan".
A concert of their joint performances that started at the beginning of October at Chang'an Grand Theater marks the eighth round of their joint-performances in Beijing and Shanghai since March 2010.
As the curtains open, backstage, 77-year-old Mei Baojiu adjusts Hu's headgear one more time and gives him some last minute pointers.
Five minutes later, Mei lifts Hu's right arm and escorts him onto the stage.
Standing behind the curtain he observes his protg's every move with an air of anticipation.
"These young (Peking Opera artists) have won the first battle," he says. "But it's a long road ahead."
Source: China Daily
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