“Hua” is the last word in her name. In Chinese, this word means “flower”. So, everyone calls her “Ah hua”. When her friends call “Ah hua”, they think of her nice and charming smile, just like the growing blossom in the garden. When her fans call “Ah hua”, they think of her beauty and attractive image, just like the flowering blossom on the stage of Chinese opera.

“Feng ” is the middle word in her name. In Chinese, this word means “phoenix”. It is the most elegant and beautiful mythical bird in Chinese. It lives for a hundred years before bursts itself into flames and then is born again, rising from its ashes. When people praise her as being as precious as “feng”, it’s hard to forget she had been seriously hurt on the stage several times but she never fallen down – she rose again and again and shone more brilliantly than ever.

When you imagine that she is as pretty as a flower and a phoenix, maybe you would think that she is a delicate and tender girl, a fragile Chinese doll. However, you would find the opposite scenario – She is a man on the stage!

She is Wu Feng Hua, the famous “Yueju” actress of Xiaobaihua Shaoxing Opera Troupe in Shaoxing. She is usually referred to as the famous “actor” of Shaoxing opera (Yueju) since she acts the male roles in the drama.

Shaoxing opera is one of the most popular local opera in eastern China. Starting from the early development of this kind of art in the 1920s, most of the male roles (xiao zheng) were performed by actresses. This tradition still exists. When we look at the history of the development of Chinese opera, we find that the art of cross-dressing was very popular. The most famous “actress” of Beijing opera Mei Lanfong was a man. Obviously, cross-dressing is very appealing to the Chinese audience. After putting on the ancient costume and finalizing the make-up, the actress looks like a handsome man and the actor looks like a beautiful woman. Maybe transvestites are not so accepted (except in comedy) in the western drama, but it’s a special art in Chinese opera.

Wu Feng Hua is a master in this kind of crossing-dressing art and she is even more outstanding than other female “xiao zheng”. Usually female “xiao zheng” would act as young scholars so the image is fine and exquisite. For the Shaoxing opera, female “xiao zheng” inevitably show to a certain extent a sense of femininity, but Wu Feng Hua can express the attraction of masculinity on the stage. Besides young scholars, she can act as warriors, Generals and Emperors. She specializes in both singing and the martial arts – which is the specialization of Xiaobaihua Shaoxing Opera Troupe. Most of the members in Xiaobaihua Shaoxing Opera Troupe are good at martial arts. Why Wu Feng Hua had been seriously hurt several times is because of the fighting on stage.

Wu Feng Hua’s acting is excellent as well. She becomes the role, not simply acts the role. There are almost thirty roles she had performed in the past twenty years. They are various kinds of roles – scholar and General, weak and strong, positive and negative. Her latest important role is a great challenge to an actress – Macbeth. The new repertory “General Ma Long” is a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and she obtained high praise for her performance of the title role.

It is no doubt that many fans are crazy for her. Wu Feng Hua is an actress of merit for her well merging of the woman’s charm and the man’s magnetism. On the stage, “he” is a handsome man; off the stage, she is a beautiful woman. She miraculously to co-exist the difficult state of androgyny.

Born in 1970, Wu Feng Hua started learning Shaoxing opera in 1983. She has won numerous awards including the highest award of Chinese drama – the Plum Blossom Award. She is the winner of the 1996 Plum Blossom Award, and now, the main destination of her artistic road is to win this prestigious award for the second time.