Ma Lianliang

Ma Lianliang the Chinese actor of Peking opera (1901-1966) who was one of the foremost performers of the laosheng or old-man role and the founder of the Ma school of acting. Renowned for the purity of his singing and the refinement of his stage presence, he was nicknamed the sage of the old-man role by his admirers.

Early Life and Training

Ma Lianliang was born on 28 February 1901 in Beijing into a family of Hui Muslim descent with ties to the theatre. He entered training as a child and was apprenticed to the famous school of the opera master Ye Chunshan, where he received a thorough education in the old-man roles. The training was severe and covered singing, recitation, movement and the study of dramatic texts.

At the school he studied alongside other future luminaries of the opera world and benefited from the strong tradition of teaching that the institution maintained. He also absorbed a wide knowledge of the classical dramas and of the conventions that governed the different role types, an education that informed every aspect of his later work.

He made his stage debut while still young and gradually established a reputation in the opera houses of Beijing and Tianjin. His voice developed slowly, maturing into an instrument of unusual beauty, and his careful study of the old masters gave him a style that was both learned and personal.

The Ma School and Vocal Art

Ma Lianliang founded the Ma school of the old-man role, which became one of the dominant styles of twentieth-century Peking opera. Its hallmark was a combination of clear, elegant singing and dignified, restrained acting, in which every gesture had purpose. He sought a classical poise that made his characters seem wise and composed.

His singing was celebrated for its smoothness and its expressive use of the voice, in particular the controlled vibrato and the subtle shaping of a melodic line. He gave careful attention to the marriage of words and music, so that the meaning of the text was always audible and the melody seemed to arise naturally from the sense of the line. This clarity was the foundation of his reputation.

He was also a thoughtful interpreter of his roles, presenting old men as figures of wisdom and moral weight. His performances were admired for their economy and their understatement, qualities that stood in contrast to the more flamboyant styles of some contemporaries and that appealed to audiences who valued refinement above display.

Repertoire and Collaborations

Ma Lianliang performed a broad repertoire that included historical and legendary plays, official and scholar roles and philosophical characters. Among his best known interpretations were the statesman Zhuge Liang and the loyal scholar-official characters of the classical dramas, roles in which his dignified style was perfectly suited to the material.

He collaborated with leading actors, playwrights and musicians to refine his plays and to develop the ensemble quality of the performances. He was known for his respect for his colleagues and for the generosity with which he shared the stage, and the productions in which he appeared were admired for their coherence and their high level of execution.

He toured widely, appearing in Shanghai, Tianjin and other major cities, and he took part in performances organised to support war relief and other public causes. His fame extended throughout China, and recordings of his singing circulated widely and were studied by students of the art as models of correct and beautiful delivery.

Teaching and Public Life

After 1949 Ma Lianliang became an influential teacher and institutional leader in the theatre. He taught at the national academy of Chinese opera in Beijing and trained many of the actors who carried the tradition into the later decades of the century. He was regarded as one of the principal custodians of the classical repertoire and of the standards of performance.

He was active in the effort to document and preserve the traditional plays, taking part in the recording of scripts and the teaching of the established versions of the repertoire. His prestige gave authority to the movement to protect the heritage of the theatre from neglect or careless alteration, and he argued for fidelity to the tradition at a time of rapid change.

He also engaged with questions of reform, accepting the need for the art to remain alive while resisting changes that would destroy its distinctive qualities. His positions were moderate and respected, and he served as a bridge between the older generation of performers and the institutions of the new state.

Death and Legacy

Ma Lianliang died on 26 December 1966 in Beijing, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, when the theatre that he had served was being attacked. The last period of his life was shadowed by the political upheaval that swept the country and that would devastate many of his colleagues and former students.

After the end of the Cultural Revolution he was honoured as one of the greatest actors of the Peking stage, and his recordings and films were restored and studied. The Ma school continued to be taught, and actors who practised it regarded themselves as heirs to a tradition of classical restraint and vocal beauty that he had perfected.

He is remembered for the purity of his art and for the seriousness with which he regarded the actor's responsibility to the tradition. His singing remains a benchmark against which later performers are measured, and his name stands with the small company of masters who defined the old-man role in the twentieth century.

See also

• Peking opera
• Laosheng
• Zhou Xinfang
• Mei Lanfang