File photo of Zhao Lirong, when she was young.

Born into a family of opera performers in Baodi County of Tianjin Municipality on March 11, 1928, Zhao Lirong studied Pingju Opera at the age of eight. She joined the Pingju Opera Troupe of the General Political Department and later moved to the China Pingju Opera Troupe, creating a series of characters that were all very well received by audiences.

Zhao gave her first performance in her 60s at the 1989 New Year's party and appeared in six other annual celebrations since. Some of Zhao's works won her universal praise and a solid reputation in China, which became the highlight of her artistic career. Her first televised performance was the series "Pilgrim to the West"; and audiences were also very impressed by Zhao's performance in the "Dream of the Red Mansion".

In her 60s, Zhao experimented with comical routines (short skits featuring two or three players), which became the highlight of her artistic life.

Zhao died of lung cancer at the age of 73 in 2000. During her 60-year career, Zhao was considered an outstanding talent in both stage opera and film. Zhao received the Best Actress Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1991 for her role in Spend the New Year. She also won the 1992 Baihua Best Actress award, an important national prize awarded annually in China.

** Filmography

Filial Son and Filial Piety (1993)

The Spring Festival (1991)

Dream of the Red Mansion Part 3 (1989)

Third Sister Yang Goes to Court (1981)

Zhao's last hoorah

In May 1996 Zhao Lirong was diagnosed with emphysema after suffering from hyperpyretic, and coughed heavily after being caught in a rainstorm on her way to a performance. In addition, her tobacco addiction led to tracheitis.

During some rehearsals for the Spring Festival Party that year, Zhao increased her drug dosage for tracheitis, but her health continued to decline. However, she still actively performed on stage despite her agony to bring laughter and happiness to her fans.

In 1999, Zhao took part in the Spring Festival party for the sixth and last time to perform the opusculum "Old General Goes into Action". During the performance, although Zhao suffered significantly, she smiled sweetly to millions of spectators.

Four days before the live broadcast at the Spring Festival Party, doctors diagnosed Zhao with terminal lung cancer. Seeing their mother so busy and happy, Zhao's sons did not have the heart to tell her. On New Year's Eve, as they watched their mother's outstanding TV performance, they wept.

China Central Television (CCTV) awarded Zhao for her performance of the Old General Goes into Action with a special honor award.

Zhao died of lung cancer on July 17, 2000.

A brief introduction to Pingju Opera

Pingju Opera was formed in the first year (1909) of Emperor Xuantong's reign during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in Tangshan; it was therefore also called "Tangshan Laozi".

Pingju Opera originated from folk songs and dance known as Yangge, which is one of the main forms of folk flower fairs in the first month of the lunar year. In this activity, two people get dressed up and sing and dance in antiphonal style, while others act as singing and dancing partners. The gong and drum are beaten in unison and the suona or other traditional stringed and woodwind instruments are used as background music.

The main content of Pingju Opera includes folk life stories, historical figures and scenes from the four seasons. Some Pingju plays, such as Yang Yu'e's "Sue Gao Zhanying for Murder", "An Zhonggen Assassinated Yitengbowen", etc, adopt current news stories as the subject matter. At the time, such pieces had a far-reaching influence.

Like all traditional operas, however, Pingju must compete with modern forms of entertainment and contemporary lifestyles. But its dwindling audiences have, on the contrary, inspired theater groups and a number of Pingju artists and enthusiasts to revitalize the art form.