He Saifei (born 11 April 1963) is a Chinese actress of film and television, as well as a celebrated

Yue opera Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is the Chinese opera genre. Only Peking opera is more popular nationwide. Originating in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in 1906, Yue opera features actresses in male roles as well as femininity ...

performer of ''

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'' (female) roles. Internationally, she is best known for playing supporting roles in period films like ''

Raise the Red Lantern ''Raise the Red Lantern'' is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by of the 1990 novella '' Raise the Red Lantern'' (originally ''Wives and Concubines'') by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into an ...

'' (1991) and ''

Temptress Moon ''Temptress Moon'' is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Chen Kaige. It was jointly produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and the Taipei-based Tomson Films. The film saw Chen reuniting with Leslie Cheung and Gong Li who had previously worked with him ...

'' (1996). He Saifei is the most famous disciple of Yue opera star Zhang Yunxia.

Early life

He Saifei was born in 1963 in an island in

Daishan County () is a county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived f ...

, Zhoushan off the coast of mainland

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

province. She has two sisters. When she was 3, the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

began. In 1967, her father was attacked and sent to the countryside. Her parents divorced, and Saifei lived with one parent while her two sisters lived with another, with no contact between them. After the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976,

(also known as Yue opera) gradually regained its popularity following a decade of ruinous destruction. When He Saifei was about 16, she successfully auditioned for a Yue opera troupe in Daishan. There she met a slightly younger girl who was also very interested in joining. Neither knew at first, but it turned out that the girl Xia Saili (夏赛丽) was none other than her long-lost sister. After some initial discomfort, they became very close and encouraged each other. In 1983–84, both made the newly established Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, which, consisting entirely of young girls would immediately take the Yue opera world by storm. He Saifei studied under the master Zhang Yunxia and specialized in ''

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

'' (female) roles. Xia Saili specialized in '' Sheng'' (mainly male scholar) roles, and as a result often portrayed her sister's lover on stage. Another of He Saifei's frequent on-stage partner was

Mao Weitao Mao Weitao (born 8 August 1962) is a Chinese Yue opera actress-singer who usually portrays '' Sheng'' roles (i.e. male characters). A founding member of the acclaimed Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe who also served as its president from 199 ...

Early career

In 1984, the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe girls starred in the opera film ''Five Daughters Offering Felicitations'' (五女拜壽), which became a big national hit and won Best Opera Film (a new award category) at the 5th Golden Rooster Awards. In 1985, He Saifei and Mao Weitao reenacted a scene live at the

CCTV New Year's Gala The ''CCTV New Year's Gala'', also known as the ''Spring Festival Gala'', and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as ''Chunwan'', is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). It is broadcast annually on the eve of Chinese ...

, China's most watched annual television event. This would be the first of He Saifei's four Yue opera appearances on CCTV New Year's Gala (excluding more performances on CCTV New Year's Opera Gala). Soon enough, He Saifei and four other girls from Xiaobaihua — Mao Weitao, He Ying (何英), Fang Xuewen (方雪雯), and Dong Kedi (董柯娣) — emerged as young celebrities, and they were together dubbed the "Five Golden Flowers" (五朵金花) of Yue opera.

Personal life

She has one son, born in 1998.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Yue opera

Film & TV

References

External links

*
Biography of He Saifei
{{DEFAULTSORT:He, Saifei Actresses from Zhejiang 1963 births People from Daishan County Living people Chinese film actresses Chinese television actresses 21st-century Chinese actresses 20th-century Chinese actresses Yue opera actresses Singers from Zhejiang 20th-century Chinese women singers 21st-century Chinese women singers