Phan Wait Hong (1914 – 1 September 2016) was a veteran Peking opera performer in Singapore. Known as the grande dame of Peking opera in Singapore, she received the Cultural Medallion for Chinese Opera in 1992.

Biography

Phan was born in Shanghai, China. Her father's surname was Zhao, but she followed her mother's surname as a child. Phan started learning Peking opera when she was 9 – 10 years old and went to Singapore at the request of a local opera troupe when she was 14. Phan joined a Singapore troupe and grew prolific as an actress. She started playing leading roles in opera houses and

tea houses A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whi ...

in Singapore in the late 1930s. By the 1940s and 1950s, after the Japanese occupation, she was touring

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and Indonesia with a professional troupe. Known for her ''

laosheng The is a role type in Chinese opera for dignified and respectable male characters such as Confucian scholars, nobles, or heads of households. They may be portrayed by either male actors or actresses. Subtypes The has numerous subtypes. The two ...

'' (old man) roles, Phan made her name with leading roles of Emperor Han Xian Di in ''Emperor Han Xian Di Plans to Curb Cao Cao’s Power'' (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 逍遥津), as well as in ''Thrashing the Dragon Robe'' (Chinese: 打龙袍). The actress kept a low profile by the late 1950s, but continued to perform and teach students with several amateur Peking opera troupes. In her latter years, Phan took on the role of ''laodan'' (old lady) as well. Phan was a recipient of the 1992 Cultural Medallion for Theatre/Chinese Opera and was inducted to the

Singapore Women's Hall of Fame The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ea ...

in 2014. Phan died on 1 September 2016 of a heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phan Wait Hong Singaporean Peking opera actresses 20th-century Singaporean actresses 20th-century Singaporean women singers Actresses from Shanghai Singers from Shanghai 1914 births 2016 deaths Chinese emigrants to Singapore Recipients of the Cultural Medallion Male impersonators in Peking opera Singaporean centenarians Chinese centenarians Women centenarians Chinese emigrants to British Malaya