Xue Jinghua (; born October 7, 1946) is a Chinese

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

who was cast in the now internationally well-known Red Detachment of Women of the

National Ballet of China The National Ballet of China (NBC), known in China as the Central Ballet Troupe was founded on 31 December 1959. It is the national ballet company of the People's Republic of China. The ballet company works from the Tianqiao Theater, this was sp ...

as Wu Qinghua, the heroine of the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

for which she became a ''

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

''.

Early life

Xue was born in

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

to a family of

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

s. Her mother encouraged her to pursue the arts, particularly dance. When the

Beijing Dance Academy The Beijing Dance Academy (BDA, ) is a municipal public professional dance college at Haidian, Beijing. The academy is the highest institution for dance education and assessment in the People's Republic of China, conducting the nationwide teache ...

invited a ballet instructor from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

to teach in 1956, Xue's mother took her to Beijing to audition. Although Xue had never danced ballet before, she passed three exams and was enrolled in the programme.

Dance career

National Ballet of China

Xue joined the

in 1963. She was relatively unknown as a ballerina prior to being cast in Red Detachment of Women. It has been reported that

Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of ...

saw Xue perform and exclaimed that she reminded her of herself at that age, advising the troupe to give the dancer a role. Xue was first cast as the company commander, then as the lead Wu Qinghua (). Alternatively, it has also been suggested that

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

saw her perform as the company commander and recommended Xue be cast as the lead. The film version of the ballet was released in

1971 in China Events from the year 1971 in China. Incumbents * Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party – Mao Zedong * President of the People's Republic of China – ''vacant'' * Premier of the People's Republic of China – Zhou Enlai * Chairman of th ...

, five years into 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 ...

. Xue starred opposite Liu Qingtang, who was cast as Hong Changqing. As one of the

Eight model plays In People's Republic of China (1949–), revolutionary operas or model operas (Simplified Chinese: ''yangban xi'', 样板戏) were a series of shows planned and engineered during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) by Jiang Qing, the wife of ...

, the film was shown across the country in every cinema, every factory, and every village in the following several years until 1976 when the

officially ended. As a consequence of the film, Xue achieved nationwide fame. The role was quite demanding, as over half the film (42.25 minutes) featured Xue onstage, either performing solos, duets or ensemble pieces. When

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, the 37th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, visited China in 1972, he was entertained with a stage production of Red Detachment of Women, and Xue Jinghua performed as Wu Qinghua in the ballet.The poetics of difference and displacement
p119 Xue left the National Ballet in 1990.

Teaching

Xue taught dance at the Huaxia Art Center,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

from 1993 to 2015.

Television

Xue appeared as a judge on the 2002 programme CCTV Dance Competition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xue, Jinghua Chinese ballerinas 1946 births Living people People of the Cultural Revolution Prima ballerinas People from Wuxi