Wang Zijia

Wang Zijia ( or , 1622–1657) or Wang Zijie (), born Wang Jia (), was a Chinese kunqu actor of the Ming–Qing transition who played dan roles (i.e. he impersonated women). He "mesmerize[d] a new generation of youths after the fall of the Ming" and befriended some of the leading scholars such as Gong Dingzi, Qian Qianyi, and Wu Weiye.

Originally from Suzhou, Wang first joined the household troupe of the scholar-official Xu Qian. After the Ming government disbanded Xu's troupe, Wang joined the household troupe of Xu's nemesis Tu Guobao before heading to Beijing to try his luck.

When he returned from Beijing, Wang Zijia was flogged to death on the order of the Suzhou censor Lin Senxian () — who was his admirer but also a "moral zealot" — for allegedly corruption morality.

In fiction

Wang Zijia's rise and fall formed one of the main storylines of the Qing dynasty novel Wutong Ying (, "The Parasol's Shade").

Kunqu actor Li Gonglü () played Wang Zijia in the 2005 TV series The Romantic King of Dramas ().

References

Female impersonators in Chinese opera

17th-century Chinese male actors

Singers from Suzhou

Male actors from Suzhou

Male Kunqu actors

1657 deaths

1622 births

Deaths by beating

People executed by the Qing dynasty

Executed Qing dynasty people

Ming dynasty actors

Qing dynasty actors