John Lone
Loosely based on true events (see Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu), the film concerns René Gallimard (Jeremy Irons), a French diplomat assigned to Beijing, China, in the 1960s. He becomes infatuated with a Peking opera performer, Song Liling (John Lone), who spies on him for the Government of the People's Republic of China. Their affair lasts for 20 years and they subsequently marry, with Gallimard all the while apparently unaware (or willfully ignorant) of the fact that in Peking opera, "Dan" roles are traditionally performed by men.