Chen Ya-lan

Chen Ya-lan (Chinese:陳亞蘭) (8 November 1965 -) was born in Penghu, Taiwan. She was originally named Chen Wen-cui, which was later changed to Chen Hsin-tien. Chen is an acclaimed Taiwanese opera and TV drama actress, a hostess, and a singer. Her fans are often nicknamed as “fans of Lan.” Yang Li-hua, Chen’s mentor, decided to give her the stage name Ya-lan because “Ya-lan” sounds like the “Alain” of Alain Delon, one of Yang’s favorite actors. Chen is currently the director of Taipei Taiwanese Opera Association, an organization dedicated to the promotion of Taiwanese opera. She is also the supervisor of Taiwan U-Life Association, which offers support and help to those in need. In 2022, with “Lord Jiaqing and the Journey to Taiwan”, she was shortlisted and awarded the Best Actor at the 57th Golden Bell Award, becoming the first female recipient of the award.
==Early life==
Chen Ya-lan’s father was the leader of Bao-Yin-She Taiwanese Opera Troupe (also known as Yi-Yue-Yuan Taiwanese Opera Troupe) in Kaohsiung, and her mother was the lead sheng actor of the troupe. In the late 1950s, his father served as the director of Taiwan Provincial Local Theatre Association. In the 1960s, Bao-Yin-She moved to Penghu for its huge popularity there. During her years in the Tainan Municipal Chung Hsiao Junior High School, she played the clarinet in the school band and won a championship in the national music contest. After graduation, Chen joined Bao-Yin-She as a minor actress, and later she was offered lead roles because an actor refused to mount the stage after being denied a raise in salary.
In 1984, Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group debuted on TV with “Father and Son.” Several actors from other troupes were invited to join the cast. With her attractive appearance in male costumes, Chen was offered the minor role of Emperor Renzong of Song. After watching Chen’s acting, Yang Li-hua recruited Chen for her TV opera troupe. Between 1985 and 1997, Chen took roles in about 25 TV operas, one of which being the villain Guo Xiao in the “Goddess of River Lo.” She also appeared in “The Beggar and the Rich Girl”, “Hong Chen Qi Ying” and “Zhu Hong Wu,” etc. From 1991 to 2000, she played for theater productions of “Lu Bu and Diao Chan” “Shuang Qiang Lu Wen Long”, and “Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai”.
==Diversifies Development==
She did not appear in any TV dramas until, in 1992, she gained the permission from her mentor Yang Li-hua and played in an anthology play called “Na Chuan Xiang Liang De Ri Zi”, where she starred the female lead Shen Ching-he. From 1991 through 2000, she starred in more TV dramas, including “Hai Hai Ren Sheng”, “Xiang Shuai Chuan Chi”, “Yi Pin Fu Ren Zhi Ma Guan”, “Tu Di Gong Chuan Chi”, “Ya Ba Yu Xin Niang”, etc.
In 1993, she sang the song “The Last Train Station” during recording for the variety show “The Fantastic Brothers”. Impressed by her singing, Kuei Ming-yu, chair of Dianjiang Records, invited her to record an album under the nickname of “Lovely Lily.” The cover photo was styled after Chen’s idol singer Feng Fei Fei. In June 1994, her debut “Wu Ching Ren You Ching Tian” was released, with which she was nominated as the Best New Artist at the 6th Golden Melody Awards. The release was followed by “Bang Gun Ji Le Lang” in August 1995 and “Na Shi Tia Lang Gong” in June 1997.
In addition to her professional career, she also appeared in a number of public announcements. In 1997, DCLA and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts elected her as one of The Most Outstanding Asian Artists, the youngest among the recipients. In 2001, she starred as A-hao in the TV drama “Jia Zhuang Yi Niu Che,” with which she was nominated as the Best Actress of Anthology Series at the Golden Bell Awards. In 2003, she starred in the TV opera “Jun Chen Ching Shen,” which bagged the Best Traditional Drama at the 38th Golden Bell Awards. In the opera she played three roles: Wang Wen-ying, Zhou Hu and Wang Bo Dong. Between 2001 and 2004, she also starred in a number of TV dramas, such as “Life is Beautiful,” “Miao You Chun Feng”, “Ching Long Hao Han”, and “Zhen Ai Wu Huei.”
In February 2005, Chen signed a contract for hosting the variety show “Yu Le Dou Zhen Shing” on Strait TV (currently Xiamen Star TV). Her easy and humorous style helped her win huge popularity. She is the first licensed Taiwanese hostess in China and honored as one of the “Ten Inspirations of the Year” in Xiamen. In 2006, she played the big-foot queen Ma Xiu-ying in the TV drama “Shen Ji Miao Suan Liu Bo Wen”. In 2007, she played Kou Zhu in the opera “Dan Xin Jiu Zhu”, which was staged in National Theatre. In 2008, she played goddess Lin Moniang in the TV drama “Tian Shang Sheng Mu Ma Zu” and co-hosted the variety show “Double Happiness Club” with Peng Chia Chia.
==Establish a Theatre Troupe==
In 2011, Chen founded her troupe, which is named after her, with the mission of passing on the art of Taiwanese opera. Its “Dragon Legend” was awarded High-Definition TV Program grants from Government Information Office in the same year. The show was broadcast on Formosa Television|Formosa TV in 2013, ten years after its debut. In this TV opera, she took three roles: Chu Han-chiu, Chu Yun-tian and Long Ba-tian. The program was popular and won the best ratings for its entire run. In 2012, she co-hosted “The King of the Show” with Chuke Liang on China TV. The best-rated program helped her to be nominated as the Best Variety Show Hostess at the 49th Golden Bell Awards. In 2012, she co-starred with Yang Li-hua in “Xue Ding-shan and Fan Li-hua”, which entertained 15,000 fans, hitting a record high for the Taipei Arena. In 2014, she co-hosted “The Show” with Chuke Liang, which was also a success.
In 2014, 2016 and 2018, Chen played Niu Lang in “Niu Lang Zhi Nu”, which was staged at National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Kaohsiung Cultural Center, and National Taichung Theater. She was also one of the producers. During 2018 to 2020 she produced three Taiwanese operas staged at The Red House: “Hei Jia Dian”, “Hei Jia Dian II – Zhui Sha Wan Gu Liu Fang”, and “Xi You Ji Wu Chuang Hei Jia Dian”.
In 2017, Chen began to pursue her master’s degree of fashion management at the GF-EMBA program of Taiwan Normal University and graduated in January 2019. In June 2020, she was presented with the Academic Excellence Award from the university, becoming the first recipient from a part-time master’s program.
On 24 September 2019, the Taiwanese opera TV anthology “The Timeless Virtues” kicked off. In the production she played Zhao Shuo the father and Zhao Wu the son in the episode of “Wan Gu Liu Fang”; Yao Chung-hua in “Xiao Gan Dong Tian”; Shang Lin the father and Shang Lu the son in “Duan Ji Jiao Zi”; and Lu Yao in “Lu Yao Zhi Ma Li”. She was also one of the script writers. In 2022, “Lord Jiaqing and the Journey to Taiwan”, which she produced and played Lord Jiaqing, kicked off on Taiwan TV. She also sang the ending theme “The Journey to Taiwan” with Olivia Tsao. On 7 September in the same year, she was nominated as the Best Actor at the 57th Golden Bell Awards, the first female artist nominee in the category. Meanwhile, she also co-hosted “Super Lucky” with Ho Tu-lin. On 1 October, “Life Palette”, a show she hosted, premiered on Beautiful Life Television. On 22 October, she received the Best Actor at the Golden Bell Awards, becoming first female artist nominated and awarded in the category. On 14 December, 14 years since her last appearance in a modern drama, “Oh! Marriage!” premiered on the TVBS Entertainment Channel. In the drama she playsed the sharp-tongued but kind-hearted mother Wang Chun-hua.
==Products==
TV Taiwanese opera productions
Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group
Year	Channel	Product
1985	CTV 	fù zǐ qíng shēn (Chinese:父子情深)
Yang Li Hua, Taiwanese Opera
Year	Channel	Product
1985	TTV 	hán xìn (Chinese:韓信)
1985	TTV 	qíng jiàn shuān gjiāo (Chinese:擎劍雙驕)
1986	TTV 	xuēgāng (Chinese:薛剛)
1986	TTV 	huáng shangnán wéi (Chinese:皇上難為)
1986	TTV 	tiě hànróu qíng(Chinese:鐵漢柔情)
1986	TTV 	sūn bìnxià shān(Chinese:孫臏下山)
1987	TTV 	kuáng huā piāo yún mèng (Chinese:狂花飄雲夢)
1987	TTV 	wáng wény īng yǔ zhú lú mǎ (Chinese:王文英與竹蘆馬)
1987	TTV 	wáng bó dōng gào yù zhuàng(Chinese:王伯東告御狀)
1987	TTV 	zhū hóng wǔ (Chinese:朱洪武)
1988	TTV 	xīn xī jiāng yuè(Chinese:新西江月)
1988	TTV 	yīng xióng cán mèng(Chinese:英雄殘夢)
1988	TTV 	lǐ jìng yǔ hóng fú nǚ(Chinese:李靖與紅拂女)
1988	TTV 	xuē dīng shān yǔ fán lí huā(Chinese:薛丁山與樊梨花)
1989	TTV 	Dream of the Red Chamber (Chinese:紅樓夢)
1989	TTV 	ní mǎ dù kāng wáng (Chinese:泥馬渡康王)
1990	TTV 	bàn guǐ chuǎng jiāng hú (Chinese:伴鬼闖江湖)
1991	TTV 	xīn dí qīng (Chinese:新狄青)
1992	TTV 	xún àn yǔ dà dào (Chinese:巡按與大盜)
1992	TTV 	qǐ gài yǔ qiān jīn (Chinese:乞丐與千金)
1993	TTV 	shùn zhì yǔ kāng xī (Chinese:順治與康熙)
1994	TTV 	luò shén (Chinese:洛神)
1996	TTV 	sì jìhóng: kǔ hǎi sī qīn (Chinese:四季紅-苦海思親)
1997	TTV 	sì jìhóng: qī pǐn qiǎo xiàn guān (Chinese:四季紅-七品巧縣官)
2003	TTV 	jūn chén qíng shēn (Chinese:君臣情深)
2019	TTV 	The Timeless Virtues (Chinese:忠孝節義)
Chen Ya-lan, Taiwanese Opera 
Year	Channel 	Product
2013	Formosa TV	Dragon Legend (Chinese:天龍傳奇)
2022	TTV 	Lord Jiaqing and The Journey to Taiwan (Chinese:嘉慶君遊臺灣)
Taiwanese Oopera Productions
Yang Li Hua, Taiwanese Opera
Year	Product 	Charactor	Venue
1991	lǚ bùyǔdiāo chán (Chinese:呂布與貂蟬) 	Liu Bei 	National Theater Hall
1995	shuāng qiāng lù wén lóng (Chinese:雙槍陸文龍) 	wáng zuǒ 	National Theater Hall
1997	lǚ bùyǔdiāo chán (Chinese:呂布與貂蟬) 	Lü Bu 	National Theater Hall
2000	Butterfly Lovers (Chinese:梁山伯與祝英台) 	Sì jiǔ 	National Theater Hall
2007	dān xīn jiù zhǔ(Chinese:丹心救主) 	kòu zhū 	National Theater Hall
2012	xuē dīng shān yǔ fán lí huā (Chinese:薛丁山與樊梨花) 	Fan Lihua	Taipei Arena
Chen Ya-lan, Taiwanese Opera 
Year 	Product 	Charactor 	Venue
2011 	xuē píng guì yǔ wáng bǎo chuàn (Chinese:薛平貴與王寶釧) 	xuē píng guì 	Taichung County Mazu International Festival
 	Flirting Scholar (Chinese:唐伯虎點秋香) 	Tang Yin 	Dajia Jenn Lann Temple
2014, 2016, 2018	The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (Chinese:牛郎織女) 	Cowherd 	Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Taipei), Kaohsiung Cultural Center, National Taichung Theater
2018 	hēi jiā diàn (Chinese:黑家店) 	As a Director	Red House Theater
2019 	hēi jiā diàn II (Chinese:黑家店2) 	As a Director	Red House Theater
2020 	xī yóu jì wù chèn hēi jiā diàn (Chinese:西遊記誤闖黑家店) 	As a Director	Red House Theater
2023 	Lord Jiaqing and The Journey to Taiwan (Chinese:嘉慶君遊臺灣) 	Lord Jiaqing 	Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Taipei)
Category:Chinese people
Category:Taiwanese people
Category:1965 births