Chou Hung Ming-hsueh

Chou Hung Ming-hsueh (1936), born in Erlin Township, Changhua County, Taiwan, is a Taiwanese opera performer specializing in the role of "xiaosheng" (young male characters) in Taiwanese opera. Her career has spanned from indoor and outdoor performances to film, television, and radio performances. In 2018, she was officially recognized by the Cultural Affairs Department of the New Taipei City Government as the “Preserver of Taiwanese Opera in Traditional Performing Arts.”
== Biography ==
Chou Hung Ming-hsueh, or Hung Ming-hsueh, was born in Erlin Township, Changhua County. Her father, Hung Chen-teng, was a musician in the literary scenes. From the age of five, Hung started accompanying his father in guest performances with medicine-selling troupes, and at the age of seven, her family settled with his father in the Jih Kuang (meaning “sunlight”) Opera Troupe. This marked the beginning of Hung’s training and performances in Taiwanese opera. She learned to sing Tshit-jī-á (Seven-word Tunes) and introductory tunes under the guidance of xiaodan Cheng Chin-chih, after which She briefly joined with his father in the Kuang Hsing Troupe in Taiwan until 1947, when Hung Chen-teng established the Teng Yueh Troupe and Hung officially became an apprentice. She started performing at the age of 14, playing roles such as wudan and erhshoudan. In 1953, when Hung was 17, she started to lead as xaosheng, and together with her sister Hung Ming-hsiu, who portrayed kudan (tragic female characters), they became the pillars of the troupe. In the same year, the troupe changed its name to “Da Chen Feng Opera Troupe.” Before the troupe’s disbandment in 1961, Hung received guidance from renowned artists including Chiang Wu-tung, Pan Man-lou, Kuan Han-lou, Pan Wen-huan, Lin Tien-cheng, Huang Yueh-yen, Chang Ching-lou, and Wang Su-hai, laying the foundation for her versatile skills in both acting and singing.
Starting from 1956, together with his sister Hung Ming-hsiu, Hung participated in various Taiwanese film productions such as “Kuo-bao Passes Taiwan”, “Meng Chiang-nu Cries at the Great Wall”, “Beggar Solicits Son-in-law”, “Flirting Scholar”, and “Hsin Chan Tien Sao File Her Petitiion to the Emperor”, while also performing live on stage. Around 1959, he joined the Taipei Min Pen Radio Station to participate in Taiwanese opera broadcasting programs. In 1960, Hung Chen-teng took over Chung Sheng Tien Ma Opera Troupe, affiliated to the Chung Sheng Broadcasting Station in Taichung, and both Hung and her sister joined as main vocal performers. At the end of the same year, the sisters embarked on a one-year tour in the Philippines with the Da Chen Feng Opera Troupe and continued their radio, indoor and outdoor, and film performances after returning.
As television began broadcasting in 1962, Hung participated in Taiwanese opera TV productions for channels like TTV, CTV, and CTS. Later on, she was invited to perform in several outdoor performances by troupes such as Wu Hu Opera Troupe, Hsiao Hui Lung Opera Troupe, GuoGuang Opera Company, and Shiu-Kim Taiwanese Opera Troupe. After relocating to Taipei, she cooperated with Chen Chu Opera Troupe and Yi-Shin Taiwanese Opera Troupe, while maintaining a long-term collaboration with Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Culture Group. She engaged in cultural exchanges in China multiple times, while dedicating herself in passing down and promoting the art of Taiwanese opera. In 2018, Hung was selected by the Cultural Affairs Department of New Taipei City as the “Preserver of Taiwanese Opera in Traditional Performing Arts.” She collaborated with Professor Tsai Hsin-hsin to complete an oral history book titled “The Dramatic Life of Beloved Chou Hung Ming-hsueh ”, which was published the same year.
== Works and honors ==
Chou Hung Ming-hsueh’s career mirrors the development of Taiwanese opera throughout various stages, from indoor and outdoor performances, to film, television, and radio productions. She has appeared in more than ten Taiwanese opera movies. According to the oral history book by Professor Tsai Hsin-hsin, her representative works in various stages include:
* Indoor Taiwanese opera: Lin Cheng-gung, Tan Hsin Chiu Chu, Nan Kung Tsan An, and Shih Hua Ku.
* Taiwanese opera Films: Kan Kuo-bao Passes Taiwan (Tai Rung Film Company, directed by Hsin Chi, screenplay by Tsai Chiu-lin, released in 1957), Meng Chiang-nu Cries at the Great Wall (Huang Tung Company, directed by Liang Che-fu, screenplay by Hong Xin De), Flirting Scholar (directed by Liang Zhefu, screenplay by Hung Hsin-te, released in 1960), Beggar Solicits Son-in-law (Chin Men Company, directed by Chen Wen-min, released in 1959), Hsin Chan Tien Sao Kao Yu Chuang (released in 1960), and Lo Han Chiao (Hsing Nan Company, directed by Tsai Chiu-lin, screenplay by Hsu Chin-shui, released in 1963).
* Taiwanese opera TV productions: Shen Shih Tun (TTV, 1966), Hsiao Yi Chuan Chia (TTV, 1967), Han Xin (CTV, 1968), Ching Chung Pao Kuo (CTS, premiered in November 1971, performed by Se Hsia Opera Troupe, co-starring with Liao Chiung-chih), Chan Tien Sao, and Chin Yu-nu.
* Modern Taiwanese opera theater performances: Yi-Shin Taiwanese Opera Troupe's Journey West: Web of Deceit, Assassin Stories – Hidden Sword, Sun Bin V.S. Pang Juan, The Ghost Consort Prince, Laugh off at the Dead and Living; Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group's Ji Gong, the Living Buddha, The Immortal of Ponglai, Bid for State Power, The Legend of the Border Outpost, The Eight Immortal Fairies, The Sixteen Prefectures, etc.
In 1955, Hung starred in the Da Chen Feng Opera Troupe's production of “Chiao Fei Fu Chou Chi”, which won the Best Script Award and the third place in the regional drama competition's “indoor Taiwanese opera” category. In 2018, due to her versatile talents in both singing and acting, her lyrics and melodies improvisation skills, her ability to create props and accessories for performances, and her engagement in passing on Taiwanese opera, Hung was officially recognized by the Cultural Affairs Department of the New Taipei City Government as the “Preserver of Taiwanese Opera in Traditional Performing Arts” among the city's intangible cultural heritage.
Category:People from Changhua County
Category:1936 births
Category:Taiwanese people
Category:Operas