Wudan

It can be a female youxia, like the heroine of Hongxian; or a supernatural being who has transformed itself into a women, like Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing from the Legend of the White Snake.

Popular daomadan characters include Mu Guiying from the Generals of the Yang Family and Hu Sanniang from the Water Margin.

In Peking opera, the daomadan wears a long "female armor" (女靠, nükào), which is similar to that worn by their male counterparts but with flower and phoenix embroidery as well as multicolored streamers hanging from the waist.

In such a combat scene the wudan is in the middle of the stage surrounded by her enemies, each holding a couple of light double-headed spears with tassels at each ends.

Yang Rui-Yu (楊瑞宇), a Taiwanese Peking opera performer who graduated from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing, has been called the only active male wudan actor.

[7] On the other hand, it's common for (shorter) wudan actresses to play males, i.e. wawasheng (Chinese: 娃娃生; pinyin: wáwáshēng; lit.

Xiao Qing , the female snake with two jian (swords), is often portrayed by wudan actresses, in this case by Wu opera star Yang Xiayun ( 杨霞云 ).
A Cantonese opera actress portrays a daomadan character, holding a poled qiang (spear) in her hands.
Dachushou , or kicking back spears from various directions without dropping them is a required skill for wudan actresses. This photo is from a Shao opera .
Nezha , always a boy in Chinese folklore, is played by a wudan actress in this Peking opera .