Yan Huizhu

Yan Huizhu (Chinese 言慧珠, 1919–1966) was an Peking and Kunqu Opera singer of ethnic Mongolian descent.

Denounced under the Cultural Revolution, in the night of 10 September 1966 she committed suicide after the Red Guards had ransacked her home and accused her of being a counter revolutionary.

Despite her father's efforts to discourage her from entering a difficult profession, she developed her artistic talents and learned songs and acting roles while he was away on tour.

[2] While at Chunming Girls' School in Beijing, she played Nüqijie in the opera Yutangchun so well that Yan Jupeng allowed her to act.

When she was 24, she was trained by the jingju master Mei Lanfang who devoted time to her while he was unable to perform during the city's occupation by the Japanese.