Cheng Yanqiu

Cheng Yanqiu (1 January 1904 – 9 March 1958) was a Chinese Peking opera singer. He is remembered as one of the 20th-century's great female impersonators, having specialized in Peking opera's female roles (dan). Yanqiu was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and was buried in Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.

Life
Cheng was born in Beijing.

Cheng was also the creator of several original Peking opera productions in the 1920s and '30s. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he refused to perform and instead worked as a farmer in Beijing. After the war, he was appointed vice president of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Opera.

He died of a heart attack in Beijing at 8:20 on 9 March 1958.