Once a humble farming family knew struggle in Jilin province. Today we celebrate Li Yugang.
Li Yugang is a Chinese singer and artist. He specializes in male roles who play female roles in Peking opera. He is known for singing in both male and female voices. Li Yugang has become an icon in China’s contemporary cultural scene. His influence extends beyond entertainment opening dialogues among critics of music, theatre and aesthetics.
Born Li Gang in 1978, Li Yugang faced early hardships. His parents couldn’t afford college despite his acceptance into the provincial Art College. Li Yugang then worked various jobs in Changchun after high school.
In Xi’an, Li Yugang worked as a waiter in an entertainment club. He found himself captivated by the singers there. Soon, he was singing a few songs and became a club singer. One day a female colleague was absent. Li Yugang stepped in singing in a female voice. His talent impressed the audience. The owner hired him full-time. From 1998 to 2006, he trained professionally. He developed his singing and acting in nan dan. Nan dan is male who plays female role in Peking Opera.
Li Yugang rose to prominence in 2006. He finished third in Star Boulevard. It is a nationwide talent competition program on CCTV. His performances of “Farewell My Concubine” and “The Drunken Beauty” made him famous overnight. He became a sought-after performer.
In 2007, Li Yugang gave his first solo performance in Beijing. It was titled “Where Flowers are Unbounded”. In 2008, he performed at the United Nations Spring Cultural Festival in New York. In 2009, he joined the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater. He was also awarded “National First-Class Actor”. In the same year, Li Yugang performed at the Sydney Opera House. He received the Southern Cross Gold Prize for Culture by the Australian Government.
For stage performances, Li Yugang created “Flower in Mirror, Moon in Water” in 2010. “The Painting of Four Beauties” followed in 2011. Together, he performed over 100 shows. In 2015, Li Yugang directed and starred in “Lady Zhaojun”. This grand Oriental Poetic Stage production took three years to prepare. “Lady Zhaojun” premiered in Beijing on April 16–19, 2015. In 2019, a new musical adaptation of “Lady Zhaojun” premiered. As of December 8, 2019, “Lady Zhaojun” had toured 46 performances.
In 2010, Li Yugang released his debut album “The New Drunken Beauty”. Later he released “Dream-chasing Chant” and “Lotus”. In 2014, Rhymoi Music released his “Once Upon a Time in Shanghai” album. On November 10, 2016, he released the single “Happened to meet you”. It was for the 10th anniversary of his debut. The self-titled album was released in 2017. “Happened to meet you” stayed on the music charts for 10 weeks. The music video reached over 100 million views on YouTube. After that, he started the tour of “Li Yugang’s 10-year Classic Concert”. By 2023, Li Yugang had released nearly a hundred singles. He has also blended styles like R&B, rap and electronic elements into his music.
Li Yugang has branched out into writing, planning cultural gatherings, promoting ceramic culture, and film direction. In 2016, his literary work “The beauty I met” was published. It recorded his pilgrimage to China’s intangible cultural heritage. At the end of 2016, his art space “Jade Space” was completed in Beijing. In May 2021, his porcelain culture-themed art space – “Jade Workshop” was unveiled in Jingdezhen.
In 2019, Li directed and starred in the short film “A Date After Twilight”. On March 30, 2023, Li began filming his feature directorial debut “Nostalgia in the Cloud”.
Li Yugang’s journey from a farming family to an international icon inspires us. His dedication to preserving and innovating Chinese culture is truly remarkable.