Chang Xiangyu - Empress of Yuju Opera

Zhang Miaoling (later Chang Xiangyu), who's father was a popular Yuju Opera actor in their hometown who left the stage due to a throat complication, was born to a poor farming family in Henan Province's Gongxian County in September 1923.Chang first learned Yuju Opera from her father and achieved fame at 12 years of age in her role as a lively maid in the Romance of the West Chamber ("Xixiang Ji").
"I liked to watch Yuju Opera when I was very young, but I had to learn to be an actress because of poverty," Chang said in an interview two years ago. "My family was so poor that sometimes we had nothing to eat for one or two days when I was young. And I started to follow my mother to beg in the streets when I was six."
People remember and adore Chang not only for her superb Yuju Opera performances but also for her devotion to the art and her great contributions to China. Over the past decades, every time a disaster struck the country, Chang would always donate money and lend a helping hand. She had always regarded the people's concerns as her own.
Chang's outstanding achievements both in art and daily life are highly praised by both the nation and her fans. She was also elected as a deputy of the National People's Congress from the 1st to the 7th sessions, except the 4th.