Tan Hsin-p'ei (1847-20 March 1917), leading interpreter of the lao-sheng roles in the Peking drama.

A native of Hupeh, T'an Hsin-p'ei was the only son of T'an Chih-tao (d. 1877), an actor of the lao-tan [elderly woman] roles who went to Peking with his family in the 1850's. T'an Hsin-p'ei received his early training in his father's house in accordance with professional custom. At the age of 1 1, he was apprenticed to a training troupe, the Chin-k'uei k'o-pan. He studied the male roles, concentrating on the wu-sheng and k'un luan lao-sheng styles. The first of these styles demands a sound knowledge of wu-kung, stage acrobatics, and fighting; and the second requires a command of vigorous expression and gesture as well as singing ability. His early training stood T'an in good stead in later years. When he began to appear in the male roles, his training in wu-kung technique enabled him to combine physical and vocal expression, thereby achieving that complete harmony of stage effect which was of high importance to Chinese playgoers.

After leaving the Chin-k'uei k'o-pan, T'an Hsin-p'ei joined the San-ch'ing-pan, which was headed by the noted actor Ch'eng Ch'ang-keng (d. 1880). Ch'eng was known as "the father of ching-hsi" because his troupe specialized in the new form of entertainment which was the beginning of the style known as Peking drama. T'an Hsin-p'ei quickly attracted the notice of Ch'eng, who came to have a high regard for his new follower. At the beginning of his career, therefore, T'an was closely associated with the master of the newer developments in his craft, and he profited accordingly.

T'an Hsin-p'ei continued to play in the leading Peking theaters until 1879, when he traveled to Shanghai to perform with Sun Ts'ai-chi, a specialist in female roles, at the Ch'üan-kuei Ch'a-yuan theater. The visit was a great success, and T'an's reputation increased proportionately even though he still was acting in wu-sheng roles. He continued to play those roles on his return to Peking until Ch'eng Ch'ang-keng died. Then he succeeded Ch'eng in the lao-sheng roles. In 1884 T'an Hsin-p'ei visited Shanghai again, appearing at the Ta K'uei Kuan theater. Later that year, he appeared at the Hsin Tan Kuei theater. In 1890 he was selected to perform in the theatrical entertainments at the imperial palace, a sure indication of his success as an actor. Among the plays in which T'an Hsin-p'ei appeared regularly were K'ung-ch'eng chi [the strategy of the unguarded city] and Ssu Lang Van-mu [Ssu Lang visits his mother]. He often performed the latter work with Wang Yaoch'ing (q.v.) in the female role, and their collaboration was a notable one. T'an was also known for his interpretation of the role of Hsieh Jen-kuei in Fen-ho wan [at the bend of the river Fen] . The lao-sheng roles in plays of this genre depend heavily on the performer's vocal skill for their success. T'an Hsin-p'ei created an individual vocal style. Chinese critics compared it with the style of two of his distinguished contemporaries, Wang Kuei-fen and Sun Chühsien, by saying: "Wang i yün sheng, Sun i ch'i sheng, T'an i ch'ing sheng" [Wang emphasizes the rhyme and Sun stresses the intonation, but T'an emphasizes the tune]. Among those who later followed the T'an-p'ai, or T'an school of dramatic singing, were Ma Lien-liang, T'an Fu-yang, and Yü Shu-yen.

T'an's faultless singing was matched by the hu-ch'in playing of his accompanist, Mei Yü-t'ien, who was an uncle of Mei Lan-fang (q.v.). Although from time to time they fell into disagreement and parted company, they always came together again because each respected the other's abilities. Some very early gramaphone records were made of these two artists performing together in the plays Mai-ma [selling the horse] and Hung Yang Tung [at the Hung Yang cave] . T'an also experimented with another new medium, motion pictures. In 1908 he was filmed performing in Ting Chun Shan. Although T'an was essentially an actor of metropolitan Peking, he made six visits to Shanghai in the course of his career. In the early years of the twentieth century Shanghai afforded high financial rewards for Peking actors invited to entertain its pleasure-loving merchants. T'an's third visit to Shanghai took place in 1901, when he appeared at the Sanch'ing Ch'a-yuan and at the Ch'üan-kuei Ch'a-yuan (where he had performed on his first visit). Thereafter, he was in Shanghai in 1910, when he appeared at the Ch'üan-kuei Ch'a-yuan again; in 1912, when he appeared at the Hsin-hsin Wu-t'ai; and in 1915, when he appeared for ten days at a theater managed by his son-in-law. The 1912 visit took place shortly before the Chinese New Year. It was the custom for well-known actors to play a type of role during the last run of the season which was different from their usual parts. T'an was asked to play the comic role of Chu Pa Chieh [piggy], the pig spirit from the famous Hsi-yu-chi [monkey] story. In one scene the actor playing this part was supposed to somersault down from the top of a pile of three tables. When T'an came to do this, he feigned consideration of the somersault, shook his head in mock despair, and climbed down exclaiming that he preferred to live. He intended a light-hearted interpretation of what in any case was a piece of seasonal foolery, but the Shanghai audiences, unlike those in Peking, took his joking seriously. There was even some criticism in the press because of his deviation from tradition. Infuriated by this lack of humor, T'an left Shanghai without completing the play's scheduled run. There was a happy reversal of this situation when T'an made his last visit to Shanghai in 1915. On this occasion, he was making a private trip, but he agreed to perform with the local actors for ten days at the behest of his son-in-law. He played to a full house every day, and he had great difficulty in getting through the admiring crowds to his dressing room. The plays in which he appeared during this triumphant visit were the popular Strategy of the Unguarded City and Chu-lien-chai [the pearl screen fort]. In the spring of 1914 T'an Hsin-p'ei began appearing regularly in evening performances. This innovation became custom after the Ti-i Wu-t'ai theater was opened in 1914. T'an made some of his last Peking appearances with Mei Lan-fang, then a promising young actor. In January and March, they appeared with the Ch'un-ho-she troupe in Ssu-lang t'an-mu, Fen-ho wan, and Sang Yuan Chi Tzu. They also appeared together in a charity show to raise funds for relief work in Fukien. Soon after the charity show, T'an gave a command performance at the home of Li Yuan-hung (q.v.), who then held the presidency at Peking. Although he caught a severe chill there and became quite ill, he reluctantly appeared at a private party given in March 1917 to honor Lu Jung-t'ing (q.v.). The role he had to play in what proved to be his final appearance was that of the dying general, Yang Yen-chao, in Hung Yung Tung. The exertion of acting was more than his weakened constitution could withstand, and he died on 2 March 1917. T'an Hsin-p'ei had twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, of whom two girls and a boy died in childhood. Five of the remaining seven sons went on the stage. T'an Chia-shan played wu lao-sheng roles. Chia-ch'ing played wu ch'ou [fighting comic] roles before becoming a theater musician; he accompanied his father on several occasions. The third son, Chia-hsiang, played the tan [female] roles, and the fourth, Chia-yung, played the wu lao-sheng parts. The fifth son, Chia-pin, who took the stage name T'an Hsiao-p'ei, played his father's roles. He was the only one of T'an Hsin-p'ei's sons to achieve some reputation as an actor. T'an Hsiao-p'ei's son, who took the stage name T'an Fu-ying, became an extremely popular actor and a fine interpreter of his grandfather's art. T'an Fu-ying remained in China after 1949 andjoined the Chinese Communist party in March 1959. The family tradition of playing lao-sheng roles was extended to the fourth generation when T'an Fu-ying's son decided to pursue a stage career.