- Liu Qingtang
Liu Qingtang (1932- )(Chinese: 刘庆棠;
pinyin : Líu Qìngtáng) is a Chinese ballet dancer born in Gai County,Liaoning Province, who made a fame through his role as Hong Changqing in the balletRed Detachment of Women of theNational Ballet of China , one of theeight model plays during theCultural Revolution .Xue Jinghua was cast as Wu Qinghua in the same ballet.Liu joined the art troupe of the
People's Liberation Army in late 1940s, and after the foundation of thePeople's Republic of China in 1949, he studied ethnic dances andballet inBeijing as well as theSoviet Union .In 1958, Liu Qingtang became well-known in the ballet circuit in China for his successful rendition of the prince Ziegfried in
Swan Lake .In 1964, Liu was cast as Hong Changqing in
Red Detachment of Women . This was a task of more politics than of art, as this work was under the auspices and supervision ofJiang Qing , wife ofMao Zedong .The film version of the ballet was released in 1971, and Liu Qingtang became a household name overnight.
His prominent quality as a ballet dancer and his political savvy enabled him to make leaps and bounds in his political career as well. In February, 1976, Liu was nominated by
Jiang Qing andZhang Chunqiao for the vice minister of theMinistry of Culture .After the downfall of the
Gang of Four in October, 1976, Lin Qingtang fell into disfavor. In 1983, he was sentenced to 17 years of prison time, and stripped of all political rights for 4 years.In 1985, he was diagnosed with
cirrhosis of the liver, and was released onbail for medical treatment. At this time, Liu had been divorced, and had no place to go. His brother in his hometown took him back.In the early part of the 21st century, Liu Qingtang returned to
Beijing and opened a ballet school there.
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