Full coverage: Peking Opera Master Mei Baojiu Passes Away

Peking-Opera artist Mei Baojiu, like his legendary father Mei Lanfang, made a career out of singing female roles. His death on Monday is a great loss to the opera world both in China and worldwide.

BEIJING, April 25, 2016 (Xinhua) -- File photo taken on Nov. 15, 2005 shows Mei Baojiu performing at the closing ceremony of the 2nd Chinese Opera Festival in Paris, France. Mei Baojiu, a famous Peking opera performer, died at the age of 82 on Monday in Beijing. He was the ninth child and successor of Mei Lanfang, one of the most respected Chinese artists of the 20th century and creator of the "Mei School" style of Peking opera. (Xinhua/Song Lidong)

Every time people mentioned Mei Baojiu, the name of his father would pop up - Mei Lanfang.

He was one of the most famous Peking-Opera artists in modern Chinese history, exclusively known for his female roles in general and his "Qingyi" roles in particular, in which the female is typically young or middle-aged and very elegant.

His smooth and poised style came to be known as the "Mei School".

Born in 1934, Mei Baojiu was the ninth child of Mei Lanfang. Lanfang, noting his youngest son's similarity in looks, expression, and movement, chose him as his successor.

Baojiu made his first stage appearance on his tenth birthday, and Baojiu first shared the stage with his father at 18.

"Kids are never afraid of being on stage. I sang when I saw the audience applauded for me. The performance usually went smoothly," he said.

"My parents didn't care about how I sang but about how I acted. If the actor can't feel anything but just recites the line, then he's considered hard to teach. "

Baojiu is regarded as a great contributor to Peking Opera across China.

Following in his father's footsteps, he was unique among his peers for playing female roles. Among his most famous operas were “Farewell My Concubine”, “The Drunken Beauty”, and “Lady General Mu Takes Command”.

However, Mei's artistic life was stalled for 14 years during China's so-called 'Cultural Revolution', which finally ended in 1976.

"I think that year was crucial to decide whether I could get on stage again, whether I could still be quick at movement, and whether I still had those basic skills," he said.

But after a year's adjustment, when in his 40s, Mei made it back onto the stage.

"I'd been practicing every day throughout the past 14 years, so it wasn't hard to pick it up. Again, I presented my father's operas to the world as he did, without any changes. I think my life is worthwhile," he said.

Throughout his life, Mei has made significant contributions to cultural exchange and promoting Peking-Opera traditions. Some of the top level performers still active on stage were his students.

BEIJING, April 25, 2016 (Xinhua) -- File photo taken in 1994 shows Mei Baojiu performing in a lantern festival gala of CCTV in Beijing, capital of China. Mei Baojiu, a famous Peking opera performer, died at the age of 82 on Monday in Beijing. He was the ninth child and successor of Mei Lanfang, one of the most respected Chinese artists of the 20th century and creator of the "Mei School" style of Peking opera. (Xinhua)