Who has, at over fifty, been voted one of the ten hottest idols by a gay and lesbian organization? It is not Matrix's Keenu Reeves, of course; the latter being born in 1964, is barely fifty. You'd probably not have guessed this but we are talking here about a female actress who specializes in male roles, playing emperors, aristocrats, warriors, beggars and sending many a female fans' hearts fluttering. Female fans reportedly crowded around the TV studio bearing fancy gifts and creating traffic jams because of this Yang Li-hua (楊麗花)(inset), superstar of Taiwanese opera and a sort oTaiwan's f living national treasure of sort. I remember probably about two decades or more ago, when CDs or DVDs were not the norm,her VHS tapes were circulating around among the Chinese communities in Malaysia, in Phillipines and elsewhere even. Needless to say, my parents were ardent fans and Mother even went to the extent of going to Penang with her friends to watch her live performance, paying as much as a hundred bucks, which was a big deal then, to sit at the front row. I still remember the yellow cap with a picture of Yang Li-Hua which she had proudly displayed on the wall and I remember Yang Li-Hua again especially when one of her old series 'Butterfly Lovers' plays currently on paid TV.
Watch Yang Li-Hua performs...
Comments