Opera master dies, 89

In this file photo, Yueju Opera master Yuan Xuefen performs a scene from "Romance of the West Chamber," a story of young lovers consummating their love without parental approval in ancient China. Yuan died of a disease yesterday at her home in Shanghai. She was 89. Yuan, born in Zhejiang Province, the birthplace of Yueju Opera, started performing at age 11. She is credited with leading the reform of Yueju Opera during the 1940s. After she retired in 1985, she became an honorary director of the Shanghai Yueju Opera House.

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