According to the Fujian Peking Opera Company on December 17, Mr. Li Youbin, a national first-class director and a famous Peking Opera performance artist, passed away on December 16 at the age of 86.
The Peking Opera Company released an obituary, reviewing the life of Li Youbin, and his farewell ceremony will be held on the morning of December 24.
It is understood that Li Youbin is the son of Peking Opera master Li Shengbin, Li Shengbin and the monkey king Li Wanchun, Li Shaochun and called "three Li", Li Youbin was born in a family of Liyuan, since childhood with his father to learn art, 12 years old officially debuted on stage, liberation period is still a soldier actor, after the liberation of the Fujian Provincial Peking Opera Troupe as an actor, starring in "Fa Zidu", "Wu Song Fighting Tiger", "Eighteen Arhats Fight Wukong", etc., is the "pillar" of the provincial troupe at that time, in 1965 in the "South China Sea Great Wall" starring in the role of "Ou Yingcai".
In 1971, Li Youbin began to work part-time as a director and screenwriter, wrote and directed "True and False Monkey King" and "King Hate", and later made it into a Peking Opera movie, which was well received overseas, and in 2020, the film version of "Havoc in Heaven" was launched nationwide, Li Youbin is one of the artistic directors of the film, he was in good spirits when interviewed, and reviewed his extraordinary life.
Li Youbin said that his father had been on the same stage with Mei Lanfang, and a play "Fa Zidu" was popular all over the capital, and later during the Huaihai Campaign, the People's Liberation Army met his father's troupe, and his father took 11-year-old Li Youbin to perform with the troupe until the liberation of China.
Li Youbin, who starred at the age of 17, was unable to act because of a special period, and did not return to the stage until he was 40 years old, he starred in and directed "True and False Monkey King" in 1979, which became popular all over the country, and has appeared in more than 600 performances, and has also performed in Zhongnanhai, which has become an experience that Mr. Li Youbin will never forget in his life.
After retiring in 2000, Li Youbin has been working as a teacher in the troupe, and at the age of 80, he often "plays with guns and sticks", demonstrating every movement and eye for the students, and this year he was selected for the "Fujian Famous Old Artist Salary Program".
On July 14 this year, Mr. Li Youbin and his students performed "Jiepai Guan" at the Fujian Peking Opera Company, and after the performance, he took the stage to interact with the audience, which became his last public appearance.
In the early morning of December 17th, the students shared a video of Mr. Li Youbin's lesson in the troupe, in which he practiced Xi with the students with double knives.
Mr. Li Youbin dedicated his life to Fujian and Peking Opera, and his death is a great loss to the Peking Opera industry, and I wish him all the best.