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The dynasty might fall, revolution,civil war and partition might follow,but Chinese opera continued to entrance all ages in all regions. Gender role reversals had always been popular, with men playing women and vise versa. The French consul in Yunnan took a photograph in 1905 of a male rendition of a female role in the last years of the Qing. Cheng Yanqiu was one of the most celebrated performers of the 1920s and1930s ; though almost six feet tall, he fascinated audiences with the delicacyof his female portrayals. He was especially noted for his brillance in depicting emotions through the movement of his flowing sleeves. Cheng refused to perform for the Japanese and retired to a farm , but agreed to train a new generation of actors in the People's Republic, and was named vice-president of the Chinese Dramatic Research Institute.The opera tradition was sidetracker into proganda pieces demanded by Communist ideologues during the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution, but it continued to grow and diversify in Taiwan. A reclining actress in Keelung, Taiwan, dressed for a male role, emulates art in a back-stage moment with her female companion in 1976.
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