漢劇坤伶在漢口的公開演出遲至上世紀20年代中期才成為現實,但坤伶登臺后發展迅速,在上世紀30年代中期已成為漢劇藝人的重要組成部分,且叫座能力超過男伶。由于第一代坤伶多是妓業從事者的養女,漢口小報出現大量指責坤伶兼營妓業、不專心于漢劇藝術的文章,其本質是坤伶作為漢劇演員的職業身份不被認可。漢劇坤伶職業身份的構建主要由第二代坤伶完成。坤伶崛起的影響在于,漢劇"十大行"唱做分離、唱與做追求高難度的劇種個性,在坤伶崛起后發生動搖。坤伶習八貼行居多,多打破"十大行"中四旦、八貼的藝術分野,使漢劇八貼與京劇花衫趨同;坤伶及八貼行的地位上升,又為新中國漢劇"十大行"旦行獨尊的格局埋下了伏筆。

It was not until the mid-1920 s that the Hanju actresses gave public performances in Hankou. However,the phenomenon of actresses developed rapidly ever since and actresses became an important part of the Hanju acting in the mid-1930 s,attracting more audiences than their male counterparts. As the first generation of actresses were mostly adopted daughters of prostitutes,the Hankou tabloids was replete with accusations that the actresses were not full-time on stage by working as part-time prostitutes. The main idea is that the actresses were not recognized as professional actors. The construction of the professional identity of the actresses in Hanju was mainly completed by their second generation. The rise of actresses challenged the separation of singing and acting,and the highly refined singing and acting skills which were epitomized in the"ten types of roles"in Hanju. Most of the actresses played the batie( subsidiary female character as the eighth type of role),which broke down the barriers between the sidan( female character as the fourth type of role) and the batie( the eighth type) of the"ten types of roles",drawing the batie of Hanju closer to the huashan( female role in colored costume) of the Jingju. The rise of actresses and batie foreshadowed the exclusive importance of the female roles among the"ten types of roles"of Hanju after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.