In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the Chinese society went through an all-aspect transformation under the impact of western trends, the art of Chinese opera, a form of mass entertainment, was no exception. Under the influence of western culture, the Chinese society slowly changed its traditional view on opera where it was used to be considered as inferior and degrading. However, through new multimedia technologies such as the press, printing, and photography, Chinese opera actors stepped into the limelight and became nationally famous entertainment stars. Afterward, the “actors praising” culture was gradually formed in the opera community the Chinese opera represents.
This paper takes the “Actor praising” trend started in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China as its research topic, analyzes thoroughly the intension of “Actor praising”, explores its origin, development, the community group, its activities and the relationship between the admirers and the opera actors. The “Actor praising” reconstructed the relationship between admirers and opera actors in traditional opera, and it had a profound impact on the creations of Chinese opera stars in modern times.