Mei Lanfang in London

In 1935 Mei Lanfang visited London for four months as part of his European tour. He wanted to perform in London, but Mei was unable to secure a theatre venue for his performances, and he returned to China disappointed. As a result, existing studies have dismissed his time in London as a failure. In this paper, I piece together Mei Lanfang’s time in London. I argue that Mei Lanfang's activities in London are consistent with his broader desire to assert the modernity of Chinese opera, and the modernity of China.