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The Four Dan actresses (四旦 or 四大名旦 or 四小名旦 or 四大花旦 or 四小花旦) are four most bankable actresses in China. Guangzhou Daily first used the term to reference Zhang Ziyi, Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun, and Xu Jinglei in July 2000, when they were all in their 20s.[1] It gained widespread use in China following a series of interviews with them by Southern Metropolis Daily from December 2001 to January 2002.[2][3][4][5] The media have made repeated efforts to elect the "New Four Dan actresses" thereafter, but the acceptance and recognition of these new lists have not matched that of the original Four Dan actresses.
Originally, a dan was a male actor who portrayed a leading female character in Peking opera. The term "Four Dan" was first coined in the 1920s to refer to four popular dan actors: Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Shang Xiaoyun, and Xun Huisheng.
- Xu Jinglei (born 1974), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through A Sentimental Story (1997 TV series) and Cherish Our Love Forever (1998 TV series)
- Zhou Xun (born 1974), graduate of the Zhejiang Art School, gained fame through Palace of Desire (2000 TV series) and Suzhou River (2000 film)
- Zhao Wei (born 1976), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through My Fair Princess (1998–1999 TV series)
- Zhang Ziyi (born 1979), graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, gained fame through The Road Home (1999 film) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000 film)
Li Bingbing (born 1973) and Fan Bingbing (born 1981), two graduates of the Shanghai Theatre Academy who gained fame soon after the quartet in the early 2000s, were sometimes mentioned together as "Four Dan and Two Bing" (四旦双冰).[6][7] Shu Qi (born 1974), a Taiwanese-Hong Kong actress who gained fame in late '90s Hong Kong cinema, and Tang Wei (born 1979), a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama who gained fame through Lust, Caution (2007), were sometimes mentioned together as "Four Dan Two Bing One Shu One Tang" (四旦双冰一舒一汤).[8]
From 2005, the media have made repeated efforts to elect "New Four Dan actresses" (新四小花旦).
- Huang Shengyi (born 1983), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Kung Fu Hustle (2004 film) and Fairy Couple (2007 TV series)
- Wang Luodan (born 1984), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Struggle (2007 TV series) and My Youthfulness (2009 TV series)
- Yang Mi (born 1986), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006 TV series) and Chinese Paladin 3 (2009 TV series)
- Liu Yifei (born 1987), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through The Story of a Noble Family (2003 TV series) and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (2003 TV series)
2013 version by Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly:[10]
- Yang Mi (born 1986), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Palace (2011 TV series)
- Liu Shishi (born 1987), graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy, gained fame through Scarlet Heart (2011 TV series)
- Ni Ni (born 1988), graduate of the Communication University of China, Nanjing, gained fame through The Flowers of War (2011 film)
- Angelababy (born 1989), gained fame through modeling and Love in Space (2011 film)
Tiffany Tang (born 1983), a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, and Zhao Liying (born 1987) had similar levels of success post 2013. Along with Liu Yifei, they are now usually associated with the new Four Dan actresses of the 2013 list, together known as the "'85 flowers" (85花).[11][12]
In August 2016, Southern Metropolis Daily conducted a survey among 173 million netizens and 110 professional media and industry insiders. After a series of voting, four actresses who were born after 1990 (90后四小花旦) were picked.[13]
- Zheng Shuang (born 1991), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Meteor Shower (2009 TV series)
- Zhou Dongyu (born 1992), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Under the Hawthorn Tree (2010 film)
- Yang Zi (born 1992), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Home with Kids (2004 sitcom) and Battle of Changsha (2014 TV series)
- Guan Xiaotong (born 1997), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through The Left Ear (2015 film) and To Be a Better Man (2016 TV series)
Since 2018, the media have made efforts to elect "New Four Dan actresses" among those were born after 1995 (95后四小花旦).
2018 version by Sohu Entertainment:[14]
- Zhang Zifeng (born 2001), student at the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Aftershock (2010 film) and Go Brother! (2018 film)
- Vicky Chen (born 2003), student at the Central Academy of Drama, gained fame through Angels Wear White (2017 film) and The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful (2017 film)
- Guan Xiaotong (born 1997), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through The Left Ear (2015 film) and To Be a Better Man (2016 TV series)
- Ouyang Nana (born 2000), a Taiwanese cellist and actress, student at the Berklee College of Music, gained fame through Beijing Love Story (2014 film).[15][16]
- Zhang Zifeng (born 2001), student at the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Aftershock (2010 film) and Go Brother! (2018 film)
- Vicky Chen (born 2003), student at the Central Academy of Drama, gained fame through Angels Wear White (2017 film) and The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful (2017 film)
- Guan Xiaotong (born 1997), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through The Left Ear (2015 film) and To Be a Better Man (2016 TV series)
- Zhang Xueying (born 1997), graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, gained fame through Einstein and Einstein (2013 film)
2022 version by Sina Entertainment:[18]
- Zhao Lusi (born 1998), graduate of the MingDao University, gained fame through Untouchable Lovers (2018 TV series) and Love Like the Galaxy (2022 TV series)
- Esther Yu (born 1995), graduate of the Lasalle College of the Arts, gained fame through Youth With You 2 (2018 talent show) and Love Between Fairy and Devil (2022 TV series)
- Song Zu'er (born 1998), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through Divas Hit the Road 3 (2017 reality show) and The Bond (2021 TV series)
- Guan Xiaotong (born 1997), graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, gained fame through The Left Ear (2015 film) and To Be a Better Man (2016 TV series)
The Chinese media have made similar efforts to elect the "Four Sheng actors" (四大小生), but the acceptance and recognition of these lists have not matched that of the Four Dan actresses. The most popular version of the "Four Sheng actors" includes Chen Kun, Deng Chao, Liu Ye, and Huang Xiaoming, who are now known in Chinese as "Four Middle(-aged) Sheng actors" (四大中生).
In addition, in the early 1990s, Hong Kong's most popular male stars were collectively referred to as the "Four Heavenly Kings" (Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai). Later, Taiwan also introduced four male idols labelled "Four Younger Heavenly Kings" (Alec Su, Nicky Wu, Jimmy Lin and Takeshi Kaneshiro).
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