Yam Kim-fai

Yam Kim-fai (, 4 February 1913 (Lunar 29 December 1912 – 29 November 1989), also known as Ren Jianhui was a renowned Cantonese opera actress in China and Hong Kong.

Yam was most notable for her unique ability to sing in the lower register.

That her opera voice was indistinguishable from a male one allowed her to play either male or female roles, though she usually performed male ones.

Rooftop theatres were for all-female troupes since the time of Lee Suet Fong (李雪芳) who formed the all-female troupe (「群芳艷影」) which she left when married in 1923.

Lee basically set a bar for all female leads that only Fong Yim Fun had come close in a century.

(Fong, a female lead since 16, performed with Lee at some point, was inspired and created her own vocal style from just sharing the stage.) Since the first top four all-female troupes, female leads became less noteworthy as the actresses in male lead roles.

Male and female performers were not often in same troupe until after Japan took Guangdong.

The reputation of an all-female troupe was inferior to that of an all-male troupe.

Yam observed that male leads were called sissies in the street while the jingles below reflected the sentiment about those troupes.

"《鄉下佬買戲》：「講到鰟鱓女班經已做到怕，有文無武而且有鱓仲老過我阿媽. 」"

"香港報章：「女優薪金微賤，當可以減班主之負擔. 」"

Yam took after a male performer to be no "sissy", by just being in the audience, and became known as the female version of Kwai Ming Yeung, both AAA and vocal, before 1933, the year Ma Sze Tsang hired Tam Lan Hing to perform with him in Hong Kong.

Many troupes with male performers followed her first own (Chinese:「鏡花影女劇團」, 1935-1942) with Tsui Yan Sam as co-star not long since Yam was initially hired to perform in a temporary theatre (collapsed after 5 days) built in greyhound racing stadium.

Yam had quite a fan base of mostly married ladies right out of the gate, including the wife of Mr. Bat1 Leoi5 Gim6 who hired Yam to perform in 1935.

Theatres in Macau her all-female troupe performed included the Ching Ping Theatre at Travessa do Auto Novo.

To reflect her respect when Chan Pei Mui with sister Chan Pei Aap joined her, Yam renamed her troupe ("梅"花艷影劇團) in deference to her former boss who also shared male lead status with Yam in this troupe.

The three of them offered the female version of Kwai Ming Yeung (Yam), Sit Gok Sin (Mui) and Ma Sze Tsang (Aap), Tsui Yan Sam (徐人心) as female lead, and kept building up an even stronger fan base on what Yam already accumulated in Macau.

Portugal owned Macau during the Second World War and it was neutral during the conflict.

Japan's respect for that neutrality made Macau a safe haven for migration from elsewhere otherwise occupied by Japan.

Population in Macau went up significantly as a result.

Their support for performances made life relatively easy for performers.

(Depending on individual performer's pay grade, some were paid in a less volatile currency. The top-billed (female lead) Tam Lan Hing, arrived in Macau in late 1942 and eventually gained weight in those years, was rumored to get one tael of gold for a day of performance.)

(Now known as Canidrome, was special to Yam who attended the grand opening in 1963 with Loong, Pak Yin and others.) Co-stars also included other actresses at times as and when Yam saw fit.

Co-stars had always been replaceable to her.

On 24 June 1972, Yam performed for the last time in public and TV viewers looked for the "man" they knew from movies/stage performances.

They did not expect to see her in a 2-piece set of jacket and qipao (cheongsam) with floral print.

Since 1972, Yam enjoyed singing in private with a live band and was often accompanied by her protégée Loong who would read the lyrics out for her until her eyesight improved with surgery.

On 11 July 1976, during the 25th Miss Universe pageant held at the Lee Theatre in Hong Kong, contestants were asked to pick from five portraits the one they thought was the actress in a male Cantonese opera costume.

Yam was not the one correctly identified by any of the contestants.

In 1989, she died at home in Hong Kong due to pleural effusion.

There was no JTWROS.

Yam had a will drawn up and left her estate to families, including Yam Bing Yee.

Born Yam Lee Chor (Chinese: 任麗初), Yam performed as a pastime with a Cantonese opera troupe since when still in grade school.

When Yam was 14, her aunt, another Cantonese opera actress, taught Yam the foundation courses.

Very soon, Yam quit school and began her formal opera performance studies with Wong Lui Hap, who was known for being the female version of Ma Sze Tsang but became known more often as Sifu of Yam (Chinese: 高 徒 出名 師).

After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Wong worked with Luo Pinchao in Hong Kong at some point.

Although they never co-operated again once the formal contract expired, Yam provided for Wong, a working poor in modern language, who was not well-off late in life (Chinese: 生 養 死 葬).

Jade Flower (Chinese: 玉瓊花) was one of the first female leads to co-star on stage.

Yam earned her place, rising to prominence and eventually becoming a male lead at the age of 17, but switching between being male lead and playing second fiddle to Wong or other actresses such as Chan Pei Mui (陳皮梅), who were more experienced and well-known, for another few years before venturing out on her own as male lead in many all-female troupes (小飛紅-太平艷影劇團/譚蘭卿-梅花影劇團) in "rooftop theatres".

One walked out the door, another one (but two for Loong in 2013) would be in her arms already.