Peking Opera master Mei Baojiu died in Beijing on Monday at age 82. He had been hospitalized from March 31 after falling into a coma following a bronchial spasm.

Mei Baojiu was the ninth son of Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), who is considered the most outstanding Peking Opera artist of all time and is credited with bringing Peking Opera to the United States and Europe in the 1930s.

Like his father, Mei Baojiu performed as a nan dan (a man playing a female role) - a Peking Opera practice forged at a time when women were forbidden to take to the stage.