MCLC: Peng Liyuan, glamorous first lady

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Peng Liyuan, glamorous first lady
***********************************************************

Source: NYT (3/24/13):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/world/asia/peng-liyuan-chinas-new-first-l
ady-adds-glamour.html

China’s First Lady Strikes Glamorous Note on Her First Trip in New Role
By JANE PERLEZ

BEIJING — Peng Liyuan, China’s new first lady, is glamorous, fashionable
and one of her nation’s best-known singers, a startling contrast to her
dour-looking predecessors. As she accompanies her husband, President Xi
Jinping, on his first trip abroad as China’s leader, Ms. Peng appears
ready to carve out a new role for herself.

China’s fashion editors were scrutinizing the first sightings of her
wardrobe — a dark trench coat and a handsome handbag — as she descended
onto the tarmac at the Moscow airport on the first stop of the couple’s
trip, which also includes visits to Tanzania and South Africa. Music
aficionados are waiting to see whether she offers any performances.
(Unlikely.) Policy advisers hope she gives a speech on AIDS on the
sidelines of a summit meeting Mr. Xi is attending in South Africa.
(Possible, because she is a United Nations ambassador for health.)

At a time when China’s Foreign Ministry is struggling to improve China’s
international image, Ms. Peng, 50, who has dazzled audiences at home and
abroad with her bravura soprano voice, comes as a welcome gift.

“Because of her performer’s background and presence, I think she will
definitely add points for her husband,” said Tian Yimiao, an associate
professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. “It could make her into a
diplomatic idol.”

Concerned about China’s difficulties in projecting a global soft power
presence, the government recently established a Public Diplomacy
Association made up of former ambassadors and other notable figures.

The association’s task is to make the “voice of China and the story of
China more engaging and more convincing,” said Yang Jiechi, the new state
councilor in charge of foreign affairs. Officials now talk publicly about
the need for Chinese companies, especially mining and construction
conglomerates, to be more sensitive to local needs in Africa and Asia.

It could be that Ms. Peng’s star power will push the diplomats into the
background. Although Mr. Xi may not like the comparison, some see her as a
figure akin to Raisa Gorbachev, the wife of Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who
helped humanize the Soviet leader as the Soviet Union fell apart. Mr. Xi
has singled out Mr. Gorbachev as a man who let down the cause of Communism.

Others see her as roughly equivalent to Michelle Obama: modern, outgoing,
intrigued by fashion. They await the moment when Ms. Peng and Mrs. Obama
stand with their husbands at a state visit, either in Washington or
Beijing, a lineup that is likely to happen in the next four years. The
couples share some common ground. The Obamas have two daughters; Mr. Xi
and Ms. Peng have one daughter, Xi Mingze, who is registered under a
pseudonym as an undergraduate at Harvard.

Ms. Peng became a household name in China well before her husband. She
joined the People’s Liberation Army as a civilian when she was 18.
She soon emerged as a talented singer with a voice suited to folk tales
and operatic scores that heralded the bravery of China’s soldiers. For
several decades, she starred in the nation’s annual New Year’s television
extravaganza, where she wore boldly hued gowns with well-fitted bodices
and flouncy skirts.

In 2004, Ms. Peng took the role of Mulan, the heroine of a Chinese folk
tale depicted in “Mulan Psalm,” an opera about a young woman who disguises
herself as a man to take the place of her ailing father in the army. The
virtues of peace, the hard times of war and the glory of victory, assured
by Mulan, make for a stirring spectacle.

The work combines musical theater, drama and dance with elements of
Western opera, according to the composer of the score, Guan Xia. Ms. Peng
performed the central role with a full orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall at
Lincoln Center in New York in 2005, and at the Vienna State Opera House in
2008.

“She has deep technical roots, and very good technique,” Ms. Tian said.
“In the folk singer category, no one can surpass her.”

When Mr. Xi became vice president in 2007, Ms. Peng began cutting back her
performances, in step with the traditional secondary role played by the
wives of Chinese leaders. Still, the Chinese news media have reported that
she remains the leader of the Chinese Song and Dance Ensemble in the
General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army.

In 2011, the World Health Organization selected her as a good-will
ambassador for AIDS and tuberculosis, a position that lasts for two years.

Ms. Peng will join Mr. Xi at the annual meeting of the emerging markets
group, known as the BRICS, in Durban, South Africa, an appropriate place
for her to talk about health, according to speculation in the Chinese news
media.

As for her fashion taste, a Chinese fashion blog, Jing Daily, reported
that the trench coat Ms. Peng wore for her arrival in Moscow was from
Exception de Mixmind, a domestic ready-to-wear brand that she favors. The
clothes sell for $300 to $400. In brand-crazy China, her handbag, a Tod
lookalike, stood out for being “no brand,” the blog said.

“Many people online are saying, ‘Finally we have a beautiful first lady,’
 ” Ms. Tian said.