Senior Chinese leader mourns death of artist

Senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Li Changchun on Friday expressed his condolences over the death of Li Moran, a renowned artist who died Thursday at the age of 85. Li Moran made \"important contributions\" to China\'s artistic prosperity, Li Changchun wrote in a letter to the Liaoning People\'s Art Theater, of which Li Moran was honorary president. Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also expressed his condolences to Li Moran\'s family. Li Moran was an accomplished performing artist who had both moral integrity and professional competence, Li Changchun wrote. Born in December 1927 in Shangzhi county of northeast China\'s Heilongjiang province, Li Moran started his performing career in 1947. He won nationwide fame for playing the role of a patriotic general in the movie \"The Naval Battle of 1894\" in 1962, which depicts a naval battle between China and Japan. Li Moran was featured in more than 60 plays over the course of his career and received the Magnolia Stage Performance Award in 2007. He was honorary chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association.