Unlike costumes in Western operas, those in Chinese Opera are highly symbolic, hinting at the personality, social status and even the destiny of the operatic characters, characterised by their colours; both bold and subtle; their shimmering hairpieces and those long sleeves that appear to flow with the wind.
In Chinese opera, the costumes of different colours and different styles that dance on the stage to the movement of the actors and actresses are called “Xingtou” (行头), categorised in the main by clothes, hat, shoes and accessories.
Of all the costumes, “Mang Pao” (蟒袍)is the most
noble. Found in Chinese mythology, the “Mang” looks like a large snake and is a relative of that most powerful and honourable animal in Chinese culture, the dragon. Throughout Chinese history, Mang Pao were always used as formal clothes for government officials. In Chinese Opera, they are worn by imperial rulers and military leaders.
As to those long sleeves, they often play a prominent role in an opera performance. Worn by youthful operatic characters, the pure white long sleeves will be thrown out and pulled back, making a long-sleeved performance well worth watching.
It is said that you can never have enough hats, gloves and shoes. And Chinese opera is no exception to the rule. Therein, the hat is defined as all that adorns the actors’ or actresses’ heads, including decorations and accessories. Historically, Chinese Opera hats were made from the base of real hats. But unlike the round-shaped hats that appear in today’s movies and fashion shows, the Chinese style of hat was more likely rectangular in shape.
Besides the hat itself, several accessories can be chosen for greater symbolism. The most famous are the “Eizi” and “Lingzi”. The former is a combination of small red balls placed on the helmets of female generals which will catch the audience’s attention and increase a performance’s momentum. Lingzi, on the other hand, is a combination of two peacock feathers, also put on the head of generals. Their length can be up to 2 metres!
When the actors or actresses are performing, the Lingzi will move as per the performers’ head. Actions such as flirtation can be shown secretly, perhaps by the touching others’ faces.
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As would be expected, shoes are an important part of Chinese Opera for their connection with the way that actors and actresses walk. For example, thick-soled shoes are for powerful characters, designed so that they walk in a way that we call “四方步” (sifangbu; a slow march), befitting their status in the performance. Actors need to raise their knees high to then hold them momentarily in the air, in a manner making the character seem strong and serious. For characters required to perform somersaults, non-slip shoes are a better choice to avoid the chances of injury. For ladies, colourful tassels on the front of shoes are often a prominent feature.
Last but not least, let us focus on decoration and/or accessories. Just like women in today’s society, Chinese opera actresses also love shiny jewellery. But they take it to extremes!
Here, there exist rules for the placement of all manner of decorations. The parts of the head are categorised as front, median or rear, and each will be decorated with at least three different kinds of jewellery.
Much of it will be blue, as most was traditionally made from Kingfisher feathers. To preserve the light blue, feathers should be taken while the Kingfishers are alive. After the species became protected, so modern techniques replaced the traditional methods for making such jewellery.
On the male characters’ side, a fake bear is of great importance. In various in colours and style, reflecting their personalities, a red bear, for example, is a sign of a character full of rage. Yet few audience members pay so much attention to the colour of the bear or its style. Have a look when you have time to watch some Chinese Opera; therein you may find the hidden words of scriptwriters.
In old times, these various costumes followed fixed rules in the design process, with differences reveladed only by colour and pattern. With the development of clothing styles and the improvement in textile technology, today’s costumes can be seen in Chinese Opera. For example, suits and ties are already on the stage in modern Yue Opera.
And back then, when the opera clubs moved to the house of the rich for performances, so the costumes were preserved to be carried there in 16 wooden boxes, each with a fixed content. After a performance, the costumes would be carefully replaced with mothballs for protection.
Today, while the costumes may not be that precious and the rules of the wooden boxes have been forgotten, that which remains unchanged is the culture which traditional Chinese opera costumes reveals.
