Module 6

Peking Opera of China

Peking Opera is the dominant form of Chinese opera, incorporating music, vocal performance, mime, dance,
and acrobatics to emphasize meaning over accuracy. Making every movement beautiful is the top priority for
performers. So, they receive harsh criticism for any lack of beauty during practice. To unite Peking Opera's
components, performers learn synthesis. Understanding the symbols is key to enjoying the show. At first, the
colorful and patterned performance may overwhelm you. But with some background information, you'll
understand the characters and plot.

Facial Make-up
 Actors playing 'Dan' and 'Sheng' wear makeup that takes less than an hour and includes white, peach-
red, and black ink around the eyes and eyebrows, with colored lips.
 Jing and Chou makeup is intricate, creating mask-like Lianpu. Colors and patterns express their
personalities.
Red: devotion, courage, bravery, loyalty.
Black: roughness, fierceness.
Yellow: fierceness, ambition, cool-headedness.
Purple: uprightness, sophistication, cool-headedness.
Reddish purple = just and noble
Blue = loyalty, fierceness, and sharpness
White = dangerousness, suspiciousness, and craftiness
Green = impulsiveness, violence, and stubbornness.
 Clowns have a small patch of chalk on and around the nose called xiaohualian. Wearing this makeup
shows a mean and secretive character.
 The beauty and patterns on the performers' faces reveal their character. Up to 26 types of eyebrows are
noticeable, such as 'saw-toothed', 'duck's egg', 'butterfly', 'willow-leaf', 'bat', and 'sword' eyebrows. The
Chou character's painted white nose denotes clownery.


Props and Costumes

 Peking Opera has minimal props, due to centuries of Chinese performance tradition. Large objects
are suggested through conventions on stage, such as using a chair and table, which can be
transformed into various items like a bed or mountain. Peripheral objects are commonly used to
represent a larger object, such as an oar for a boat or a whip for a horse.
 Costumes are crucial in Peking Opera as there is a shortage of props. Xingtou, also called Xifu, is
the attire commonly utilized. Costumes distinguish rank: purple for officials, yellow for
emperors/families. The python robe, called mang, is fitting attire for a high-ranking character. The
clothing features bright colors and intricate dragon embroidery. Blue for lower-rank, red for
officials, white for young, and black for other men. Older individuals typically wear white, brown,
or olive. Officials wear the formal kuan yi gown with embroidery patches, while the casual chezi
is worn by all other characters. This gown has embroidery, but no jade girdle to show rank. It has
 water sleeves for emotive gestures. Plain clothing worn by low-rank characters, and their hats
match in embroidery level. High-soled shoes for high-rank characters, low-soled shoes for low-
rank or acrobatic characters.

Kabuki of China

Kabuki is a Japanese musical drama with stylized dancing, acting, and music. It features elaborate costuming,
make-up, and male actors playing both male and female roles. Kabuki is influenced by Noh and bunraku, and
is known as an actor-centered, sensory theater focused on beauty rather than consistency. Kabuki audiences are
like bullfight spectators, knowing the story and outcome. The actors' beautifully executed performances,
despite being stereotyped, are what draw audiences to the play.

Kabuki Makeup

 The use of extravagant makeup style called kumadori is one well-known trademark of Kabuki. There
are about a hundred of these masklike styles in which the colors and designs used reveals aspects of
the character.
 Kabuki actors paint their faces, necks, and hands white, with red around their eyes and lips, but do not
wear masks like Noh performers. Exotic make-up is used to elevate characters to mythic status, reveal
hidden traits of actors and define character actions through exaggerated facial expressions.
 Make-up colors express emotions: red for positive traits, pink for joy, blue for calmness, green for
peace, black for negativity, and purple for nobility.

Props and Costumes

 Kabuki props are fascinating, with linen rolls depicting flowing water and creatures like foxes and
insects hung from sticks. They wear black robes to be `invisible` and use symbolic props. Fan
symbolizes wind, sword, pipe, waves, food, and sometimes even an erection represented by an
actor waving a stick under robes.
 Kabuki costumes use bold colors & patterns to enhance performance drama. Some weigh over 20
kg, with intricate folds & layers requiring precise positioning by actors when seated. Kabuki
 costumes are often thrown away after a 25-day theater run due to fading colors and bad odors
from sweat.
 Swung from sticks are used as Kabuki costumes. The female characters generally wear an
elaborate obi and kimono. Characters of sexes wear pleated hakumatrousers. Actors playing both
sexes often have a supported midriff because a straight, curve-less figure is regarded as the
epitome of beauty.
 Wigs are essential accessories, with each costume having its own type. Specialized craftsmen
prepare the wigs, shape them to the head and maintain them for each performance. Most wigs are
made of human hair but some are made of bear fur, horsehair or yak-tail hair imported from Tibet.
In the old days, some wigs were made by painstakingly sewing on one hair at a time.
 Kabuki costumes (isho) cover a variety of play types: supernatural, historical, and daily life of
Edo. Kabuki uses various costumes resembling old-fashioned dresses, similar to noh. Men often
wear wide, skirt-style pants with stiff shoulder extensions.
 Edo period costumes used in sewamono plays range from modest `paper kimonos` representing
poverty to splendid outfits worn by popular courtesans. These layers of kimonos are covered by a
thick outer robe. The exposed neck, considered a highly erotic detail, is visible due to the low
collar at the back of the kimono. Costumes can reveal hidden messages through their colors and
embroidered details, like flowers, which may carry symbolic meanings. By opening a kimono's
hem or revealing a sleeve, an actor can convey hidden messages, such as a seductive scene
through the layers of costuming.
 Dress handling is essential to acting, including costume changes in the show. Two quick changes
are done in front of the audience. They're tricks for transformation pieces in which the main actor
plays multiple roles, making makeup and costume changes the highlights of the play. In some
plays, the koken assists by quickly revealing the lower garment during a hikinuki quick change
between roles. It can be done to change the scene's atmosphere or for a surprise effect. Bukkaeri is
a type of 'half hikinuki' where only the actor's upper garment is changed. Hikinuki and bukkaeri
are Kabuki stage tricks that always receive loud applause.