Costumes
The costumes are as important as the characters themselves because each piece tells a story. Sewn in workshops behind the theater streets, every piece is intricately made with great consideration to design and color, and these gorgeous pieces of art can cost thousands of dollars.
In the beginning of the play the actor walks onto the stage and without them uttering a syllable the audience should be able to tell what the actor’s role is just from looking at their body language and costume. This walk is called the biaoyan and means “to show”.
In the beginning of the play the actor walks onto the stage and without them uttering a syllable the audience should be able to tell what the actor’s role is just from looking at their body language and costume. This walk is called the biaoyan and means “to show”.
Men's Costumes |
Women's Costumes |
The Hoy Ching
A robe tied at the waist with tassels, is worn by scholars. It can also serve as leisure wear too! Commoners of the town or city also wear Hoy Ching but with less embroidery and vibrant colors to symbolize their poverty. The Mong Mong is worn by officials in court. A Gok Dai or hoop is held around the waist. It is a symbol of rank. Mongs with "royal" embroidery, such as dragons and sewn in golden threads are worn by kings. The Yoon Nang It has the same cutting as a Mong but it is worn by lower ranked officials. It has less embroidery with just a round or square pattern on the chest. The Siu Kow This costume is worn by a general. It consists of a lot of different pieces and layers and is tied at the waist. Generals going to war may wear many different accessories such as baan dai (a waistband that hangs down to the ankles) and the kwun Sok (a thin rope with very long tassels that is tied across the chest in different ways to form different patterns on the performer's chest). |
The Siu Gu Jong
Siu Gu Gong worn by unmarried girls and maids is a shirt and blouse set that is tied at the waist. Whilst the Pay Fung, a blouse and skirt outfit that is not tied at the waist, is usually worn by married women. The Mong Mong and formal costumes are worn by royalty at formal gatherings. Sometimes a belt called gok dai is also included to symbolise status. The Mong Just like the male warrior, female warrior's costumes also consist of a lot of different pieces and layers, and are tied at the waist. There are skirts with three knee length flaps that hang from the actor's waist or skirts with many thin flaps that look almost like long leaves hanging down to the floor. Different skirts serve different purposes. Thus, skirts with thin flaps that hang to the floor are usually worn by females who are pushing a carriage. |
HeaddressElaborate headresses decorated with sequins and pearls are only worn by people of high status such as emperors and empresses, generals, princes and chief concubines. More important characters will wear more ornate and striking headresses.
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HatsScholars and officials often wear simple black hats with two fins coming out from the sides.
Hats with rectangular fins are worn by high officials while round fins are worn by treacherous characters. Hats with long, thin fins are only worn by Prime Ministers. |
Facial Painting/ Masks
The masks the worn in the opera are as beautiful and intricate as the costumes themselves. These masks (called kou-lien or mo-lien) are painted on the actors’ face before the show and are an intricate, direct representation of the character’s motivation and inner feelings.
A character may have many colors painted on their face, and each color is another aspect of their personality. |
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Instruments
The musical ensemble of Chinese Theatre are divided into two parts: percussion and orchestra. Each part had the following major instruments:
*(instruments particular to certain theatre forms are in the forms' pages)
*(instruments particular to certain theatre forms are in the forms' pages)
References/Sources: