Chinese Opera: Make-Up & Costumes
History of Make-up Design
Origins of make-up design trace back to masked dances, ghost expelling, and
disease repelling rites of ancient times.
The transition from mask to face painting came with the development of
traditional Chinese opera.
The establishment of traditional operas during the Song Dynasty, with specific
entertainment centers, attracted professional artists to meet the needs of
production. During this time, face painting gained recognition as being superior
to mask wearing.
Over time, fixed patters & traits came to be associated with specific
characters. Audience members can easily recognize character types,
personalities,and qualities in traditional make-up patterns that have been
passed down to today.
For centuries, make-up designs developed to portray the characters of Chinese
opera have been passed down from master to apprentice along with the skills
necessary to create the designs.
Make-up designs serve to convey:
Status
Age
Quality of Character
Essential parts of opera painting are:
Eye
Eyebrow
Space between eyebrows
Nose
Mouth
Color in Make-Up Design
Color serves to indicate:
Red- Loyalty
Black- Uprightness
White- Wickedness
Yellow- Cruelty
Green- Loyalty to friends
Blue- Mightiness
Purple- Steadiness
Gold & Silver- Gods & devils
* Black vs. White
Chinese Opera Costumes:
Typically made from silk & satin, colorful & intricately embroidered.
They are not taken from any specific time period, but rather, are a combination
of elements taken from costumes used between the 7th century and the 19th
century.
They are not made for specific characters or actors, but for specific character
types.
Again, colors signify status, rank, etc.
They are designed and constructed to allow freedom of movement.
Costume Color Indications:
While colors do vary with specific costumes, the following indications are
generally true:
Red- young people
Blue- older men
Yellow- Emperors & princes
Purple- officers & scholars
Light blue- ordinary people
Headdress
Detail and ornamentation extends to headdress which includes hats, helmets,and
intricate ornaments worn in women’s hair.
Headdress serves to further indicated character type, for example:
Warriors wear richly adorned helmets
Officials wear black square hats called tyin.
Women wear their hair in braided buns, and are adorned with beads, flowers,
jewels, etc.
Shoes
Shoes are designed and constructed to allow for actor movement, and are also
specific to character types:
Male characters wear high soled boots that influence height and posture. It
takes years of training to adapt to movement in these boots.
Soldiers & Servants wear ankle length boots
Women wear soft satin slippers with intricate embroidery.
Country people wear sandals.
Water Sleeves
Water Sleeves are long sleeves worn by some characters, and are intricately
incorporated into the action and expression of these characters. Specific
movements with these sleeves indicate specific expressions. For example:
If using the “weeping sleeve” movement, the actor would use the fingers of
the right hand to hold the tip of the left sleeve to the eyes as if wiping away
tears, using it as a handkerchief.
Additional sleeve movements include:
The concealing sleeve
The caught sleeve
The resolution sleeve
The running sleeve
And others…
Facial Hair
Yet another element that indicates character type.
Long beards: prosperity, wealth, courage, strength
Narrow whiskers: (hanging in three strands from the ears and chin) worn by
learned men.
Thick short beard: roughness, self indulgence.
Beards are not glued to the face. They are hung by wire and rest on the actors
upper lip.
Gender Factors:
Until 1911 male and female actors rarely appeared on stage together.
All male, or all female companies were more common.
Gender, therefore, was depicted largely through costume & make-up.
Character Types:
Chinese Opera character types are divided into four broad categories:
Dan (female)
Sheng (Male)
Chou (Clowns)
Jing (Strong male characters, sometimes old men, generals, villains,
supernatural beings.)
Each character type is recognizable through their costume and make-up.
Dan (Female)
Costume: Elaborate detailed, multi-layered robes. Sometimes water sleeves.
Make-up: Full white make-up accented with rouge that extends across the cheeks,
and sweeps up to elongated eyes. Eyes are circled with rouge.
Loadan- Old Woman
Costume: Head band, water sleeves, sometimes carries staff.
Make-up: Minimalistic make-up
Wudan- warrior woman
Make-up: Similar to young maiden.
Costume: More functional to allow for greater physicality.
Sheng (Male)
Xiaosheng- Young man (scholar or prince).
Costume: Multi-layered robes, water sleeves.
Make-up: white with rouge highlights.
Laosheng- old man
Make-up: minimal, long white beard
Mulit-layered robes, more plain.
Sheng Cont.
Wusheng- Warrior
Costume: ranges from splendid embroidered armour of general to simple clothes of
fugitive. If he wears armour & bears pendants, he belongs to armored warrior
group. Without armour, he belongs to close combat group.
Make-up: similar to young man.
Clowns (Chou)
Male Clown
Small mask like application of white make-up around eyes and nose.
Female Clown
No mask, reddened face with blackened eyebrows. Sometimes a spot of headache
medicine on forhead.
Jing
(strong males/animalistic/villians/ supernatural)
Bold make-up colors communicate identity and personality.
This is the monkey king Sun Wukong, a energetic and mischievous character.
