Mu Guying Takes Command By Mei Lanfang
Mu Guying Takes Command is a Beijing Opera drama piece written during the Song Dynasty and later adapted by Mei Lanfang in 1959 (Yang 64). For companies or groups intending to perform the play in a traditional style, they would require an informed knowledge of the costumes and symbolism that is authentic to the Song era, culture and most importantly theatrical tradition.
Basic knowledge of types of costumes and the various roles would be paramount. In performance, each role projects an ideal through distinct techniques of movements and vocal quality, as well as specific standards of hair, make up and dress (Bonds 3). In Beijing Opera, there are four dominant roles, categorized in accordance with gender and disposition; namely the sheng (male …show more content…
role), dan (female role), jing (painted face) and chou (clown) (Chengbei 26). The sheng and dan are male and female protagonist roles respectively, the jing is a male supporting role with distinct characteristics and the chou is a comical or negative figure, usually possessing opposite characteristics from the sheng. These four roles are further subdivided, each with its own specialties and techniques. The role types cover all the characters on stage and every actor specializes in a particular type of role. The role types in Beijing Opera have been artistically refined to categorize, systemize and standardize the myriad images in the complex life of society according to the practical requirements of opera performance. (Bian 11).
Mu Guying falls under the role of dan, which can be further, divided into qingyi (demure type), hudan (vivacious young woman), xiaodan (young maiden), laodan (elderly woman), daomadan (military leader) and huashan (young and beautiful comic woman) (Bian 56). In the performance of Mu Guying Assumes Command, Mu Guying starts off as a qingyi, however as the play progresses and due to circumstances she faces, she is required to take on the role of a daomadan, which calls for a dramatic costume change.
1.2 Synopsis of play
Mu Guying Assumes Command is about a fifty year old widow who is commissioned to lead her family of generals on an expedition against enemy Xi Xi invaders. Mu Guying Assumes Command is a military drama, which is seldom seen, and requires the actor portraying Mu Guying to be able to play two different roles in performance With a total of nine scenes, the first half, Mu Guying is mostly a secondary role, with more focus on the ongoing battle, however as the play progresses, she becomes the main and leading character of the play (Yang 65).
2.1 Costume design in Beijing opera
Costumes in Beijing opera can be seen as works of art themselves. The costumes are designed such that the audience should be able to identify the characters immediately. Chinese opera costumes are extensions of the actors. They become the larger movements of their body and through skillful manipulation communicate emotion to the audience (Lovrick, Ngai 78). Costumes are an integral part of staging Beijing Opera plays, being very important in the creation of characters and demonstrating the exquisiteness that they possess (Yang 25).
Costumes hold crucial symbolism in their colours, layers and accessories as they play a vital part in distinguishing the role of the characters. According to Lynton, the colours used in Beijing Opera are associated with the different elements; fire, wood, metal and earth, which are then further, linked to various directions on the Chinese compass (88). The colours for traditional Beijing opera costumes are divided into a system of upper five and lower five. As such, the upper five colours directly correspond with nobles and officials whereas the lower five colours are in accordance with the lower class in society (Bonds 72).
The five upper colours are of significance in creating Mu Guying costumes. The principal colours that fall under the upper five are; red, green, yellow, white and black. Red carries the favourable association of respect, honor and loyalty and connected essentially with good characters. Green indicates a high ranking or military function for the wearer and is worn by generals and civil officials in charge of military affairs. Solely the emperors or members of the imperial family wear yellow. White garments are for men who have grace, charm and loyalty to their country and lastly black shows men that enforce law or women who are in poverty due to a loss of a husband (Bonds 73).
The main outerwear in Beijing opera consists of the mang (court robes), pi (formal robe), kao (armour) and xuezi (informal robe) (Bonds 334). These outerwear make up majority of the costume and are used in both male and female roles.
2.2 Costume for Mu Guying (as qingyi)
Mu Guying starts off the play as a fifty-year-old widow, which makes her a simple middle class qingyi character. Qingyi characters are generally dignified, serious and honest and most of them are loving mothers or undefiled women in a feudal society (Wichman 8). Being a qingyi role, the costume that is worn by Mu Guying in the first half consists of an nüxuezi, women’s informal robes. A typical nüxuezi comes in two different forms, a crossover and a center part. Since Mu Guying is a middle-aged woman, she will wear the center part nüxuezi, which is specifically for older women with domestic responsibilities. Being a widow qingyi, she wears robes of black or brown colour, which indicate her circumstances financially due to loss of a husband and living alone.
The border of this part will be of blue or green colour, which is evidence of her lost position and money. White water sleeves are attached to the straight sleeves of the robes and are long enough to cover the hands of the actor (Bonds 142). These water sleeves help in complying with customs of the Song era, where women were not allowed to reveal their hands. Hand gestures and finger skills showed indications of love interest and is an important means of expression, thus it is crucial that the water sleeves are long enough to cover the actors hands (Chengbei, 76). A long white sash is tied around the waist acting like a belt, to secure the entire outfit and to make sure that any sort of movement will not disturb the outer costume (See figure 1 and 1.1).
An alternative costume for Mu Guying’s role as a qingyi is a ¾ length formal silk gown, nüpi, with a 1 ½ feet of white silk attached to each sleeve (water sleeves) and a long white sash around the waist covering a white, silk skirt long enough to cover the feet (Yang 65). Qingyi characters usually wear pastel and brighter coloured nüpi, however since Mu Guying was once married and now widow, she wears darker colours such as maroon or olive green that indicate respectable and forgiving characters (Bonds 83).
As both the robes are knee length, a skirt, qunz, is worn to cover up the lower legs. The skirt for qingyi is made of white silk, a neutral colour enabling it to be worn with many different colours of robes. The white colour is an effective complement to the white water sleeves on the upper garments (Bonds 194) (See figure 2 and 2.2).
To complete the costume, the shoes that will be worn by Mu Guying are the caixie, also known as embroidered slippers. Theses shoes hold historical significance, going back to the Song dynasty and their foot binding tradition. These shoes imitate the look of bound feet, as they are flat, curved, heavily embroidered and have large silk tassels on the toes. These can be of any colour that compliments the costume worn such as white or red (Bonds 198) (Ying 92) (See figure 3).
2.3 Costume for Mu Guying (as daomadan)
A significant part of the play is when Mu Guying is called upon to take command of the military. This is where there is a major role change and a crucial costume change. She takes on the role of a daomadan, also known as “sword and horse” woman warriors (Bian 66). Daomadan are skilled in marital arts, and take on characters such as women generals, heroic forest outlaws, nymphs and fairies. (Bian 68). In this play, the daomadan takes the role of a powerful female military general and is trained for singing and skillful fighting movement. The costume for this role is very extravagant, consisting of headdress, accessories and the use of props (Bian 68). Though it is a very militant role, the costume and character retain both their femininity and charm. A daomadan’s costume is very elaborate starting from the top with the headdress to the shoes.
For apparel, a daomadan wears mostly armoured garment, associated directly with them being in the military.
This clearly emphasizes her role and her importance to the audience. This armoured garment is called nükao. The most common form of a nükao can be easily identified by its shoulder paddings, which creates a more formidable figure, which can be further enhanced with flower and phoenix embroidery and additional streamers, and a filigree helmet with long feather attached (Bonds 11) (See figure 4, 4.1 and 4.2).
In the case of Mu Guying, there will be flags attached to her back to represent her status as a high-ranking military leader. There are flags are tied together with ropes covered with decorative silk rosettes. The nükao that she wears can be either pink or red, which both represent the character as a commander-in-chief. The armour is decorated with designs of multi coloured phoenixes and peonies on the padded belt section and beautiful flowers are used for borders and streamers. The central chest and apron sections usually have a fish scale pattern (See figure 5). However, it is the colour of the nükao carries more significance than the surface design in determining what a character represents and the role they play in performance (Bonds 132) (Yang 45) (Bian …show more content…
31).
Mu Guying’s daomadan nükao will be supported with an extravagant headdress. The qinxing ezi, forehead helmet, is typically worn with the armoured costume and is filigree diadem decorated with pearls and pompoms, with long multiple tassels on either side of the face, usually augmented with long pheasant feathers (Bonds 133) (Yang 38). The extensive designs and embroidery aid in drawing direct audience attention and creates a more significant character presence on stage for the daomadan. (See figure 4.3)
The last portions of this costume are the shoes worn by Mu Guying playing as daomadan. Marital boots, baodi xue, are worn along with the nükao to complete the full body armour. These boots are ankle high with a soft and flat sole to allow performers to carry out acrobatic scenes. They are usually black, however can be of various colours to match the costumes (Bonds 199).
2.4 Props
Props used in Beijing opera are used in a rather abstract and symbolic way, rather than a realistic and simplistic use. Every object on stage is fashioned according to strict convention. (Ying 195). Props used represent items of daily use such as lanterns, fans, handkerchiefs or a tea set or methods of transportation such as boats, carriages or sedans.
As a daomadan, Mu Guying is required to ride a horse in battle.
It is not possible to have a horse on stage however the Beijing opera theatrical solution is not to present the horse itself but instead to evoke it through what was most associated with horseback riding, the horsewhip. Over time this prop became a stylized flexible cane with several tassels with a finger loop at the end. The tip indicated the horse’s head (Lovrick, Ngai 89). By manipulating this whip, the actor demonstrated mounting, dismounting and riding a horse (See figure 7).
Another essential prop for the daomadan is the sword that is carried by her during battle. The sword is the most common stage weapon in Beijing opera. It is also the most versatile, used in both dance and furious display of prowess (Lovrick, Ngai 110). A woman warrior makes the use of a long sword, which is also knows as the double sword. They are usually carried together, giving the enemy the illusion of it being just one sword however it is later revealed that they can be separated so that she wields one in each hand, catching the enemy off guard. (See figure 8)
3.1
Conclusion
To conclude, a designer who wishes to create costume for Mu Guying in a traditional Beijing opera performance must be aware of the symbolism that comes with it. A comprehensive knowledge of the roles, layers and the symbolism that colour holds as well as an informed knowledge of how props, headgear and shoes compliment the various costumes is fundamental. These elements control all aspects of costume designs and it is vital that they are followed true to the theatrical aspects of Beijing opera.
Basic knowledge of types of costumes and the various roles would be paramount. In performance, each role projects an ideal through distinct techniques of movements and vocal quality, as well as specific standards of hair, make up and dress (Bonds 3). In Beijing Opera, there are four dominant roles, categorized in accordance with gender and disposition; namely the sheng (male …show more content…
role), dan (female role), jing (painted face) and chou (clown) (Chengbei 26). The sheng and dan are male and female protagonist roles respectively, the jing is a male supporting role with distinct characteristics and the chou is a comical or negative figure, usually possessing opposite characteristics from the sheng. These four roles are further subdivided, each with its own specialties and techniques. The role types cover all the characters on stage and every actor specializes in a particular type of role. The role types in Beijing Opera have been artistically refined to categorize, systemize and standardize the myriad images in the complex life of society according to the practical requirements of opera performance. (Bian 11).
Mu Guying falls under the role of dan, which can be further, divided into qingyi (demure type), hudan (vivacious young woman), xiaodan (young maiden), laodan (elderly woman), daomadan (military leader) and huashan (young and beautiful comic woman) (Bian 56). In the performance of Mu Guying Assumes Command, Mu Guying starts off as a qingyi, however as the play progresses and due to circumstances she faces, she is required to take on the role of a daomadan, which calls for a dramatic costume change.
1.2 Synopsis of play
Mu Guying Assumes Command is about a fifty year old widow who is commissioned to lead her family of generals on an expedition against enemy Xi Xi invaders. Mu Guying Assumes Command is a military drama, which is seldom seen, and requires the actor portraying Mu Guying to be able to play two different roles in performance With a total of nine scenes, the first half, Mu Guying is mostly a secondary role, with more focus on the ongoing battle, however as the play progresses, she becomes the main and leading character of the play (Yang 65).
2.1 Costume design in Beijing opera
Costumes in Beijing opera can be seen as works of art themselves. The costumes are designed such that the audience should be able to identify the characters immediately. Chinese opera costumes are extensions of the actors. They become the larger movements of their body and through skillful manipulation communicate emotion to the audience (Lovrick, Ngai 78). Costumes are an integral part of staging Beijing Opera plays, being very important in the creation of characters and demonstrating the exquisiteness that they possess (Yang 25).
Costumes hold crucial symbolism in their colours, layers and accessories as they play a vital part in distinguishing the role of the characters. According to Lynton, the colours used in Beijing Opera are associated with the different elements; fire, wood, metal and earth, which are then further, linked to various directions on the Chinese compass (88). The colours for traditional Beijing opera costumes are divided into a system of upper five and lower five. As such, the upper five colours directly correspond with nobles and officials whereas the lower five colours are in accordance with the lower class in society (Bonds 72).
The five upper colours are of significance in creating Mu Guying costumes. The principal colours that fall under the upper five are; red, green, yellow, white and black. Red carries the favourable association of respect, honor and loyalty and connected essentially with good characters. Green indicates a high ranking or military function for the wearer and is worn by generals and civil officials in charge of military affairs. Solely the emperors or members of the imperial family wear yellow. White garments are for men who have grace, charm and loyalty to their country and lastly black shows men that enforce law or women who are in poverty due to a loss of a husband (Bonds 73).
The main outerwear in Beijing opera consists of the mang (court robes), pi (formal robe), kao (armour) and xuezi (informal robe) (Bonds 334). These outerwear make up majority of the costume and are used in both male and female roles.
2.2 Costume for Mu Guying (as qingyi)
Mu Guying starts off the play as a fifty-year-old widow, which makes her a simple middle class qingyi character. Qingyi characters are generally dignified, serious and honest and most of them are loving mothers or undefiled women in a feudal society (Wichman 8). Being a qingyi role, the costume that is worn by Mu Guying in the first half consists of an nüxuezi, women’s informal robes. A typical nüxuezi comes in two different forms, a crossover and a center part. Since Mu Guying is a middle-aged woman, she will wear the center part nüxuezi, which is specifically for older women with domestic responsibilities. Being a widow qingyi, she wears robes of black or brown colour, which indicate her circumstances financially due to loss of a husband and living alone.
The border of this part will be of blue or green colour, which is evidence of her lost position and money. White water sleeves are attached to the straight sleeves of the robes and are long enough to cover the hands of the actor (Bonds 142). These water sleeves help in complying with customs of the Song era, where women were not allowed to reveal their hands. Hand gestures and finger skills showed indications of love interest and is an important means of expression, thus it is crucial that the water sleeves are long enough to cover the actors hands (Chengbei, 76). A long white sash is tied around the waist acting like a belt, to secure the entire outfit and to make sure that any sort of movement will not disturb the outer costume (See figure 1 and 1.1).
An alternative costume for Mu Guying’s role as a qingyi is a ¾ length formal silk gown, nüpi, with a 1 ½ feet of white silk attached to each sleeve (water sleeves) and a long white sash around the waist covering a white, silk skirt long enough to cover the feet (Yang 65). Qingyi characters usually wear pastel and brighter coloured nüpi, however since Mu Guying was once married and now widow, she wears darker colours such as maroon or olive green that indicate respectable and forgiving characters (Bonds 83).
As both the robes are knee length, a skirt, qunz, is worn to cover up the lower legs. The skirt for qingyi is made of white silk, a neutral colour enabling it to be worn with many different colours of robes. The white colour is an effective complement to the white water sleeves on the upper garments (Bonds 194) (See figure 2 and 2.2).
To complete the costume, the shoes that will be worn by Mu Guying are the caixie, also known as embroidered slippers. Theses shoes hold historical significance, going back to the Song dynasty and their foot binding tradition. These shoes imitate the look of bound feet, as they are flat, curved, heavily embroidered and have large silk tassels on the toes. These can be of any colour that compliments the costume worn such as white or red (Bonds 198) (Ying 92) (See figure 3).
2.3 Costume for Mu Guying (as daomadan)
A significant part of the play is when Mu Guying is called upon to take command of the military. This is where there is a major role change and a crucial costume change. She takes on the role of a daomadan, also known as “sword and horse” woman warriors (Bian 66). Daomadan are skilled in marital arts, and take on characters such as women generals, heroic forest outlaws, nymphs and fairies. (Bian 68). In this play, the daomadan takes the role of a powerful female military general and is trained for singing and skillful fighting movement. The costume for this role is very extravagant, consisting of headdress, accessories and the use of props (Bian 68). Though it is a very militant role, the costume and character retain both their femininity and charm. A daomadan’s costume is very elaborate starting from the top with the headdress to the shoes.
For apparel, a daomadan wears mostly armoured garment, associated directly with them being in the military.
This clearly emphasizes her role and her importance to the audience. This armoured garment is called nükao. The most common form of a nükao can be easily identified by its shoulder paddings, which creates a more formidable figure, which can be further enhanced with flower and phoenix embroidery and additional streamers, and a filigree helmet with long feather attached (Bonds 11) (See figure 4, 4.1 and 4.2).
In the case of Mu Guying, there will be flags attached to her back to represent her status as a high-ranking military leader. There are flags are tied together with ropes covered with decorative silk rosettes. The nükao that she wears can be either pink or red, which both represent the character as a commander-in-chief. The armour is decorated with designs of multi coloured phoenixes and peonies on the padded belt section and beautiful flowers are used for borders and streamers. The central chest and apron sections usually have a fish scale pattern (See figure 5). However, it is the colour of the nükao carries more significance than the surface design in determining what a character represents and the role they play in performance (Bonds 132) (Yang 45) (Bian …show more content…
31).
Mu Guying’s daomadan nükao will be supported with an extravagant headdress. The qinxing ezi, forehead helmet, is typically worn with the armoured costume and is filigree diadem decorated with pearls and pompoms, with long multiple tassels on either side of the face, usually augmented with long pheasant feathers (Bonds 133) (Yang 38). The extensive designs and embroidery aid in drawing direct audience attention and creates a more significant character presence on stage for the daomadan. (See figure 4.3)
The last portions of this costume are the shoes worn by Mu Guying playing as daomadan. Marital boots, baodi xue, are worn along with the nükao to complete the full body armour. These boots are ankle high with a soft and flat sole to allow performers to carry out acrobatic scenes. They are usually black, however can be of various colours to match the costumes (Bonds 199).
2.4 Props
Props used in Beijing opera are used in a rather abstract and symbolic way, rather than a realistic and simplistic use. Every object on stage is fashioned according to strict convention. (Ying 195). Props used represent items of daily use such as lanterns, fans, handkerchiefs or a tea set or methods of transportation such as boats, carriages or sedans.
As a daomadan, Mu Guying is required to ride a horse in battle.
It is not possible to have a horse on stage however the Beijing opera theatrical solution is not to present the horse itself but instead to evoke it through what was most associated with horseback riding, the horsewhip. Over time this prop became a stylized flexible cane with several tassels with a finger loop at the end. The tip indicated the horse’s head (Lovrick, Ngai 89). By manipulating this whip, the actor demonstrated mounting, dismounting and riding a horse (See figure 7).
Another essential prop for the daomadan is the sword that is carried by her during battle. The sword is the most common stage weapon in Beijing opera. It is also the most versatile, used in both dance and furious display of prowess (Lovrick, Ngai 110). A woman warrior makes the use of a long sword, which is also knows as the double sword. They are usually carried together, giving the enemy the illusion of it being just one sword however it is later revealed that they can be separated so that she wields one in each hand, catching the enemy off guard. (See figure 8)
3.1
Conclusion
To conclude, a designer who wishes to create costume for Mu Guying in a traditional Beijing opera performance must be aware of the symbolism that comes with it. A comprehensive knowledge of the roles, layers and the symbolism that colour holds as well as an informed knowledge of how props, headgear and shoes compliment the various costumes is fundamental. These elements control all aspects of costume designs and it is vital that they are followed true to the theatrical aspects of Beijing opera.