大戏的故事

Con-tents

Con-tents

1. IntroductIon

2. roles

3. costumes

4. ProPs

5. make-uP

6. IntervIews

7. references

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Intro-duc-tion

Most story plots in traditional Chinese opera performances are based on famous Chinese classics and myths.

Reflecting Chinese culture and philosophy, almost all opera performances highlight virtues such as loyalty, love and patriotism. Other than a form of entertainment, Chinese opera also plays an active role in dispensing important messages, especially those concerning patriotic values.

In Singapore, Chinese opera is practised freely especially during celebrations like Chinese New Year and Hungry Ghost Festival, when it’s performed on open fields in heartlands across the city. Traditional instruments such as the erhu, drums and cymbals are commonly used in Chinese opera, accompanied by colourful and outlandish costumes and rich makeup to create mesmerising yet culturally-steeped performances.

In this book, we will explore the different aspects in a Chinese Opera from roles to props and even stories of artists.

chInese oPera socIetIes and comPanIes In sIngaPore

IncreasIng awareness

of the tradItIonal

art form

socIety1997 1997

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12 382008 2008

Increased by 83.3%

Increased by 63.3%

comPanIes

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Chinese Opera dates wain deities and spirits during their religious rites.

During the Han Dynasty (206BC – AD 220), story-telling was accompanied with dance to singing to produce a form of musical drama. Thus, stories told in Chinese Opera were mostly about loyalty and piety as these were values that Chinese truly believed in.

During the Song Dynasty, opera troupes were usually made up of family members who wandered from place to place to perform. These actors were mostly trained

at a very young age. As a result, Child actors were common in performances.

Female impersonators were common as well because at that time, women were banned from performing on stage to prevent men from being corrupted. At that time, opera actors belonged to the lowest rank of society.

Large-scale shows were also put up at the Imperial palace to entertain the

royal family. However, troupes that were unable to perform in the palace, practiced and rehearsed in teahouses. Customers would then pay to watch. Performances were also staged at temples courtyard during religious festivals like the Hungry Ghost Festival or the birthdays of deities.

History of CHinese

opera

Chinese OPera thrOughOut the dynasties

shang dynasty (1700 – 1122 B.C)

Western ZhOu dynasty (1122 – 771 B.C) eastern ZhOu dynasty (770 – 221 B.C)

Qin dynasty (221 – 206 B.C)

Western han dynasty (206 B.C – 9 a.d) eastern han dynasty (25 – 220 a.d)

Chinese theatre grew out of the religious and shamanistic rituals when people use masks, costumes, gestures, songs and dance to please or entertain spirits during religious rites.

Art of singing and acting developed further when religious festivals were held. Priests, soothsayers chanted and performed mimes to convey their beliefs to worshippers.

The golden age of classical philosophy. Classics like “The Hundred schools and

“Spring and Autumn” came from this era

Expansion of Han Dynasty, growing contacts beyond China’s direct borders, brought in numerous forms of entertainment from suth and central Asian countries. Permanent stages for opera existed in many temples. During this era, storytelling was blended with daance to produce an elementary form of musical drama. Lessons of life taken from traditional chinese folk tales, were performed. It was also during this period that the painted face took root.

Actors had no room to rehearse, they practiced in tea-houses, where customers would watch them. Soon, patrons began to frquent these tea-houses for the theatre. Besides being folk music entertainment for peasants, Chinese opera became in demand at the imperial court.

During this period, Chinese Opera flourished. Emperor Tang Ming Huang sponsored special training schools for actors. After Tang Ming Huang’s death, he became the patron god of Chinese opera. Before every performances, incense will be burned in his honour. It was Tang Ming Huang who helped established Chinese opera as an entertainment

tang dynasty (618 – 907 a.d)

sOng dynasty (960 – 1279 a.d)

Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912 a.d)

Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644 a.d)

yuan dynasty (1279 – 1368 a.d)

Opera troupes during this era were usually made up of family memebers, who travelled from place to place to perform. Child actors were common and they began training from a very young age for a particular role. In Hangzhou, operas in the yuanzaju style were performed for Mongol conquerors patronising huge public theatres

During the late Qing Dynasty, Beijing Opera was formed. Beijing opera influenced other local operas through its systemised singing, acting, reciting and acrobatic fighting practices.

Combination of Beiqu and Nanqu developed into a style called Kunqu. Originated in Kunshan near Suzhou. Kunqu is a refined type of Chinese opera deveoped by the musical genius Wei LiangfuAt the same time, other parts of China were also developing their own styles of Chinese Opera

Under the rule of Emperor Kublai Khan, in the Yuan Dynasty, opera changed in major ways and it’s seen as the golden age of classical opera. When scholarly mandarins were dismissed from court during the Mongolian’s reign, they had to find a way to make a living. They started writing stage plays. As a result, quality of poetry in verses improved drastically. Years, later, Mongols who enjoyed watching Chinese opera reintroduced the artist to court. After a set of rules have been formulated, two distinctive styles were formed – Beiqu and Nanqu.Beiqu was later replaced by Nanqu and they are performed with a string and wind orchestra and an offstage chorus.

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Wayang – a malay word to mean, “a theatrical performance employing puppets or human dancers”, usually refers to Chinese street opera in Singapore, as known as 街戏 (jiexi, or street show).

Chinese opera, or Wayang was brought in by Chinese immigrants during the 19th century as part of their religious rites. Since then, popularity of Wayang flourished. The Chinese late built temples for worship. Wayang would be staged outdoors on temples grounds during festivals and deities birthdays. These performance were mostly free to watch as the troupes were engaged and paid for by wealthy Chinese businessmen or associations.

Chinese opera in Singapore

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As there were no televisions in Singapore at that time, Wayang became the cheapest and most accessible entertainment among the Chinese community living in Singapore at that time.

The popularity of wayang rose to a level that every performance attracted large crowds of audience which worried the authorities. The government post restrictions on wayang performances. However, they had to ease the restrictions as many protested against it and wayang continued to flourished. By the late 1800s, wayang’s popularity had prompted the buildings of dedicated theatres, mainly located at Chinatown. In Singapore, operas were mainly performed by

Cantonese, Teochew and Hokkien actors. There were no actresses and all female roles were performed by young boys. As early as the 1880s, there were permanent theatres for staging operas. There were as many as six theatre houses in Singapore.

Perhaps the most prominent and largest theatre at that time was Lai Chun Yuen which occupied a three-storey shophouse at 36 Smith Street, a central location in Chinatown. It was the venue for Cantonese opera performances.

However, in the 1930s there was a reduction in the number of performances with the coming of cinema halls and with the emergence of silent movies in 1927. Thus,

in the 1960s, Street opera or wayang was on the decline.

As Singapore became more densely populated and urbanized, many villages where Street wayangs were once held, were turned into HDB new towns or flatted factory areas. Some professional troupes also disbanded while many cut down the number of performances. Chinese Opera has retained its appeal to this very day. The older generation continues to turn to opera for entertainment while the younger generation has begun to appreciate opera as an art form. This is evident from the numerous associations such as those which are set up to promote Chinese Opera in Singapore.

Chinese opera in Singapore

there’re categories of characters in Chinese opera. sheng, the male roles, dan,

the female roles, Jing, the big painted face, and Chou, the clowns. different character roles has different singing

styles, movements and costumes. they are divided accordingly to gender, social

status and profession of the character. all characters can be played by both genders.

sheng are male character roles which are divided into 3 subcategories: Laosheng (老

生), Xiaosheng (小生) and Wusheng(武生)

Sheng

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Lao is the chinese word for old. As the name suggest, Laosheng are characters who are most of the time middle-aged or older men who wear beards which are usually in black or grey. If the main character of the story is a young scholar, beards are not necessary. In civil plays, they are most likely a high-ranking officials or conventional scholars. Laosheng are expected to attain gentle and polished manners. Costumes are more monochromatic as compared to Jing roles.

Xiao is the chinese word for young. This represents the youthful and handsome characters. His make up is limited to heightening of eyebrows and rouging of cheeks and his costume is oven elaborate. However, elaborated costumes can be subdued if the character is an impoverished scholar. Xiaosheng character roles alternate singing voice between low-pitched and high-pitched voice to signify that he’s an adolescent. Fans are used as props to express gentleman-like appearence.

LaO sheng

XiaO sheng

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Wusheng character roles who are proficient in martial arts and they are not defined by age. Actor has to go through long training hours since young, which he has to become a master in acrobatic movements. In military performance, swords and shields are wielded gracefully while ducking and twisting the body body without touching the opponent. Being able to do such movements requires great precision in timing which has been trained since young. Important General will wear triangular pennants to indicate that he has received authority from the emperor.

Wu sheng

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Dandan (旦) are female character roles who used to be played by men when women was banned from performing on stage during the Qing dynasty. dan often look gracefull and refined, with water sleeves, slender waist and submissive demeanors. despite the ideal woman in the past, dan roles also has female warriors and she-demons.

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Laodan are middle-aged or elderly women. They are not limited to any social group. Laodan’s movement emphasizes on slow and graceful movements to imply that she’s aging. She uses her natural voice to sing instead of high-pitched dan voice. Her costume is also more subdue and no make up is used.

LaO dan

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Qingyi are respectful, modest and decent lady of sympathetic and vituous character. She is the chinese ideal of faithful, young and beautiful woman. Qingyi are usually the counterpart of Xiaosheng and sings with high-pitched falsetto. The costumes are simple, elegant and are of high quality with water sleeves attached.

Guimendan are young, demure, unmarried maiden from a wealthy family who is kept apart from the outside world. She develops either into a qingyi or a huadan. She has a demureness and singing style of a Qingyi. Her mischievous and naughty actions signifies immaturity. However, she lacks confidence of a Huadan. Her costume is a simple tight fitting jacket over trousers.

Qingyi

guiMendan

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Taomadan are female warrior but unlike wudan, Taomadan keeps her feminine charm. She is a combination of Wudan and Huadan. Taomadan are usually female heroines in Chinese history. SHe is amazon-like, riding a horse and carrying a spear. Other than performing martial arts, she is required to sing and dance.

Poladan are nasty and spiteful female characters. She can belong to any social groups and she walks and gesticulate like most people in everyday life. Very unlike the characteristics of a ideal chinese women. A Poladan must also be very expressive in speech and facial skills.

PO La dan

hua dan

taO Ma dan

Huadan are women of questionable character. She is mostly naive, flirty, lively and child-like, but she can be treacherous, clver and dangerous at the same time. Her costume and shorter and brighter in colour as compared to Qingyi. Themore imprtant her character is, te more elaborate her headdress will be. The headdress is usuallu ornamented with pearls, sequins and other embellishments. She walks with a seductive sway at the same time, with graceful steps and delicate movements, often fluttering a red handkerchief in her hand. She is admired for her beauty and charm. Huadan can come from any social background.

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Like Wusheng, Wudan are female characters who can perform acroboatic martial arts. She is specialised in fighting all kinds of weapon. Movements are similar to Wusheng as both characters are fighting characters. Wudan wears a soecial kind of high heeled shoes to imitate bound feet. Female generals are more common in Chinese Opera than in Chinese history.

Wudan

JingJing (净) are character roles of great presence with big-painted faces. these characters are mainly high-ranking army generals, warriors, heroes, statesmen or bandits and even demons. they respresent absolute good or absolute evil and are mostly males of special character, feature and personality. Costumes are imposing, heavily ornate, elaborate martial garb and thick-soled boots. his entrance is often the highlight of the performance and he dominates it. Padded jacket is worn beneath a very stiff armour. the armour iften beautifully decorated with motifs of either a tiger head or a dragon across his chest. these motifs adds grandeur to his appearance.

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Chou

Chou (丑) are clown roles in Chinese opera. Chou brings humour to serious plays. however, Chou does not necessary mean a fool, but rather witty, lively and humourous. Costume and make up is simple for a Chou. Make up only consist of white patch

around his nose and eyes. the artist has the freedom to paint his make up based on the appearance and shape of his face as well as his own interpretation of the roles he’s playing. unlike the refined royalties’s speech in Chinese opera, Chou speaks in an earthly manner. the Chou is also the only character who may improvise during a performance.

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Costumes in Chinese Opera are lavish, extravagant and of high aesthetic value. They origins can be traced back to the mid-14th century, when people started experimenting and ornate pieces of clothing. Before that, costumes were mainly made of wool of rough textured cloth. It was only later on that fine silk, satin and crepe were used. These costumes are decorated with embroidered patterns and designs and they were bright in colour because they had to stand out from the dim and dark environment of theaters, which were only lit using oil lamps. Metal ornaments were sewn on to reflect light and catch the attention of audience. In the past, stage sets were sparse. As a result,

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the only focus on stage were costumes. That is why Chinese opera focuses so much on costumes even until now.

Costume designs are based on the clothing of the Ming Dynasty and designers took inspiration from paintings, drawings and written historical books, which they studied in great detail. The most elaborate costume can have more than 50000 ornaments sewn onto them. These costumes are meant for the Gods, not the earthly spectators. Not many old costumes have survived the times, mainly because of weather. The warm and humid climate in many parts of China and South-east Asia caused silk and other delicate fabric to deteoriate rapidly. On top of that, many

costumes were detroyed during the cultural revolution, when the government of Mao Zedong obliterated much of China’s past.

A performer’s clothes signifies the character’s role. It enables the audience to distinguish a the character’s sex and social status at first glance. Chinese opera costumes may appear complicated in their variations, but once the audience knows the standardised symbolic meaning, it is easy to differentiate the roles of the character. For example, members from a rich family with high social status will have more handicraft embroidery on their outfit. Headdress will also be more elaborated with the female is from the high society. Different

dialect groups will have slight differences in their costumes.

Men costumes generally resemble long robes, which are either tied at the waist of left hanging straight down. Costumes for women tend to be less diverse and more interchangable because they tell a lot about her social status.

Colour is also another indicator of social status. Ten different colours are used – five primary colours and five secondary. The five primary colours are – red, blue, yellow, white and black, the secondary colours are – pink, blue, purple, pale-brown and pale-blue.

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Military characters of high rank will often wear elaborated headgrear with two or more pheasant plumes. Some feathers can be as long as six or seven feet in length. If he wears triangular pendants(qi) on his back, he has received his authority directly from the Emperor himself. Without these triangular pendants, he will only be partially armoured. These triangulat pendants are made of silk and often embroidered with flower of dragon motifs. Pendants are usually the same colour as the armour. Female warriors will have phoenixes embroidered on her pendants. High rank military officials carry these pendants around because it is believed that in the old days, whenever

there is a battle, generals are given small flags like the triangular pendants to give signal to his subordinates, which will be passed on to the rest. The jing, wusheng, wudan and taomadan characters are usually seen with these pendants.

Costumes of high military officials – like a general – is the biggest, heaviest and grandest in Chinese Opera. The general will wear a brilliantly-coloured outfit. A large plate of armour, which is a very stiff padded fabric costume, covers his torso. The armour will be either embroidered with a tiger’s head or a dragon. The motifs makes the wearer seem more invincible.

MIlItary CoStuMe

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The mang is the most universal costume worn in Chinese opera. It is a voluminous robe slit at each side. It is based on the style of the dress worn by high ranking officials during Ming Dynasty. It has water sleeves attached to very wide main sleeves and covers the feet of the actor. The hem and cuffs are decorated with embroidered, stylised waves. Below a low-cut circular neck opening, a white silk stock is worn. The satin garment is embroidered in gold and silver threads. Generals can also wear a mang, but not in battle scenes. In that scenrio, the general will wear a mang with only one water sleeve. The other sleeves, usually on the right, will be cuffed.

The Emperor will wear a yellow mang with golden threads. On the Emperor’s mang, there will be five-clawed open-mouth dragons and the title ‘royal’. This mang is called The Dragon Robe. Ministers will have cloed-mouthed dragons embroidered on their mang. The dragons on a civil official will be gentle and quiet, while martial official’s mag will be covered with bold and mighty dragons.

Red mang is worn by very important officials of generally good character. Palace eunuch will wear a green mang with a snake instead of a dragon. The female mang is shorter than then men’s mang and is worn over a shirt. A phoenix will be embroidered instead of a dragon and always worn with tasseled shoulder cape. A high offical’s wives and daughters or the Emperor’s concubine will wear a red mang. The yellow mang may be only worn by the Empress and the Empress Dowager.

A large stiff belt will be worn over the mang. The circumference of the belt is larger that the actor’s waist and it hangs over the mang.t

He

M

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GuanyI & zHezI

Similar to the mang in cut and design, is the Guanyi. The Guanyi literally means official costume. Guanyi only have a single-embroidered square with a symbolic animal. on the chest and are patterned. Two plain-coloured flaps stand out behind the slits on either side of the garment. Young women will wear a red guanyi as a wedidng garment. Lower-rank officals will wear a yoon nang, which has same cut as the mang, but with less embroidery. Scholars will often wear a hoy ching, a long robe-like costume, which can also serve as leisure wear.

Commoners from the city will wear full-length lined coat called zhezi. Embroidery on a zhezi is minimal symbolising their porverty

and lower social status. A zhezi is also coloured coded to indicate social status.

There is a special kind of patched black zhezi. Silk patches in various colours are sewn together to indicate severe poverty. However, this indicates that the wearer’s poverty is only temprary and he is destined for power and wealth in the future.

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watersleeves

One of the most obvious costume detail in Chinese opera is the water sleeves, because they resemble ripples of water when extended. These long strips of thin, white silk, extend from the costume’s regular sleeves. Water sleeves can be nearly two-feet long and can reach as low as the ground. The longer the sleeves, the more accomplished the actor will be, as it requires skill to handle them properly. When water sleeves are handled properly, they will flow and graceful as water. Hence, the name – water sleeves. With a few flicks of the wrist, the actor is able to let the water sleeves fall back, exposing the hands. These movements follow the rhythm of the music or are used to signal the orchestra. Actors use water sleeves to express all sorts of emotions.

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No costume in Chinese opera is complete without the dramatic headdress. The headdress tells a lot about the character’s social status, character and abilities. For male characters, the headdress is called toukui and for female characters, the headdress is called toumien. For female characters, there are three different types of headdress, yingbao, dientzuei and shueitsantoemien. The poor will ear plain-coloured headdresses. Men have four different types of headwear: gui is the formal headdress

for kings and aristocrats; gui is also worn by martial arts actors; chin is more casual and made from a soft cloth; mau is the most complicated one, since it can be worn by the King as well as ordinary people. If a person appears on stage without any headdress, he or she is either i great distress or has already encountered some form of danger.

One of the most beautifully designed headdress is the phoenix tiara which is worn by the empress herself, or a Princess or an imperial concubine. It is heavily

decorated with pearls and jade. Tassels hang down from the sides over the forehead.

Sheng actors plating scholars or officials will wear a simple black crepe hat with fins on its side. The shape of the fin will indicate the character or rank. High ranking officials will wear nearly rectangular fins, indicating high integrity. Round fins are for chou characters. Diamond or oval shapes indicate a more dubious, treacherous character. Circular fins portray officials who like to accept bribes. Prime ministers are the only

Head-dress

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characters who may wear a crepe hat with long thin fins.

Women will put on hairpieces, which look like bangs. After putting on all these extensions, they will wear a larger hairpiece that usually comes with ponytails that extends down past the waist. The scalloped hair and side bangs frame the female face, giving them the appearance of a ‘perfect oval’ face. After their hairdo, the women will adorn their heads with jewelry and flowers.

A woman’s hairstyle tells a lot about her status. A maid or a young girl will have her hair in buns with very little jewelry. An unmarried woman will have her hair down in a ponytail, swept to one side. A married woman’s hair will either be in a datou style, bound up with two large strands coming down the front. Or it can be dressed with the ponytail tied at the nape of her neck.

Elderly women wear a cloth, wrapping around their bun up hair. Fairies or female members of the imperial family will wear their hair down, decorated with a big crown. For formal parties, or the Queen or Princess will wear a heavily decorated, helmet-like headdress with a phoenix tiara, covered with faux pearls, tassels and jewels. The more important the character, the more elaborate, ornate and striking her headdress will be.

Head-dressHead-dressHead-dressHead-dress

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There’s less variety in footwear as compared to the costumes. They are categorised into three categories: The black high boot (gaofang), flat-soled slipper and combat foorwear.

The black high boot is made of cloth with white soles between one and three inches thick. Male characters wear these boots while traveling, fighting and during ceremonial occasions. The height of the shoes helps to increase the presence of the performer on stage. Female warriors wear similar shoes to the male warriors, except that it has a lot more embroidery.

The flat-soled slipper in worn by both male and female performers. It is worn indoors and on informal occasions. However, woman can wear them outdoors as well. The female version of this shoes will mostly made of cloth with some tassels.

The flat-soled combat footwear is made from black satin for the roles that requires more

movement, such as acrobatic roles. Male actors generally use flat-soled slippers.

In addition to the three main categories of shoes, there is false feet (caiqiao). It is worn by female impersonators. These wooden shoes are secured with wide cotton bandages to the leg. They enable the actor to simulate the bound-foot gait of old-time China. The shoe is strapped to the lower leg, so that the actor’s foot rests against a wooden support, in an almost vertical position. The tip of the shoes peeks out of the actor’s robe, hence giving the impression that the actor’s feet is bound. Throughout the performance, the actor has to walk on his toes. It is hard to learn and only actors who were introduced to it during childhood can master it.

As with costumes, colour is again used in a symbolic way to indicate social status and rank, as well as the character of the wearer. Men only wear black shoes, while women can wear more colourful, embroidered shoes.

foot wear

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be

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Beards are used by sheng, jing and chou actors to add character to their roles. There are 18 different types of beards for various roles. A three-whisker beard is for the scholar. It is used for certain facial expression and body gestures. A full white beard, which reaches the waist signifies old age and good character. A grey beard indicates an older person. Red beard indicates that the character is from a minority group and has a hot temper. If the beard is long, the person has a good and righteous character. If the beard is short, the person is not to be trusted. Mustaches are used for clowns.

Pr

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“Each action on a Chinese Opera stage

is highly symbolic.”Chinese Opera does not require many props.

The same props can be used to represent different scenerios. Often, a simple set of one table and two chairs is placed on the stage.

In traditional opera, weapons and stage props are called daoqiang pazhu. Bare-handed martial arts routines and routines with hand-held props and various types of arms are called bazi gong. Weapons used in Chinese opera are usually made of wood, bamboo or rattan. They are perfect imitations of the real armaments. The blades or top of the weapon will be painted golded and then wrapped in cloth stripes. Longer weapons, such as spears, will generally be used in battle scenes, while the shorters ones are normalled used by heroes, chevaliers and robbers.

Besides weapon of combat, an umbrella or whip will occasionally appear on stage. The whip is made from a thin piece of rattan, three-feet long, bound with coloured silk and tassels. When used while the actor walks in a circle. Characters like Gods, priests or celestial spirits often carry dusters, to ward off evil spirits. Several actors swaying together while

one of them handles a paddle shows they are sitting in a boat. Of the character on stage holds a lantern, it indicates that it’s dark. If an actor carries a blue flag while performing a dance, it symbolises a flood. If it’s a red flag, it means that there’s a fire. Four generals and four soldiers stand on stage, they represent an army of thousands. A general who raises his sleeves before his face indicates he is on a battlefield or in the headquaters. A simple flowery carpet becomes a garden. If an actor stands between two yellow flags it means that he is riding a carriage. An actor who sings a verse of a song in a loud voice, while he is still at backstage, indicates that he is coming from a distance or that he is outside on the streets.

Despite the lack of scenery, the story is thus told through the use of highly symbolic items. Many of these scenes cannot be shown in realistic theatre. In Chinese Opera, it is the performer who conveys the story and meaning through voice, movement and gestures. The distinctive traditional costume cues the audience to the character’s status and personality. Each action on a Chinese Opera stage is high symbolic.

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dia-graMs

LegendChair

Table

Book

Embroidered Cloth

Living room

Throne/Tower

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Bridge Building

Viewing PlatformParlour

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+ = army of thousands

a flood a fire

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riding a horse

a long journey

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in darkness

in a carriage

Make up

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This is Prince Lan Linwang of the Northern Qi period. Lan Linwang excelled in martial arts and was a General for the imperial army.

However, his face looked to kind. He felt that his kind-looking face would affect the battle because he could not frighten his enemies.

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He decided that he should wear a ferocious mask to battlefields so that he would give off a fiercer aura to frighten his enemies. Chinese

opera troupes followed suit and started wearing mask in performances. However, wearing mask concealed the actor’s facial expression. Hence,

they decided to paint their faces instead of wearing masks.

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One of the most spectacular sights in Chinese opera is the painted face. In the past, there was a dance called nuo, where the dancers would wear masks at ritu-als to chase away ghost and evil spirits and to free people from epidemics.

The paint used to make these face masks is made from powder mixed into a stiff liquid. Oil is mixed with some colours to give a glossy shine. After applying a foundation layer of powder, the actor paints the colour designs with Chinese brushes. The process can take up to one hour executed with great care and mastery. After the base is complete, eyebrows are painted first, followed by areas around eyes, nose and mouth. Cheeks are filled in last, together with some minor detailing.

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Start with bare face

Apply powder baseStart painting eye brows first

steP By steP MakeuP

step 1

step 2 step 3

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step 4 step 5

step 6

Then paint the eye area

After the eye area, move on to mouth and nose

Cheeks and the rest of the face are filled in last, along with the minor detailings.

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In chinese opera, there are four main methods of face painting – light touch (rou), erasing (mo), plucking (po) and hooking (gou). Light touch is used when the face needs to be painted totally red or black and paint is applied by hand over the whole face. If a white water-based paint is applied to create a totally white face, it is called erasing. For chou, paint is only used around the nose and eyes. It is also called “the small painted face” (xiaohualian). Plucking method uses a combination of complicated drawings and colours to visualise the wide range of personalities of the different characters. The hooking technique is used in all the face painting methods and is the most important technique for linear drawing. The actor paints his face with brush lines that are controlled movements of his face, while holding the brush steady, doing it with great skill and eye for details.

The ‘big painted face’ can be seen in many Chinese opera plays as well as ‘open face’. While painting this face design, the actor applies many colours of oil-based and water-based paint to

his face to create the different faces of characters. Each open face character has its own design, rich with symbols and details. Other well-known facial designs are ‘full face’, ‘broken face’, ‘six part face’, ‘eunuchs face’, ‘hero face’, ‘tribe leader face’ and ‘spirit face’. There are more that 500 types of facial designs. Famous actors used to modify the design to their liking or even invent new ones. A young actor has to learn every brush stroke of the design skillfully and accurately, without the aid of another person, each actor applies his or her own make-up.

Red: bravery, loyalty and uprighteousness

Purple: Sophistication and morally uprightness

Green: headstrong and fierce

Gold: Supernaturals

Silver: Supernaturals

Pink: honesty as well as elderly

Yellow: fierceness and ambition

Blue: Shrewdness

Black: straightforwardness, honesty and fierceness

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When I was young, my mother used to bring me to the temple to offer prayers to the Gods. I would be fascinated by the colourful made-up faces and the elaborate costumes of the Wayang actors and actresses. I was especially impressed by the way the actresses could flip their water sleeves with each expression.

As I grew older, I took up dancing but still could not forget my childhood dream to be able to perform on the Opera stage. In 1986, I set up the Singapore Bukit Panjang Hokkien KongHuay troupe when I was 28 years old.

Initially, our troupe started with only a few interested friends. As time went by, more Opera enthusiasts

joined us and we recruited more teachers, bought more instruments and costumes to add to our collection. Although our troupe members come from all walks of life, we work well together as a team and are like a family.

In the 18 years that we have been set up, we have produced a CD and a VCD. We will also be putting up an Opera performance at the Esplanade this year.

Now, at 46 years old and looking back at our achievements, I am glad to say that we have fulfilled our personal dreams of performing on the Opera stage and at the same time promote Chinese arts and culture to the next generation.

Story of an oPera artISt

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“although our troupe members come from all walks of life, we work well together as a team and are like a family.”

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SIn SaI HonG

interviews with the artists from one of the first few hokkien opera troupes that arrived in singapore in the early 20th century

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how long have you been acting?

Over 30 years. I was in Malaysia when I first started out. In a place called Pontian, there was Sin Sai Hong Opera troupe as well. Everyone would go and watch the performances together and I thought that they looked adorable. I gradually became interested in acting so I followed my grandmother who was in the troupe in Malaysia and then to Singapore. From there, I slowly learnt the trade.

how was the process like when you first started learning?

It was tough. We had to write our scripts in spite of being illiterate. We had to learn how to write our scripts. In the beginning, it was very nerve wrecking and frightening. There were many struggles. We all had the same sentiments that we all have to be good with our

craft. Most of the apprentices were about the same age, we were all very nervous when the director dished out the the roles because you are afraid that you might not get the role you want. It felt like I was dying of anticipation and anxiety. We were also very competitive and engaged in one-upmanship. We all wanted to be better than each other. It was because if that competitiveness that made us improve.

how do you feel about performing?

Because we feel a strong sense of belonging to the troupe. We always put in our best to perform for deities, departed spirits and the audience who enjoy the performances. And when the audience is happy, we are happy.

What do you think of the future of the traditional art form?

Young people have their own things going on. I always tell them to passionately pursue their hobbies We are of a different generation. We are oder and there’s a substantial age gap. There I would say that the future belongs to the younger generation, to develop this further. Meanwhile, we’ll be carrying on till we become old and die. We have a lot of struggles. Our art form does not discriminate against age of gender. We’re at an age where we feel that it is a real shame because time and tide waits for no man and feel we that this art form might just vanish. I feel a sense of wistfulness, but there’s nothing that can be done about it.

artISt a

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artISt b

I am the fourth generation in the troupe. It started out with my great grandfather.

how long have this troupe been existing for?

About 97 years

how many members did this troupe started out at first?

There were many troupes in the beginning. I heard accounts from my father that the entire troupe was about 100 odd members. It was difficult to sustain the troupe at that time because there was a lot of members and there were a lot of mouths to feed. Later on the troupe shrank till there were only family members left.

how does a troupe operate? is there a troupe leader? how does it work?

The troupe requires a leader and a PR person. Different people to handle the internal and external workings of the troupe. It requires differents sets of skills, also requires troupe members to be able to handle different roles like acting, handling props, backstage work, all these requires different skill sets. The PR person has to liase with temple associate to fill them in on the troupe’s availability and invite us to perform on certain important days. It can be said that we are

invited by temples to perform for deities for most part. However, we also need live audience support. The Hungry Ghost festival is performed for the departed spirits.

how do you feel about performing?

tWhat are the differences between the operas of yesteryear and today?

Themes of piety, loyalty and love. In those days, the performances revovled around these themes of loyalty and piety. But times have changes. Chinese opera goers are different from yesteryear therefore, we can’t be doing too many of the old themes. Now a days, we do more themes of love and relationships.

how do you think this art form can be preserved?

Because they are still young. I hope that their older family members will bring them to watch Chinese opera. To give them a rudimentary understanding of this traditional art form and culture that still exists and wait for their acceptance.

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t

“When we finish a performance and see a large audience in front of the stage

who are enthusiastic, appreciative and supportive of the troupe. it

moves me, and gives me a sense of satisfaction, in spite of the hardships.”

“We’re at an age where we feel that it is a real shame

because time and tide waits for no man and feel we that

this art form might just vanish. i feel a sense of wistfulness,

but there’s nothing that can be done about it.”

artISt CI’m the youngest person in the troupe. I’m actually 20 this year and I was exposed to Chinese Opera when I was 12 years-old. I watched Chinese opera since I was a kid. My grandmother would bring me to watch and I found it fascinating. I was very drawn to the costume and the music. This was how I gradually got interested in Chinese Opera.

in your opinion, what is the biggest difference between the operas of yesteryear and today?

The singing style. The singing style of yesteryear was more classical in feel. Perhaps due to western influences, Every song would be sung in a popular style and would have lost certain elements of the traditional flavour. Make up in

the past are much thicker as compared to now. The make-up used these days are more colourful like those used by women. Make-up now looks better and has more vibrant colours and it can attract more audiences. The make-up used in the past comprises of only red and white and not many liked it. It could be because of these reasons that youths are not so drawn to Chinese opera. But I have grown accustomed to it.

What do you think the biggest misuderstanding the younger generation have towards chinese opera?

They don’t understand it and find it boring. They find it boring to sit through a 3hour opera. They would rather watch a 3hour

movie than a 3hour opera. I feel that the greatest hindrance is not being able to understand opera as the younger generation do not understand dialect.

how do you think this art form can be preserved?

It would be great if more young people come to learn Chinese opera and help preserve the rich tradition. Because this tradition is currently being upheld by the senior members who are getting older each year and will do it till they are not able to and if there’s no one to carry on this tradition, the troupe will close down and it’ll be a real pity. So I hope that this tradition will be preserved and perpetuated through the generations.

referencesPaul van der. V (2008) DA XI: Chinese street Opera in Singapore.

http://www.nac.gov.sg/sta/sta01.asp

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/see-and-do/arts-and-entertainment/drama/wayang-chinese-opera.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01397/hisspore.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01397/hisspore.htm

http://images.chinahighlights.com/travelguide1/culture/beijing-opera/beijingopera(new)/dan-female-role.jpg

http://www.sochina.net/uploads/allimg/100428/201042812423659877801.jpg

http://arts.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/upload/upfiles/2010-11/25/yueju_opera__chinas_youngest_old_opera8b36c5e550b8117babb1.jpg