Quick Answer: What Are Chinese Opera Headdresses?
A kuitou (盔头, kuītóu) is a headpiece worn by a character in Chinese opera. In Peking opera, the main families are helmets, crowns, scarves and hats. Their silhouettes give the audience clues about the character before the actor sings or speaks.[1][3][4]
- Shape: Look for a rigid outline, a soft fold, trailing ribbons or ornaments such as beads.[1][2][5]
- Role: Compare the headpiece with the robe and the scene.[1][4]
- Movement: Long feathers can take part in the acting when they bend or swing.[5][6]
Stage headwear adapts shapes from everyday or official dress to the needs of a performance.
A performer can enter under an outline that catches the eye before the face does. A fan of beadwork can mark the formality of an entrance. The quiver of two feathers can make a quick turn visible from the back of the theater.
Four Families of Stage Headwear
The four families describe common shapes and uses in the Peking opera wardrobe. A piece also gains meaning from the character’s costume and the conventions of the opera role.[3][4][5]
| Семья | Visible cue | Распространённое употребление |
|---|---|---|
| Helmet (盔, kuī) | Often a stiff outline with tassels or other raised decoration. | Military figures such as commanders.[4][5] |
| Crown (冠, guān) | A formal shape that may rise high or carry beads and ornaments. | Rulers or other characters in ceremonial dress.[1][4][5] |
| Scarf (巾, jīn) | Often made with a softer cloth frame and sometimes trailing ribbons. | Less formal dress, including some scholar and official roles.[2][5] |
| Hat (帽, mào) | Many shapes, including both rigid and soft examples. | Roles ranging from rulers to commoners.[4][5] |
A phoenix crown (凤冠, fèngguān) can have a fan-shaped front with a central bird and pendant beads. An emperor’s hat (王帽, wángmào) may carry two upright dragon-shaped extensions at the back. In profile, the upright extensions can be easier to see than the finer ornament.[1]
Why Construction Changes the Silhouette
Makers work with hard, soft and combined frames. A soft frame can use silk, embroidered satin or felt. A rigid frame holds a fixed outline and supports projecting ornaments. A soft cap can keep the fold of the cloth visible even in costume.[1][2]
The Beijing workshop account of Yang Yudong (杨玉栋, Yáng Yùdòng) records six thin layers of paper pasted together for a sheet used in cutting decorative shapes. The resulting sheet was less than a millimeter thick. The maker could cut a pattern from the sheet, then add other details such as shaped wire and gilded decoration.[3]
Traditional names can outlast changes in material. A cap worn by some outlaw characters kept its name as a helmet after makers began using a cloth frame for it. Check how the material holds its shape alongside what the item is called.[2]
What Long Feathers Do in a Scene
Some headpieces carry two long pheasant feathers (翎子, língzi). The trained handling of such feathers is known as feather skills (翎子功, língzi gōng). The moving extensions can make reactions such as anger or alarm easier for an audience to see.[5][6]
Watch the feather tips at the end of a turn. The actor can arrive at a pose while the tips are still moving. That delay extends the visible gesture after the head has come to rest.[5][6]
How Peking, Kunqu and Cantonese Examples Differ
The repertoire affects which silhouettes a viewer sees most often. Hard-frame headgear is common in the martial repertoire of Peking opera. Soft headwear appears frequently in the literary and domestic plays of Kunqu (昆曲, kūnqǔ).[1]
A Hong Kong exhibition of Cantonese opera headwear paired a phoenix coronet with butterfly headgear for a female general and beaded black headgear for a chancellor. The butterfly headpiece is one example of how an ornate silhouette can belong to a military role.[7]
FAQs About Chinese Opera Headdresses
Who wears a phoenix crown in Chinese opera?
A phoenix crown can appear on queens, imperial consorts, princesses and other women in formal scenes. One use is ceremonial dress in a wedding scene.[1]
Do long feathers always mean the character is a general?
Feathers can accompany martial characterization and give the actor a moving extension of the head gesture. Read the headdress with the costume and scene before assigning the character a rank.[4][5][6]
Источники
[1] Yang Nai, China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Headdresses on the Chinese Opera Stage, Part One
[2] Yang Nai, China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Headdresses on the Chinese Opera Stage, Part Two
[3] Beijing Municipal Government. Opera Headdress Craftsmanship
[4] ChinaCulture.org. Characteristics of Peking Opera Costumes
[5] UNESCO Chair on Traditional Handicrafts, Jinan University. Beijing Opera Costume and Equipment Production Techniques
[6] China National Peking Opera Company. Basic Skills of Peking Opera
[7] Hong Kong Performing Arts. Cantonese Opera Headdress Exhibition