Chinese Opera and Qin Wenbao: When Costumes Become Living Canvases

Abstract

The indigenous music-theatre of China (xiqu), commonly translated as Chinese opera, incorporates elements of song, dance, speech, music, and acrobatics into an integrated whole. There are over 300 forms performed regionally and Beijing opera (Jingju) is considered nationally dominant. The actors train in stylized vocalization and movement to present role types of male (sheng), female (dan), painted face (jing), and clown (chou, lit. “ugly”) characters. Each role type will appear in conventionalized costumes in every performance of any play performed by the many Beijing and Chinese opera troupes, enabling their ready recognition by the audience. The combination of brilliant colors, elegant silks, intricate embroidery, and glittering ornamentation presents an idealized world that is opulent, exquisite, and unforgettable.

Qin Wenbao (1967–) is a contemporary Chinese costume designer who is reimagining this traditional convention by painting the inner thoughts of the characters abstractly on their costumes. His costumes becoming living canvases and inspire the actors to adapt their performances to evoke the expanded expressions on the costumes. The costumes no longer follow the movement, they motivate it. Through a review of the traditional and innovative costumes side-by-side, a deeper understanding of the richness of his unique approach fusing past and present, conventional and contemporary, a reinterpretation and vitalization of Chinese opera costumes emerges.