The Cultural Connotations of Peking Opera: Makeup, Music, and Martial Arts

Fans of Peking Opera are familiar with its cultural connotations. Theatre-goers know the unique language in the colors, patterns, and historical background of facial makeup. The ethics and wisdom of the characters are reflected in the makeup, as is the philosophy of traditional Chinese culture. The makeup indicates which character/role the actor is portraying. Good vs. evil, or loyal vs. wicked, as well as the personality, age, and temperament are revealed in the colors and patterns. Colors represent the following:

• Red: braveness and loyalty
• Black: uprightness
• White: cunning and craftiness
• Blue: valor and power
• Yellow: insidiousness and cruelness
• Green: stubbornness and stalwartness

Patterns are based on folklore and literature. In “Pilgrimage to the West,” a Monkey King has golden eyes and Buddhism beads on his forehead. Guan Yu, a character in the novel “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” is red-faced, with a long up-bended eye. Ba Zheng, who is the quintessence of a just judge in China, was once a god in heaven, so there is a crescent on his forehead.

In Peking Opera, musical dialogues and choreographed actions explain daily life through:

• Singing
• Dialogue
• Acting
• Martial Arts

These represent the achievements of Chinese culture as music and dancing elevate ordinary life to an art and a philosophy of life.

The musical voice is an integration of arts. The sentence is prolonged in singing. This may be confusing to foreigners. It expresses the sentiment of the character by music and rhyme. Nian Bai – the spoken part – is a special form of language.

Acting to show body movement is choreographed – common acts of daily life such as:

• hand gestures
• eye expressiveness
• body movements
• walking steps

All portray the personality and temperament of the characters. Body movements are purposefully exaggerated to show tension in the opera and the mood fluctuations of the characters.

Martial Arts, or “Kongfu,” is choreographed artistically, as more of a representation of parts of a story than as actual fighting. Life is exaggerated. Instead of using large stage props, many symbolic actions are used to represent actions such as:

• opening and closing the door
• horse-riding
• rowing
• mountain climbing
• river crossing

All the characters are in robes and facial makeup, creating many characters and scenes, such as characters horse-driving and rowing on the empty stage. Musicians are on-stage to the side, not in a hidden ‘pit’ as would be the case in a western opera or musical.

In Chinese history, female roles were usually played by men. Most renowned were four famous stars who played women, with Mei Lan-fang being the most discussed in this documentary. Before them, Peking Opera was monopolized by the male perspective; female characters only played supporting roles. These four artists changed this. Female characters began to take center stage, and performance schools were even named after the actors.

For example, in “The Drunken Concubine,” Mei Lan-fang tells the story of Yang Yu-huan, the favorite concubine of 6th-century Emperor Tang Ming-huang. “One day they had set to drink in the Flower Pavilion to appreciate the moonlight. The concubine waited and waited, but the Emperor didn’t show up. The eunuch told her the Emperor had gone to another concubine’s palace instead. The concubine was so disappointed that she drank alone to disperse her unhappiness.”

Peking Opera is unique in its martial arts. To a background of quick drum beats and music, the actors maneuver all kinds of Chinese ancient weapons. The performers jump, move, skip, turn, and somersault, creating many awe-inspiring stunts on the stage.

The foundation of Peking Opera is the dance form of Chinese Kongfu.