The Hidden Beauty of Chinese Opera

A princess stands with her arms outstretched as she sings to her beloved.

Her ornate headdress, an elegant silver peacock design complete with blue feathers and red gems, shimmers as she stands up. Her bright red lips stand out from her pale white makeup and coal-black eye shadow.

She wears a ‘Mang’, a traditional outfit only donned by imperial family members, prime ministers or generals. It covers her whole body except for her hands and flows behind her, the immaculately embroidered gold design mingling with the bold red colour of her outfit.

This is a scene from a classic Chinese Opera story, “The Patriotic Princess” and it remains as a well known Chinese Opera performance in Singapore. Chinese Opera has been performed here as early as the 19th century and appreciated by many people in the past. Though their stories have a timeless appeal, the understated importance and beauty of the choice of colours for the actors’ makeup and costume holds the key to the success of Chinese Opera.

One of the most striking elements in a Chinese Opera performance is the use of colour for costumes and makeup. Aside from the story itself, they are what most audiences remember after a Chinese Opera performance. However, though most people are not aware of it, colours are used in very specific ways to convey meaning and clues to the audience about a character’s true personality and traits. Joseph Hui, a 60 year old Chinese Opera performer who has been acting for 15 years, said, “The colours on the painted faces of opera actors are symbolic.” The most recognisable colours used include red, black and white.

Red is the most common colour in Chinese Opera and is present in every facet of costumes, makeup, and even set design and props. Being such a prevalent colour, characters wearing prominently red costumes usually indicate their generosity, loyalty and heroism. On the other hand, red can be substituted for the colour purple if the stage director desires, as they share the same general meaning, with a few additions. Characters dressed in purple share the characteristics of those dressed in red, but also command respect and are sophisticated. Moreover, they carry within them a sense of justice.

The second most common colour in Chinese Opera is black. Acting as a base colour, it has a neutral meaning which is carried onto the characters. As such, the colour black usually signifies characters who are impartial and treat everyone equally, regardless of status or power. It may also indicate that they are altruistic in character and are willing to help those in need without expecting any compensation.

On the flip side, not all colours represent a positive quality in characters; some colours can represent malice and evil intent. For example, white is commonly used for villains or evil characters during a performance. Contrary to popular belief, white is not a sign of purity and cleanliness as in other cultures, instead representing evil and hypocrisy.

These three main colours make up the iconic Chinese opera makeup, which consists of the application of white foundation, red around the eyes which fades down to the bottom of the cheeks and bright red lipstick.

Gold and silver also indicate immortals, demons and monsters. It brings out a sense of mysticism which the god-like creature portrays. Together with other colours such as blue, yellow and green, they form the basis of characterisation in a Chinese Opera performance. In some instances, characters who undergo a change in personality may change costume or makeup colours for the duration of the play. This is done when the actor is off stage and the makeup department would subtly touch up on the actor’s makeup.

Another aspect of Chinese Opera which holds vital symbolisms for telling a story is the costume. The characters with more superior roles like imperial family members, prime ministers and generals will wear a court robe called ‘Mang’. ‘Pei’ refers to casual clothing which imperial members and upper-class persons put on. The middle class and ordinary people also wear casual clothing, but it is called ‘Zhezi’. Warriors wear ‘Kao’ which is a kind of armour.

No matter how many other forms of media overshadow Chinese Opera, it still remains in Singapore thanks to the efforts of Chinese Opera performers such as Joseph Hui who are dedicated to keeping the art form alive. With such a rich culture ingrained in Singapore’s history, it deserves a chance to get back into the public eye.

Joseph Hui believes that the stories in Chinese opera convey important life lessons to the audience and “gives hope to the audience as the stories tell the triumph of good over evil and how love overcomes all obstacles and difficulties”. He also commented that Chinese Opera “is very beautiful to watch when it is done well on the stage. If young people will take the time to appreciate Chinese opera, they will find a beautiful form of entertainment.”