About Cantonese Opera Costume

  1. Cantonese Opera・Origin

    Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, foreign and local troupes had started actively performing in Foshan & Guangdong. The birth of "Qionghua Guild" organized spontaneously by the Cantonese opera performers become evidence of the rise of Cantonese opera.

    "Yue" is the abbreviation of Guangdong Province. Cantonese opera is a traditional provincial performing art form rooted in southern China, particularly Guangdong and Guangxi, using Cantonese as its key dialect during the performance and combines a variety of artistic elements such as literature, music, dance, martial arts, and acrobatics. Though it originated
    and took reference from the opera performance of other provinces at the beginning, with the steadfast and unwavering ambition and effort of the past and present opera performers, it has been gradually and steadily cultivated to the present format.

    In 2009, Cantonese opera was enlisted on the “UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”, and Guangzhou's opera costume production skills were listed on "Intangible cultural heritage of Guangdong Province". These world-class and national recognitions solidified the cultural significance of Cantonese opera as the first and foremost local intangible cultural heritage project item of Hong Kong.

    Cantonese opera and the lives of Hong Kong people are tightly interlocked. On festive and celebrative occasions, opera troupes will be invited to perform auspicious plays or excerpts, such as the set pieces "Eight Immortals Bestowing Longevity" and "Romance of the Phoenix Chamber”. This traditional habit becomes a liturgical yet heritable custom passed down from generation to generation to keep on fostering and inheriting the wonderful traditional Chinese culture. For overseas Chinese diasporas, it has also been their emotional comforter throughout the years.

  2. Emblazonment‧Art

    "Hangtou" in Cantonese opera generally refers to the costumes or props used in the performance, it was later extended to mean "Title" or“ Emblazonment”. In time, the quality of a costume becomes an inevitable proof of the status of the wearer, like a description in a novel of the Qing dynasty, mentioned that costumes were luxurious, when they appeared on
    the stage, the colors were bright and shining, like the Precious Tower that no one can look at it directly. They are incomparable.”

    Since Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty to the early years of the Republic of China, Guangdong opera costumes produced at Zhuangyuanfang was highly reputed in China and overseas. In 1913, the renowned Peking opera “ Dan” Mei Lanfang highlighted “Brand new Guangdong opera outfit" on its program promotion in Shanghai. Also, the Qing royal court troupe as well as the Imperial court would travel thousands of miles to the south every year to order costumes.

    The beauty of an opera costume depends heavily on the deliciated embroidery, costume materials, heritage cultural design, and inherited skills to catch the eyes of its admirers. Both local and overseas museums, cultural institutions, and private collectors have been attempting to retain these collectible items for academic research and antique collection.

  3. Cantonese Opera Costume ・Made in Hong Kong

    After WWII, the Cantonese opera costume industry in Hong Kong begun to enter its glorious age.

    It was the time when everything began to restart, life was not easy but the entertainment industry was flourishing providing various access to serve the public, other than singing performances on the streets and teahouses, opera performances in the bamboo theatre, there was also radio broadcast at the herbal teahouses.

    Various Cantonese opera troupes were formed by gathering famous actors, employing popular tunes and endearing stories as well as stunning costumes to expand the audience share. The most prevalent troupes occupied major market share in festive, charity & commercial performances were "Three Kings and One Champion Troupe” ( the “King of Wen Wu Sheng” Sun Ma Sze Tsang, the “ Queen of Hua Dan" Fong Yim-fun, the “King of Comic Roles” Leung Sing-poh, and "Wu Zhuang Yuan" Chan Kam-tong), the "Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe" (Yam Kim-fai and Pak Suet-sin), and the "Tai Lung Fung Opera
    Troupe" ( Mak Bing-wing and Fung Wong-nui).

    Additionally, the rapidly growing production of Cantonese Opera films, Opera Costume palace films, and Huangmeidiao films generated a high demand for tailored and shared costumes. All these factors offered good ground for the local opera costume industry to grow.

    In the 1950s, “ Chung Wah Embroidery” on Lyndhurst Terrance of Hong Kong island and “Bing Kee Embroidery” on Yee Kuk Street at Kowloon peninsula were the two large-scale leading Cantonese opera costume houses then, propelling costumes and opera related trading business. Other than those small scale costume shops spread out on the streets and alleys. There were also "Ng Gwong" and "Ho Tao", relocated to Hong Kong from Guangzhou, with history traced back to
    the Red Boat era in Qing Dynasty.

    Opera costume production is a time-consuming process with complicated steps from sourcing materials, designing patterns,
    executing embroidery to tailoring and final fitting. The costume house owner relies on the coordination and expertise of the pattern design master and team to complete the task. Cantonese Opera Costume Pattern Designer is the master behind all costumes. Only large-scale costume houses can afford an in-house one to build up their house style. This act not only builds customers but also promotes trends in the market.

  4. Costume ‧ Communication

    Cantonese opera makeup and costumes are indispensable elements to polish actors’ appearance before performances. Cantonese opera costumes are classified by roles and storyline, it aims to fulfill practical, dramatic, and ornamental functions for the actor as well as the audience.

    Opera costume design is not purely generated from imagination, it conveys also the deep roots of the profound Chinese culture. The auspicious patterns used on opera costumes must be intentionally picked to reflect the definite customs and role play. On Cantonese Opera Costumes, the combination of various auspicious patterns enriches the diversified design as well as its performative function on the stage.

    Auspicious patterns play a remarkable role in traditional Chinese culture and art to demonstrate a particular custom and culture. Throughout Chinese history, the custom of worshipping “ Heaven” to receive blessings can be traced back to the beginning of the totem worship of ancestors in Shang and Zhou society throughout the dynasties of Qin, Han, Ming, and Qing. The meaning of the auspicious patterns delivers abstract connotations besides decoration, it becomes an open expression of the wishes of Chinese people on wealth, fame, and fertility.