The Visual Language of Attiring : Functions of Beijing Opera Costumes in The Qing Court Theater

Abstract

During the Qianlong乾隆reign (1736-1796), the Qing court theater emerged a new type of play script, “Continuous Grand Play” (liánběn dàxì 连本大戏) or “Grand Play for Connected Theater” (liántái dàxì 连台大戏). In these grand plays, besides librettos, which consist of singing and speaking parts, and stage directions, they also include the details of theatrical costumes (xíngtou 行头 or xìyī 戏衣) worn by each character in each scene. These costumes were exquisitely done with brilliant colors, gorgeous adornment, marvelous embroidery, unique designs, and excellent craftsmanship. The purpose of this paper is to use several types of theatrical costume pieces as a means to understand the visual language of the theatrical costumes employed in the gala performances during the Qianlong reign and the ways in which these theatrical attires “communicated” with the court audiences during the gala performances, which reflected the overall context of the court theater during the Qianlong era.