Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and Culture

Glossary

an’anyi 安安衣 lit. ‘‘safe’’ clothing for small children ao 袄 jacket aoku 袄裤 jacket and trousers set, usually worn by huadan and maids aoqun 袄裙 jacket and skirt set, usually worn by huadan and maids armscye the seam between the body of the garment and the sleeve babao 八宝 eight symbols of good fortune of Buddhism, eight attributes of Daoist immortals, or the eight precious objects, embroidered on mang and nümang bagua yi 八卦衣 eight trigrams Daoist robe for characters who combine Daoist practices with brilliant military strategy, has water sleeves bagua jin 八卦巾 headdress worn with the bagua yi robe, made from the same color fabric with similar embroidery bai 摆 extensions on the open side seams of the front of the mang and guanyi robes bai wuzui 白五嘴 white five-part beard for chou characters baibu dawa 白布大袜 white woven fabric socks fitting loosely around the mid-calf, for male servants and other lower-class characters baise caiqiu 白色彩球 white fabric rosette, worn by women in mourning or in pure white costumes baizhe qun 百褶裙 lit. ‘‘one-hundred-pleats skirt’’; for qingyi characters bamian wei 八面威 eight-sided filigree helmet, worn by powerful jing generals bangchui jin 棒椎(棰)巾 lit. ‘‘wooden club’’; soft hat with top folded together into a flap bangtui 绑腿 gaiters, worn by soldiers baodi xue 薄底靴 thin-soled ankle boots for martial men and women in a variety of styles and colors baohua 刨花 wood shavings, soaked in boiling water until the resin makes the gel that is used for styling the hairpieces and affixing them to the face baoyi 豹(抱)衣 lit. ‘‘leopard/panther’’ or ‘‘embracing’’ clothes; tight-fitting hero’s clothing (yingxiong yi) or dayi (fighting clothes), consisting of trousers and a jacket with zoushui (moving water) pleated fabric layers at the hem of the jacket beizi 褙子 historical symmetrical long robe with center-front closing, source for pi costume bias fabric cut on a 45-degree angle from the straight grain binfa 鬓发 pieces of hair on either side of the laodan hairstyle bingyi 兵衣 soldiers’ clothing, martial jacket and trousers set for soldiers bu 布 cotton or plain cloth, such as bu jianyi; also refers to objects made from plain cloth, such as hats bufu 补服 coat with a badge, Qing dynasty (1644–1911) black court surcoat with buzi rank badge, costume of same description buzi 补子 rank badge on the guanyi official’s robe caidan 彩旦 lit. ‘‘colorful’’ female chou comic roles; also called choudan caiku 彩裤 colored trousers, inner unembroidered trousers caipo ao 彩婆袄 colorful jacket worn for some choudan old-woman roles caiqiao 踩跷 lit. ‘‘stepping on stilts’’; also the devices for imitating bound feet onstage; two styles: ruanqiao, the soft version and yingqiao, hard stilts caixie 彩鞋 embroidered flat slippers for women cansan 黪三 gray three-part beard for laosheng characters caomao quan 草帽圈 straw hat brim with no crown, worn by fishermen, woodcutters, and other laborers caowang kui 草王盔 lit. ‘‘grass king’’ helmet; selfproclaimed king’s helmet for illegitimate regional rulers, with two pompoms, decorated with pearls, and blue and metallic filigree caoxie 草鞋 straw sandals for some lower-status male roles changkao wusheng 长靠武生 ‘‘long armor’’ martial men, name for high-ranking younger warriors who generally wear the kao armor chaofang 朝方 high-topped boots with a thin-tomedium thickness sole for chou and other lower-ranking characters chaogua 朝褂 court vest for Qing dynasty women chaozhu 朝珠 Buddhist rosary beads, worn with bagua yi, qimang, and sometimes the straight-edged nümang chayi 茶衣 lit. ‘‘tea clothes’’; jacket and trousers in tea colors, for boatmen and workers chenqun 衬裙 lit. ‘‘inside skirt’’; wide pleated skirt for laodan characters, usually green or blue chi 翅 wings on the back of the shamao official’s headdresses Chinese knot loops of thread created in embroidery by wrapping the thread around the needle two or three times before piercing the fabric chou 丑 lit. ‘‘ugly’’; clown roles, foolish magistrates , nagging women, and servants; also called xiao hualian chou yuanzi 丑院子 courtyard keepers, played by chou actors choudan 丑旦 chou comic female roles; also called caidan chousan 丑三 clown three-part beard; a comic version of the sanliu ran three-part beard worn by laosheng characters choutiao 绸条 silk band worn around a hat or scarf, for laodan chuanqi 传奇 lit. ‘‘transmit the strange’’; Ming dynasty (1368–1644) theatre form, developed from nanxi consolidated surface patterns with arrangements of circles, a single square, yokes, or bands costume plot a list or chart describing all the garments worn by each character in a play couching a thick thread, usually metallic, is placed on top of the fabric, and thinner threads are stitched around it to secure it in place; used both for...