Chinese Opera: The Actor's Craft

3. Using Props

Horsewhip Chinese drama has from the beginning called for horses on the stage. Sometimes, this would be for a solitary rider on a long journey. At other times, it might be for several mounted generals on a battlefield. The problem in each case is how to bring the familiar reality of riding a horse into a theatre, teahouse or banquet hall. Other dramatic traditions have used hobbyhorses and various costumes to solve the problem. The Chinese theatrical solution is not to present the horse itself but instead to evoke it through what was most associated with horseback riding, the horsewhip. Over time, this prop became a stylized flexible cane with several tassels and a finger loop at the end. The tip indicates the horse’s head. Using the stage horsewhip is one of the basic skills of the opera stage and is required of most role types. By manipulating it, the actor demonstrates mounting, dismounting, riding, and even leading a horse. The horse itself becomes present as the actor executes the stylized movements and positions. Using Props CHAPTER 3 Chinese Opera: The Actor’s Craft 40 When an audience sees the horsewhip hanging from the actor’s hand, they know that the character is not yet on the animal. A series of stylized moves that includes pulling back the whip across the body, lifting the leg, miming the grabbing of reins, and finally extending the horsewhip horizontally indicates that the actor has mounted the horse. Waving the horsewhip as the actor walks in a circle on the stage indicates the journey, called tangma or “horse ride”. Miming hanging two loops of the horse’s reins on a tree branch, and either dropping the whip on the stage, or hanging it down from the fingers indicates that the ride is over and that the rider has dismounted. The horse is also established through the mime, and sometimes acrobatics, of a horseman or groom. This character deftly mimes leading the horse out by the reins, coaxing and sometimes struggling with it when it is frightened or in a bad temper. In some cases, both the rider with the whip and the groom establish the animal. Photo 3.02 Qin Qiong Observes the Troops, Cantonese Opera Photo 3.03 Qin Qiong Observes the Troops, Cantonese Opera Photo 3.04 Green Stone Mountain, Peking Opera Chinese Opera: The Actor’s Craft 42 Generally, riders indicate a leisurely pace by gently swaying their horsewhips up and down as they cross the stage. In Qin Qiong Observes the Troops, General Qin and the warrior Luo Cheng ride out together to survey the enemy (see Photo 3.02). The actor can also indicate a fast gallop. Later in the same opera, Qin Qiong rides briskly. His movements are quick and he waves the horsewhip rapidly. He suddenly changes direction, a fact denoted by the front tip of the horsewhip (see Photo 3.03). Actors invoke an aggressive pace by grasping the reins tightly, tilting the body forward, and waving the horsewhip vigorously. The legendary hero Guan Yu, now revered as a god, uses this technique as he races to Green Stone Mountain to capture the nine-tailed fox (see Photo 3.04). In another opera, the wife of a sick commander takes his place on patrol on a wild and cold night. Zhang Xiuying circles the stage waving her horsewhip rapidly as she gallops as fast as she can. Her long cape flows behind her as she twists her body, establishing the wind and cold of the night (see Photo 3.05). Photo 3.05 Phoenix Terrace Fortress, Cantonese Opera Using Props 43 As Zhang Xiuying patrols the city, she rides into dense brush. She uses her horsewhip to push back the low tree branches (see Photo 3.06). The female warrior Yang Bajie also demonstrates a rapid gallop in the opera Blocking the Horse. Dressed in men’s clothes, she has gone on a secret mission to obtain crucial military intelligence about the invaders. Having learned what she needs to know, Yang Bajie rides back as fast as possible with the news. She needs to ride down a mountain slope. To evoke this idea, her right hand holds the whip high as her left hand mimes holding the saddle (see Photo 3.07). As she continues her journey, she urges her horse onward, pushing it to its limits. Her right hand holds the horsewhip...