In Chinese opera, plays depicting guzhuang is called guzhuangxi (Chinese: 古装戏; pinyin: gǔzhuāngxì; lit. 'ancient costume drama'), also known as guzhuangxinxi (Chinese: 古装新戏; pinyin: gǔzhuāngxīnxì; lit. 'ancient costume in new drama'), or guzhuanggewuju (lit. 'ancient-costume song-dance drama'), were performed by Mei Lanfang.[note 1][7][8]: 48 Guzhuangxi is an important concept in both the field of Chinese opera and to early Chinese film.[9]: 81 Mei Lanfang is also credited for having invented guzhuangbanxiang (Chinese: 古装扮相; pinyin: gǔzhuāngbànxiāng; lit. 'ancient-style stage images') which include the set of guzhuang that he created along with guzhuang tou (lit. 'ancient-style hairstyle').[10]: 213
This form of guzhuang emerged in 1915 when new Chinese opera costumes had to be created for a new category of female role which had also been developed by Mei Lanfang.[note 2][1]: 189 [11]: 11 Therefore, Mei Lanfang designed new female costumes by referring to ancient Chinese sculptures[11]: 11 and to ancient Chinese paintings, especially women in classical Chinese scroll paintings, often based on from mythological figures.[1]: 189 [7][8]: 48 His goal was to make his costumes more elegant instead of making it look ancient.[11]: 11 His costume designs then became known as guzhuang due to their relationship with ancient China, in particular the pre-Qing dynasty period from which his costumes designs were based.[1]: 189, 327
The guzhuang designed by Mei Lanfang is characterized with fitted waist.[1]: 189, 327 The guzhuang developed by Mei Lanfang different from the traditional Chinese opera costumes in some aspects: the skirts were longer; the skirt was worn under the jacket to make the character look slimmer; the water sleeves were longer and wider; and the accessories were less gaudy.[11]: 11 Other performers such as Ouyang Yuqian and Feng Zihe also contributed to the development of the guzhuang design.[11]: 11
Chinese television and entertainment media
Guzhuang are typically used in
Xianxia genre.[5][6]: 66 Guzhuang is also depicted in animations, including donghua and Chinese-theme animations produced outside of China.[13]
Relationship with film and drama genre
See also:
Chinese opera costume
The first film produced in China was Dingjun Mountain in 1905 which depicted extracted scenes from a Beijing opera play performed by Tan Xinpei.[14]: 289 The film was based on the 70th and 71st chapters of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.[15] In terms of genre, it can be classified as xiqupian (Chinese: 戏曲片; pinyin: xìqǔpiàn; lit. 'Opera film'), a historical costume film, or Wuxia.[14]: 289–290 The 1920s was marked by the adaptation of traditional Chinese indigenous genre into cinema.[14]: 289 These genres were adapted from Chinese literature and from the Chinese opera stage play as a countermovement against the prevalence of European and American film products.[14]: 290 The Tianyi Film Company was a major studio which specialized in Chinese genres at that time; its succeeding company, the Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong continued to produce indigenous Chinese genres, such as Huangmei opera films and guzhuang epics.[note 3][14]: 291