Peking Opera
Symbolic Gestures
Different characters move differently in Peking opera.
The videos below show how each major role (sheng, dan,
jing, chou) uses movement to represent his character.
The performer will repeat the same gesture in each video.
The movement that he is performing is called
yuan sho (literally "cloud hands"). Although the
movement is the same in each case, the performer interprets
the movement differently in each video according to the role
that he is portraying.
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This player is available for download free-of-charge to
Mac and PC users.
[click to play video]
The sheng holds his hands in a pose called hou ko,
literally "tiger mouth."
click to play video
The dan holds her hands in such a way as to represent
the petals of a orchid flower. Thus this hand pose is called
lan hua sho, or "orchid fingers." Note that the dan's
movement is smaller, more demure than that of the sheng.
click to play video
The jing's movement has an air of immense power; energy
seems to radiate and spill forth from his limbs and fingers.
Everything about his posture and facial expression speaks of
impress and might.
click to play video
The chou's movement is characterized by a lightness
almost similar to the movement of the dan but is
distinguishable in its more androgynous quality. The clown's
stance starts at a lower height than that of the other
characters, and finishes with a bit of a surprise at the end.
...more about the use of voice
