Pecking Operas
Arts and Crafts of CHINA
PAINTING
Six Principles
To make make your painting interesting and realistic apply
these Six Principles of Chinese Painting established by Xie
He, a writer, art historian and critic in 5th century China.
1. Observe rhythm and movements
2. Leave spaces for the eyes to rest
3. Use brush in calligraphy
4. Use colors correctly
5. Live up to tradition by copying the masters artwork.
6. Copy the correct proportion of the objects and nature.
Houses
Roofs
Straight inclined -more economical for common Chinese
architecture .
Multi-inclined -Roofs with two or more sections of incline.
These roofs are used for residences of wealthy Chinese.
Sweeping -has curves that rise at the corners of the roof.
These are usually reserved for temples and palaces.
Peking opera face-painting or Jingju. Lianpu is done with
different colors in accordance with the performing
characters personality and historical assessment.
Famous Masks
Meanings
Guan Ju - Red indicates devotion, courage, bravery,
uprightness and loyalty.
Huang Pang - Yellow signifies fierceness, ambition and
cool-headedness.
Zhu Wen - A green face tells the audience that the character
is not only impulsive and violent, he also lacks self-restraint.
Zhang Fei - Black symbolizes roughness and fierceness. The
black face indicates either a rough and bold character or an
impartial and selfless personality.
Lian Po - Purple stands for uprightness and cool-
headedness.
While a reddish purple face indicates a just and noble
character.
Cao Cao - white suggests treachery, suspiciousness and
craftiness. It is common to see the white face of the
powerful villain on stage.
Jiang Gan - The clown or chou in Chinese Opera has special
makeup patterns called xiaohualian (the petty painted face).
Sometimes a small patch of chalk is painted around the nose
to show a mean and secretive character.
Gold and silver colors are usually used for gods and spirits.
Chinese Folk Art
In China, traditional funerals include burning yuanbao which
is a folded paper that look like gold nuggets or ingots called
Sycee. Also in Ghost Festival.
A sycee is a type of silver or gold ingot currency used in
China.
Gold sycees -are used as a symbol of prosperity.
Paper Cutting
Chinese paper cuttings are usually symmetrical in design
when unfolded and adapt the 12 animals of the Chinese
Zodiac as themes and motifs and mostly choose the red
color.
The earliest use of paper was made as a pattern for lacquers,
decoration on windows, doors, and walls.
Jianzhi is the first type of paper cutting design, since
paper was invented by the Chinese.
They are sometimes referred to "chung hu", meaning
Window Flower.
Chinese Kite
Chinese Kites originated in WeiFang, Sandong, China (City
of Kites)
Chinese kites may be differentiated into four main categories:
1. Centipede
2. Hard-Winged Kites
3. Soft-Winged Kites
4. Flat Kites
General Arts and Crafts
Zhongguo (Knot tying) is the Chinese decorative handicraft
art that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the Tang and
Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) in China.
The Chinese oil paper umbrella or parasol is a type of a
paper umbrella that originated from China. It is usually made
from paper or silk with bamboo ribs. It was later adopted by
Japan and Korea and also introduced to Western countries
via the Silk Road. It subsequently spread across Asia to
Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos.
The Chinese style umbrella or parasol appeared in American
Vogue 47 times.
The use of parasols were seen in photographs of live models
showing John Galiano's Chinese look for Dior in July 1997.
The small parasol is decorated with Chinese style motifs,
which adds a strong eastern effect to the ensemble.
Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and pendants are another
example of Chinese accessories. They are usually made
from jade, wood, lacquer, and cloisonn. Designs such as
dragon, bat, and crane appear frequently to symbolize power,
blessing and peace.
A great number of different fabrics were used in Chinese
garments including silk, cotton, hemp, chiffon, satin, and
other natural fibers. Many of these fabrics were patterned
with Chinese motifs such as birds, fine floral scrolls,
asymmetrical designs were patterned on the cloth. Chinese
fabrics have influenced Western fabric over an extended
period of time.
The fan became an essential accessory to women's dress.
The fan took place from China and later appeared in Japan
and other far eastern countries.