Heritage at the Fingertips

If half the brilliance of a traditional opera show can be attributed to outstanding performances of artists, their gorgeous costumes and props make up the other half. At the end of 2020, Peking Opera play The Drunken Concubine was staged at Chang’an Grand Theatre in Beijing. Dressed in delicate and colorful costumes featuring a phoenix coronet, a cloud collar, and an embroidered robe, the “concubine” dazzled everyone by waving her white silk sleeves and singing wonderfully.

The beautiful costumes and props were produced by Beijing Play Equipment Factory, the only state-run opera costumes and props manufacturer in the capital, located in Xicaoshi Alley on the east side of Beijing’s Central Axis. It’s also an organization committed to the protection and inheritance of the national intangible cultural heritage of Peking Opera costumes and props production techniques.
Over more than six decades since it was founded based on 18 stage costume stores in 1956, the factory has been producing gorgeous Peking Opera costumes and passing down precious costume-making skills with meticulous craftsmanship.
Making Right Costumes
In the display area of Beijing Play Equipment Factory, various hand-made costumes and Kuitou, a type of Chinese opera headdress, can be seen on the shelves. Vivid patterns, bright colors, and exquisite craftsmanship help every piece tell an interesting story.

Sun Ying sorts out a set of recently reproduced armor of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799).
(Photo courtesy of Sun Ying)

Sun Ying, 65, started working in the factory in 1976. She has become a national representative inheritor of Peking Opera costumes and props production techniques. Sun has led her team to design costumes for many popular Chinese television dramas including Journey to the West, Dream of Red Mansions and The Grand Mansion Gate and designed embroidery patterns for costumes for Director Zhang Yimou’s opera Turandot. She and her team also contributed to the production of costumes for representatives from the 56 ethnic groups in the parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and more than 4,000 costumes for the opening ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“My teacher was very strict and always asked me to revise pattern drafts five to six times before he would approve them,” Sun said of her time as an apprentice. “I had to wipe away the tears and continue working. My teacher often said that one stroke of drawing by the designer may cost a day’s work for embroidery workers. So, creating beautiful patterns that align with the identity of the characters tests the skills of the designer.”
Through long-term learning and practice, Sun increasingly understood the profound charm of Peking Opera, a “national treasure” of China. “Production of traditional Peking Opera costumes epitomizes the essence of Chinese arts and crafts,” she said. For example, the materials of a Peking Opera costume are mainly silk including Yun brocade, one of the most delicate silk products, and Kesi, a traditional Chinese silk tapestry product. Production of costumes also involves traditional techniques known as Beijing Eight Imperial Handicrafts. Some ornaments placed on jade belts feature ivory carving. Some head accessories and wear of dan (female role) are made by Kingfisher feather and filigree inlay art. And patterns on the round silk fans used by ladies and maids in Peking Opera plays are embroidered on both sides.
Embroidery is an important craft in making Peking Opera costumes, accounting for 80 percent of the work. In the past, Beijing embroidery, also known as imperial embroidery, was mainly used to serve the royal families. Among the many types of embroidery in China, it was most influenced by imperial arts and is well-known at home and abroad for its magnificent style, profound connotation, auspicious patterns, and precious materials.
“There is a basic principle in Peking Opera circles that it is better to wear a worn-out costume than the wrong one,” said Sun. “You also have to follow certain rules to make traditional costumes.” In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the robes of emperors were embroidered with five-clawed golden dragons spitting out a pearl. However, the “emperors” on stage are not real, so their robes are only decorated with patterns of a dragon with four claws and a closed mouth, which are called “python robes.”
Sun Ying added that making Peking Opera costumes involves more than 20 procedures including pattern design, modeling, printing, embroidery, gluing, cutting, and sewing. Each procedure integrates many complicated techniques and exquisite and meticulous craftsmanship.
Passing Down the Skills
When 19-year-old Sun Ying stepped into Beijing Play Equipment Factory 46 years ago, she never imagined that popular Beijing embroidery skills would experience ups and downs alongside the rise and fall of Peking Opera. Even today, with strong support nationally for the development of culture and art, the once-famed costume factory is still facing difficulties recruiting workers.

A group of girls present traditional Chinese costumes during an event to celebrate Chinese National Costume Day in Nanjing, December 5, 2020. In recent years, traditional clothing has become increasingly popular among Chinese young people due to their combination of traditional costume-making techniques and modern aesthetics.

(Photo by Guo Shasha/China Pictorial)

Sun has been trying to pass down the skills of Beijing embroidery. The factory is striving to attract more orders so that young workers can have more opportunities to practice the skills of Beijing embroidery.
Over the years, Sun has always worked on the front lines of production. Every year, she leads the staff of the factory to produce costumes for dozens of operas and dramas. Since 2003, her team has reproduced more than 200 pieces of embroidered cultural relics for the Palace Museum, including the wedding curtains of the emperor and empress and dragon robes in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility as well as curtains, bedding and other embroidery works for the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Palace of Eternal Peace, and the Palace of Universal Happiness.
“Before the reproduction work, we could only observe the original relics closely once or twice at the Palace Museum for a short period because they are quite precious,” she revealed. “Sometimes we were not allowed to take pictures. So, we could only try our best to select suitable materials to modify the embroidery crafts and patterns of the original pieces under limited conditions. For example, to reproduce the auspicious wedding robes for the emperor and empress in the Qing Dynasty, it took six embroiderers a year and a half. But it was worthwhile because some endangered crafts were restored during the arduous process.”
Over the years, as a veteran state-owned enterprise, Beijing Play Equipment Factory has not only shouldered the responsibility of inheriting traditional craft skills, but also learned to survive in fierce market competitions.
“Every year, the factory receives many orders for newly-written historical dramas,” said Sun. “Costumes and props for those dramas need innovation on the styles, patterns, colors, crafts, and ornaments based on the era of the story to adapt to the new trends of the market and new tastes of the audience. My two apprentices, Zhang Yan and Zhang Qian, are now also in charge of designing and supervising production for many new drama costumes. The Beijing embroidery skills need the younger generation to take over.”
Now, as the Central Axis applies for the World Heritage status, the inheritance and sustainable development of Beijing’s historical culture is seizing great opportunities. Sun hopes that more young people will join the costume and props business to pass on the craftsmanship and essence of Peking Opera culture.