Why are there four flags behind the costumes of the characters in the play?

"Kao Hua" is a unified name for armor clothing in Beijing Opera. Generally, it can be divided into hard support, soft support and improved support. The flag inserted in the back is called "leaning flag", which is generally hard support. The oblique flag is a triangular four-sided flag inserted in the back, also called the back-protecting flag. The flag is embroidered with dragons with various colored lines. Each flag is tied with a colored ribbon. During the action, flags and ribbons fluttered gracefully.

Relying on flags is not available in real life. Some people think that relying on the flag is a change of the ancient command flag, which is just speculation and has no basis. As you can see on the stage, these four flags have nothing to do with giving orders. The flag has only one side, and no matter how it develops, it will not develop into four sides. Besides, the flag is inserted in the back, not around the neck, and it can't be pulled down at any time.

Therefore, relying on the flag is only a decorative dance tool, a special dance tool to render the prestige of military commanders, show the skills of performers, increase the dynamic beauty of dance, and thus help shape the characters. Later, because some Peking Opera actors designed some difficult movements by relying on flags, relying on flags was further developed from the general dance costume decoration.

It has become an auxiliary tool for difficult skills. For example, Guan, a performing artist in Yunnan, used the elasticity of the flagpole to bounce back the opponent's weapon when fighting.

Extended data

Through the long-term stage practice of countless artists, the stage art of Peking Opera has formed a set of standardized and standardized programs, which restrict and complement each other in literature, performance, music, singing, gongs and drums, makeup and facial makeup. As an artistic means to create a stage image, it is very rich and its usage is very strict.

If you can't master these programs, you can't complete the creation of Peking Opera stage art. Just as Peking Opera entered the court at the beginning of its formation, its development and growth are different from local operas. It is required to show a wider range of life, create more types of characters, be more comprehensive and complete in skills, and have higher aesthetic requirements for its stage image.

Of course, it also weakens its folk local flavor, and its simple and rude style is relatively weak. Therefore, its performing arts tend to combine reality with reality, which goes beyond the limitation of stage space and time to the maximum extent, thus achieving the artistic realm of "expressing the spirit with form and having both form and spirit".

Baidu encyclopedia-relying on flags

Baidu Encyclopedia-Peking Opera