Peking Opera · Qiao and Gender Relations in China (1902–1937)

Author: Huang Yufu / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: In feudal Chinese society, foot-binding was a great private matter for women and a form of sexual stimulation for men. Therefore, according to feudal moral standards, a proper woman should not expose her feet in front of strangers—whether they were wearing shoes or not. The sexual connotation of foot-binding was expressed in old Peking opera through the jiao (high-arched platform shoes). Taking the huadan role as an example, the women portrayed by huadan are typically young and lively, less constrained by feudal rituals compared to the idealized qingyi role. This is also evident in their costumes. Hudan often wear short, narrow-sleeved blouses (aozi) without long water sleeves, allowing their hands to be visible. They may wear pants instead of floor-length skirts, thereby revealing their jiao. In huadan plays with long skirts, the actress sometimes lifts the skirt slightly to show the jiao to the audience. In some traditional plays, the jiao is used to portray the joy between young men and women. For example, Xiao Fangniu is a popular song-and-dance drama. Today, the stage version depicts a shepherd boy meeting a village girl, with two innocent teenagers singing and dancing together, singing back and forth, and departing happily. However, the old performance style contained some flirtatious elements. As mentioned in an article published in Drama Weekly in 1925, in Xiao Fangniu, "After singing lines like 'Transform a goldfish in the water to hide. Wait for the sister to fetch water, learn Zhang Sheng and Hongniang,' the dan and chou roles perform very intricate movements like mad bees and wandering butterflies, moving in and out in an orderly yet delicate manner. The chou role appears joyful, while the dan role carries a shy demeanor." (Yu, 1925, p. 20). Another example is when the shepherd boy lifts one of the village girl’s feet (jiao) with his hand and gently smells it, while the village girl sings, "Brother loves my feet, come and marry me." (See photo 13).
One of the significant changes in Peking opera in the early 20th century was the entry of women into this art form. Their participation and involvement altered the gender structure of Peking opera, breaking the century-long monopoly of men in the field. This shift in gender dynamics also affected the use of the jiao on the Peking opera stage. The change in gender structure first manifested in the entry of a large number of female actors into the world of Peking opera. Their presence diluted the importance of the jiao in displaying gender roles, somewhat suppressing erotic performances in Peking opera while also limiting the full expression of the jiao in demonstrating martial prowess. Thus, the emergence and rise of female actors objectively weakened the symbolic function of the jiao. The change in gender structure was also reflected in the formation and growth of the female audience group for Peking opera. Women of Beijing, deprived of the right to watch plays for over a century, promoted the development of dan performance art with their distinct interests and aesthetic perspectives from those of men. Their preference for the use of the jiao was less enthusiastic than that of male audiences, and their presence in the theater also led to a reduction in erotic performances on stage. In this sense, the female audience group also played a role in weakening the symbolic function of the jiao.
In the 1920s and 1930s, male audiences of Peking opera had differing views on the jiao. Some insisted on the importance of its symbolic and technical functions, arguing that it could not be abandoned. Others, under the influence of social civilization, no longer emphasized its symbolic function but focused only on its technical function as an artistic skill. More radical individuals, meanwhile, advocated that theater had a mission to promote social progress and reform customs, attacking the jiao as equivalent to the now-criticized practice of foot-binding.
Please tell me about your experience learning the jiao technique.
Li: I was born in 1923. I started studying in 1931 when I was eight years old and graduated in 1939 after eight years of training. Back then, when you entered the school, you didn’t immediately specialize in a role. After a short time, I studied laodan with Li Jinquan. Generally speaking, once someone enters the school, their role is not immediately determined—it depends on which role suits them. Early specialization was discouraged because it was easy to switch roles later, which could be troublesome. I studied laodan under the instruction of Mr. Wen Liangchen, who was a very famous laodan actor and often performed with Mr. Cheng Yanqiu. He was very disciplined and an excellent teacher. The National Drama College was different from keban (apprentice troupes). Keban were all male, with no female students. In the past, some schools had only female students, like the Kui De Society, which had no male members. Our school, however, was co-educational, which was quite advanced for that time, similar to a university. The principal at that time was Jiao Juyin, who graduated from Peking University and was only 25 years old when he became principal. At that time, co-education had a rule: girls played female roles, and boys played male roles. However, some roles didn’t follow this rule. For example, I originally studied laodan, but also learned xiaosheng (young male role) and wusheng (martial male role). After a year or two, this had its advantages. Girls could study qingyi and huadan, and most roles were open to them. Back then, we didn’t assign the less desirable roles to laodan—boys played laodan, while girls studied qingyi and huadan. For instance, Zhou Jinlian studied huadan and was basically a comedic huadan. Female students also studied wudan (martial female role). There was once a female student named Chen Deying from the "De" class who studied wudan, but it didn’t work for her. She was too weak, and even after binding the jiao, her legs remained weak. Not all girls bound the jiao—qingyi roles didn’t. However, at that time, both qingyi and huadan students learned the jiao. The jiao could be divided into several types. Our school focused on hard jiao, which included both literary (wen) and martial (wu) types. The literary jiao was slightly more upright, while the martial jiao was slightly tilted, as it required kicking, tumbling, and acrobatics, all while wearing the jiao, with the toes landing firmly—unlike natural feet, which would look awkward if the entire foot landed flat. So, the jiao was tilted slightly. Later, when students settled into qingyi, like Zhao Jinrong and Hou Yulan, they no longer bound the jiao. However, some plays required it, such as Mu Ke Zhai, Mu Tian Wang, Hong Ni Guan, Da Jiao Zan, and Zhan Wan Cheng, where the jiao itself involved acrobatic techniques. Most huadan, daomada, and wudan roles needed to bind the jiao. Wudan couldn’t perform without it. Many plays theoretically shouldn’t have required the jiao, like Shisan Mei (Miss Thirteen) and He Yufeng, as they were set in the Qing Dynasty and not Han Chinese. By then, foot-binding was becoming less common, but when we studied, most students at the school bound the jiao. However, some didn’t, like Wu Suqiu, who also performed and even starred in the film Children of Heroism without binding the jiao. In fact, she could have, but found it more comfortable without it, and her full-length role spanned plays like Hong Liu Cun to Gong Yan Yuan, which was too large. However, this also depended on individual conditions. For example, Wang Yaoqing, a tall man, looked unbalanced with the jiao, so it wasn’t suitable for him. But my height was slightly shorter, so I looked better without it, and binding the jiao for performance was considered appropriate. Yet, in some plays, it was necessary to bind the jiao, or the audience would complain.
According to records, binding the jiao began in the Qianlong era with a man named Wei Changsheng, who started the practice, which naturally stemmed from foot-binding. After the liberation, in 1952, Ma Shaobo discussed clarifying the stage image. At that time, it was said that small feet and long braids were a shame to the Chinese people, as foot-binding was too cruel. Foreigners would see Chinese people as nothing but small feet and long braids. Of course, this was mainly a product of feudal times, serving both as a constraint on women and as a form of beauty. Small feet walked differently from big feet, much like modern fashion models walking in a "catwalk." Binding the jiao also required walking in a straight line. If you walked with your feet apart, it would look awkward. Thus, the jiao emphasized walking straight, which naturally made the waist look graceful. Foot-binding was indeed cruel, and women suffered greatly. However, as an art form and part of traditional opera, the jiao should still be preserved. Taiwan still practices binding the jiao, but the style is different. As I mentioned earlier, there are literary and martial jiao, as well as soft and improved jiao. Since the Cultural Revolution, the jiao has disappeared. It should be like this (demonstrating the action): This is a copper ring. This is the heel. The jiao must be placed on the heel—it shouldn’t be level with the heel. If it’s level with the heel, it will loosen over time. If it’s inserted inside the heel, it will stay tight, which is better. Some people extend the jiao outside, but it loosens quickly, like a shoe that’s too big. That’s not good. The wooden part of the jiao is about this high (about one inch), and when stood up, it adds about four inches to a person’s height, making a noticeable difference. The straps are like this—they wrap around from here (pointing to the tip of the jiao). Fabric straps don’t work, as they tear. They are all wooden, but using only wood isn’t ideal, so they are split. A copper ring is added to make it round. The fabric starts here (pointing to the tip of the jiao), showing the copper ring, and then comes up. The straps open here (pointing to the top of the foot) and split into two. Here (pointing to the sock part) must be double-layered fabric. After this (pointing past the heel), it becomes single-layered, with each side about nine feet long. Then, it’s tied, mainly around the ankle, as binding the jiao focuses on the ankle. If the ankle is tied tightly, it won’t cause problems. Nowadays, a single strap is often used, which is incorrect. A single strap is too loose, even for literary plays. Generally, binding the jiao requires basic training. As a wudan student, we spent two to three years practicing before we could stand properly. So, we used a single strap, wrapping it from the top of the foot to above the ankle, tying it securely. Then, we used a double-layered strap, about two zhang (about 6.6 feet) long, starting from the toe and binding. After the straps were tied, we put on the jiao shoes, which had two small white straps to tie. Then came the trouser legs, usually black but sometimes embroidered, tied to the lower legs. Finally, we wore colored pants, which had to be loose enough to hide the heel. The colored pants also had straps, which were tied and then let down to hang. The xiaobangzhu (Xiao Cuihua) had a very large jiao, almost like a real small foot. Ours were only about three inches, which is a martial jiao. The xiaobangzhu was supposed to imitate a real small foot, making it larger, over three inches. The xiaobangzhu and I were close friends. She gave me her jiao. Jiao were generally not given to others, as each person’s was different. In the old tradition, applying the jiao during makeup was done with the face turned inward, so no one could see it, just like how women’s feet were bound and not shown. That was the old rule, and it had nothing to do with the stagehands. The jiao and shoes are similar—shoes have left and right sides, even if they don’t, you’ll eventually notice which is which if you wear them often. If a left-footed person wears a right shoe, it feels awkward. So, we had to mark them. That’s why we wrote "left" and "right" on the back of the jiao, as the copper ring would wear down differently on one side. If you use one side more often, it will tilt, just like with shoes. But this thing is very heavy when you start practicing. At first, it was impossible to walk. And the teacher tied it for you. The tying process was very technical and had rules—you couldn’t tie it randomly. The result had to be neat, not like a big bun or swollen and puffy.