First, the rise of Kunqu opera and Kunqu costumes (Wanli period of Ming Dynasty)
At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty, based on the local dialect, was popular in Kunshan (including a part of Taicang today), which was called "Kunshan dialect". In "Lin Jing Xu" written by Xuanwei people in Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang once summoned Zhou Shouyi, an old man in Kunshan, and asked, "I heard that Kunshan people have a good accent. Can they deceive you?" Wei Liangfu's Introduction to Nanci also said: "At the beginning of the country, it was called Kunshan dialect." It shows that Kunshan dialect was known to the imperial court in the early Ming Dynasty. According to Zhu Yunming, a calligrapher and songwriter in Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty (who died in Jiajing five years), Kunshan Opera is one of the four major operas in Southern Opera. At the beginning of Jiajing, Wei Liangfu, a famous singer in Taicang, thought that some Nanqu songs at that time were "straight and unintentional" (with simple lines or slow rhythm), so together with Zhang Meigu, a famous flute player in Suzhou, Xie Linquan, Zhang Xiaoquan, Ji Jingpo, Dai Meichuan and others, on the basis of the original Kunshan cavity and referring to the advantages of Haiyan and Yuyao, he created the "Ink Tone". In terms of melody intonation, it changed from "straight and unintentional" to "flowing and beautiful" (Xu Wei's Ming Nan Ci Shu), "opening the mouth lightly and roundly, receiving the sound purely and carefully", "soft and harmonious voice, even prefix, abdomen and tail" and "excellent intonation, collocation, spelling and intonation". At the end of Jiajing, Kunshan dialect gained great fame. Among many famous Kunshan cavity artists, Liang Chenyu is the one who moved Kunqu opera from oratorio to drama, and then developed it into drama. His "Huansha Ji" successfully combined singing and performing arts, and added the atmosphere of the stage with the help of gongs and drums.
At this time, the costume of Kunqu Opera, like Kunqu Opera, is following and perfecting the costume regulations of North Zaju and South Opera. From the Song Dynasty to the early Yuan Dynasty, according to historical records, it was mainly the costumes of Song Zaju, that is, it was basically a "living costume". In the Yuan Dynasty, the northern zaju not only made great achievements in literature, but also developed rapidly in music, performance, stage art, etc ... At this time, a kind of costume which was different from reality or historical life and specialized in "performing zaju" appeared, which was then called "wardrobe". This kind of clothing is not a "life clothes" before Yuan Dynasty, but a kind of "painting clothes", that is, clothes that imitate life clothes. (2) At this time, the suitcase of Kunju costumes is in the initial and development stage, which is relatively simple and has not formed a standard.
Second, the prosperity of Kunqu Opera and its costumes (from Wanli period of Ming Dynasty to Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty)
Kunqu Opera flourished for about 230 years from Qin Long in Ming Dynasty to Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty. This is the most brilliant and remarkable stage of Kunqu art, and this period is also the prosperous period of Kunqu costume development.
Suzhou was an important economic town in the south during the Song and Ming Dynasties, and its developed culture made Suzhou the activity center of Su and Song scholars. Taicang and Kunshan, the birthplace of Kunshan Opera, are under the jurisdiction of Suzhou government. Therefore, once Kunqu opera is produced, it will be good for literati and poets, and their creations have mushroomed and there are countless masterpieces. Suzhou and other places have also become the center of Kunqu opera.
During the prosperity of Kunqu Opera, a large number of highly skilled Kunqu Opera actors appeared. They mainly come from three aspects: first, the professional artists of Kunban, a folk occupation. By the early years of Wanli, Suzhou was engaged in drama, and "within a county, thousands of people had enough to eat and wear". These professional troupes not only performed in Suzhou, but also flowed to other regions, and a large number of elites from all walks of life emerged. Second, the scholar-officials raised their families with elegance and took pleasure in music. All famous prostitutes and family members can perform operas. Scholar-officials themselves are opera fans, and their level is no less than that of professional theatrical troupes, among which there are many outstanding talents. For example, during the Wanli period, there were three classes in Suzhou, two classes in Shen Shixing's family in Suzhou, Guo Xiang and Fan Yunlin's family in Wuxian, which were famous for their wonderful performances of The Story of the Partridge and Zhu respectively. Another example is Chen Yuanyuan, a famous actress in Suzhou. She can sing Yiyang dialect and is better at Kunqu opera. "Play the role of a matchmaker in The West Chamber, and her posture is declining, which makes her to put it bluntly. Song is the best in Xiao Temple's mood. He often plays at Yu's home. "The third kind is an amateur' string guest', and all scholars, farmers and businessmen can sing. For example, the annual "Huqiu Mid-Autumn Festival" mass singing competition held in Huqiu, Suzhou, was a large-scale folk opera activity in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Every concert has a large number of musicians, artists, celebrities and so on. During the Wanli period, famous actors such as Liu Jiang and Yu Si attended the meeting. The famous Kunqu Opera class is Shen Zhouban in Nanjing, and the literati class is Ruan Dacheng's class and Tujia class. There are also writers Zhang Dafu, songwriters Xu, Su Kunsheng and Li Yu in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties who participated in Tiger Hill Qu Hui.
The Ming and Qing Dynasties are the heyday of the development of Kunju opera, which is manifested in the clothing, that is, it absorbed many styles of life clothing in the Ming Dynasty and made it have the characteristics of "artistic clothing" after artistic processing. Its remarkable sign is that the suitcase system of Kunqu opera has been formed in the Ming Dynasty. After entering the Qing Dynasty, although great changes have taken place in life costumes, the Qing government did not ban the use of Ming Dynasty costumes on the stage. So generally speaking, the costume of Kunju Opera at this time is characterized by adding a little life costume of Qing Dynasty on the basis of costume of Ming Dynasty to make it artistic. For example, in the Outline of Clothing in Qing Dynasty, Zhao Jun wore a yellow jacket in the second stage, all of which were clean clothes. Due to the continuous development of stage art, Kunqu Opera has promoted the formation and perfection of its "suitcase system", and its dress regulations have become more meticulous and rigorous.
Third, the decline of Kunqu opera and its costumes (from Jiaqing to the founding of the People's Republic of China)
During the Qianlong period, marked by "Huizhou Class Four" entering Beijing, the "flower-elegance dispute" began to appear. During the Jiaqing period, Kunqu opera declined and a hundred flowers blossomed. Volume 5 of Yangzhou Painting Boat Record records: "Lang Changsheng returned to Sichuan, Gao Langting entered Beijing, and his class took Anqing Flower Department and Beijing-Qin as the' Three Clearances'." (1) Although in the third year of Jiaqing (1798), Suzhou Liyuan Office issued "imperial edict" twice, strictly forbidding playing, clapping, stringed instruments, Shaanxi opera, etc., in an attempt to maintain the status of Kunqu Opera, but in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the dissolution of Suzhou Zhangda, Daya, Hongfu and Quanfu Kunqu Opera classes was the symbol. Although the "flower-elegance dispute" ended in the failure of Ya Bu Kunju Opera, the two sides must communicate and absorb each other in the process of competing for advantages.
At this time, the dress code of Kunqu Opera has gone through a long development process, which has been basically stable and has not developed substantially. Only the specific forms and techniques of Kunqu costumes have been changed. Due to the weakness of Kunqu opera, there was also a "bad habit of dressing" during this period, that is, the phenomenon of disorderly wearing. For example, Li Yu said in the "Bad Dress" section of the "Sports Department" in "Casual Notes" (I): "I remember watching the show when I was young, and seeing scholars and nobles in the local market all wore plain round necks. Those who didn't have blue shirts had seen this suit for 30 years. Recently, blue shirts and blue shirts are used together to distinguish gentlemen from villains. Anyone who is a gentleman by virtue of being healthy, small, foreign, and at the end of his foot still wears a blue round neck, and those who are ugly are all wearing blue shirts. Who started this example is extremely incomprehensible. Fu Qingyi is a famous musical instrument in the imperial court. As far as morality and stupidity are concerned, saints can only get clothes; On the nobility, those who prepare gentry must wear clothes. All the famous ministers and sages are here. What do you think of as a villain's clothes that will make you ugly? " (2) In order to pursue personal prominence, some actors actually wore flower pleats when they played Cao Cao in Catch and Release. This phenomenon of disorderly wearing was quite common in big cities with fierce commercial competition at that time.
Fourth, the revival of Kunqu opera and Kunqu costumes (since the founding of the People's Republic of China)
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Kunqu artists who originally lived in Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places received the attention of the central government and were invited back by local cultural departments. It is worth mentioning that in 1956, Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe Zhou, Wang and other comrades staged the choreographed Kunqu Opera "Fifteen Passes", which caused a sensation in Beijing and won a good reputation throughout the country, becoming a grand event of "saving one drama with one drama".
Since the reform and opening up, the national Kunqu opera has flourished and achieved gratifying results. In recent years, the youth version of Peony Pavilion, which was created by Bai Xianyong, a famous writer in Taiwan Province Province, and designed by Tong Wang, a famous costume designer in Taiwan Province Province, has been a great success in three places across the Taiwan Strait, thus opening a new chapter in the development of Kunqu opera and its costumes.
Nowadays, on the basis of following the wearing rules of Kunqu Opera, Kunqu Opera costumes have made new development in specific forms and techniques, reflecting a simple style, and its color also presents a "elegant beauty" color style, giving people a fresh and lively feeling, which not only conforms to the aesthetic taste of modern people, but also does not lose the elegance of Kunqu Opera.
Kunqu Opera, known as the "ancestor of hundreds of operas" in China, was declared as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of mankind by UNESCO on May 18, 2006, which is a kind of opera connecting the past with the future. After four important periods, Suzhou Kunju Opera and its costumes have established a complete, meticulous and rigorous dress code. Especially from Qin Long in Ming Dynasty to Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty, this is the most brilliant and remarkable stage of Kunqu opera art, and it is also the heyday of Kunqu costume development. In the end, it basically formed a "costume" based on the costumes of the Ming Dynasty, which gradually became artistic, regardless of dynasty, season and region.