Cantonese Opera in Vancouver`s Chinatown

Evidence of an
Ephemeral Art:
Cantonese Opera in
Vancouver’s Chinatown
elizabeth lominska johnson
Cantonese Opera:
A Distinctive Art Form
A
nyone who sees a Cantonese opera performance cannot fail
to be overwhelmed by this experience of “total theatre” (Ward
,  - ; Ward , -), which demands seemingly superhuman skills from its performers. The Western concept of “opera”
does not do justice to performances that are more choreographed than
scripted.1 Actors continually control every muscle and facial expression,
“keeping the whole body alive even in the stillest moments of the action,”2
as they express fundamental themes and emotions readily understood by
experienced audience members. Settings and actions are created through
mime on a stage that even now has no more than a backdrop and a few
furnishings, and in the past was virtually bare. Stepping over an invisible
sill indicates the presence of a house, while moving quickly around the
stage snapping a whip shows that the character is on horseback. When
an actor3 carries a lantern, the audience knows that night has fallen
(Ward , ). Furthermore, an actor’s every movement is punctuated
by percussion and the other leading instruments, which are played by
musicians who watch the actors so that they can audibly express their
movements and emotions with absolute precision. The instrumental
music emphasizes and embellishes the actors’ singing. As Ward (,
) points out: “All these splendid sounds are much more than mere
1
2
3
According to Nancy Yunhwa Rao (, ), “Chinese opera as a whole … builds extensively
on the long established practice of visual and musical acting and dancing, as well as oratory
and acrobatic conventions. It is also a theatre of symbolism where pantomime, limited stage
props, backdrops, and the encoded music express the dramatic scenes and emotional state of
the characters.”
Rao quoting Stark Young (, ).
In this article the term “actor” is used to represent both male and female performers.
bc studies, no. , Winter ⁄
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accompaniments; they carry in themselves their own symbolic meaning
and so make their own contribution to the whole performance. The
performance is the thing – in its complete totality … the steady unfolding
of a procession of simultaneous sounds, actions, words, colours, things.”
To create this integrated performance, the musicians have traditionally
been seated at one side of the stage, in full view of the audience, and
facing the drama as it unfolds. As with their gestures, the actors’ singing
and speaking are characteristic of opera: both are highly stylized and
are often delivered with particular rhythmic patterns. Female roles are
sung in a distinctive, ornamented falsetto that remains elegant even as
it retains the penetrating qualities that were needed in the time before
microphones.
The world portrayed in Cantonese opera is not that of everyday life.
The settings normally are imperial, and the stories are often drawn
from legends and popular histories (Ward , ). The characters
include emperors and empresses, generals, and scholars aspiring for
imperial posts (and their struggling and supportive [or scheming] wives).
Immortals also appear, as deities and powerful beings, as do ghosts and
other spirits. The stories they enact represent the fundamental values
of Chinese society; these are played out through complex dramas that
almost always come to a happy resolution that functions to reaffirm
them.4
This world is created by costumes and accessories that are designed
to create awe and excitement in the audience through their glittering
splendour, their novelty, and their complexity. Continually managing
them requires great skill and stamina on the part of the actors. Those in
civil roles must constantly manipulate long “water sleeves” (filmy white
sleeve extensions used for dramatic emphasis), while those in military
roles must manage weapons, various accoutrements, and complex
costumes while carrying out acrobatic combat. Actors communicate
femininity through the delicate management of hairpieces, glittering
hair ornaments, and elaborate headdresses, while moving with tiny steps
in tasseled shoes that should barely show beneath their skirts. Actors
performing the roles of high-ranking men must move about the stage
in boots with very thick, rigid soles, whose purpose is to give them an
imposing presence. Furthermore, all costumes, accessories, and props
are manipulated in ways specific to the role type being played, whether
4
Opera performances, by representing positive cultural values, may actually bring good fortune,
which is reinforced by the fact that their sound, light, and colour are exorcistic, as are the
large, bustling crowds of people that they attract (Ward , ).
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
57
it be civil or military, male or female, old or young, clown or scholar,
high-ranking or low.
The profound differences between the world of opera and the often
harsh realities of everyday life must have been especially apparent to
Chinese audiences in Canada in the early decades of the twentieth
century. These audiences were composed primarily of men, reflecting the
impact of the head tax and then the exclusionary Chinese Immigration
Act that made immigration to Canada first extremely costly and later
impossible. For the most part their lives were confined to Chinatown,
and those who were able to enjoy a good standard of living were the
exception. They were the merchants who, among other activities, invested in the creation and travel of itinerant opera troupes.5 For people
of all social classes, Chinatown offered much that was culturally
familiar, and Cantonese opera offered not only a familiar regional form
of entertainment but also diversion and a distinctive kind of beauty.
Photo : Ruth Orr Huber (left) and Winnie Poon playing the roles of a young scholar and a beautiful
woman. Jin Wah Sing Musical Association, Vancouver, . Cantonese opera continues to be popular
in Vancouver, stimulated by recent immigration from Hong Kong and Guangdong province. There are
approximately twenty-five sets of performances – amateur, professional, and mixed – in any one year.
5
Wing Chung Ng, “Chinatown Theatre as Transnational Business: New Evidence from
Vancouver during the Exclusion Era,” this issue.
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Evidence of Performances
in British Columbia, 1880-1950
As Wing Chung Ng’s article in this issue indicates, Cantonese opera was
an important cultural activity in early twentieth-century Vancouver’s
Chinatown. What was the nature of the performances that were
so popular among overseas Chinese audiences, and how were they
organized and managed? Ng’s article analyzes the economic and
social system that recruited troupes and organized their itineraries
in the first half of the twentieth century, and it examines the varying
frequency and popularity of their performances. His work is based on
surviving documents that are now held in archival collections as well
as on advertisements and articles from the Chinese Times, a Chinese
language newspaper first published in Vancouver in .6 However,
these materials, unlike those documents recovered from a Cantonese
opera association in New York (Duchesne ), do not give us detailed
information about the nature of the performances held here, and there
is almost no one left who remembers this period.
Cantonese opera is an ephemeral art form, even more so than are many
other theatrical performances. European plays and operas are based on
written scripts or librettos, but in the early years of the twentieth century,
Cantonese opera was largely improvisational, especially when performed
in China within the temple festival context (Chan  ; Yung , ).
Until urban theatres became well established in Hong Kong and China,
and certain actors and actresses gained fame and the status of stars,
actors were of low social standing and were often illiterate. They were
frequently recruited from poor families and, through long and harsh
apprenticeships, were trained in the many skills that successful actors
were expected to have.7 In a society in which literacy was highly valued,
illiterate people were stigmatized, especially if they made their living
as actors. As itinerants in a society that gave status and legitimacy to
people attached to the land, actors were suspect. Furthermore, their
6
7
The Asian Library at the University of British Columbia has the complete run of this
newspaper, from the time it was acquired by the Chinese Freemasons in  until it ceased
publication in . It was an extremely important Chinese language newspaper and was
distributed throughout North America and into the Caribbean. The Asian Library has made
this valuable newspaper available on microfilm.
During the time we worked together (from the planning of the Museum of Anthropology
exhibition “A Rare Flower: A Century of Cantonese Opera in Canada” to the present),
Master Wong Toa, a Vancouver Cantonese opera teacher with a great knowledge of history,
described his apprenticeship in graphic detail. The Chinese film Farewell My Concubine depicts
the conditions of apprenticeship as well as the highly refined performance skills ultimately
attained by a successful actor – a male performer of female roles.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
59
identity, already uncertain because of their apparent lack of affiliation
with a native place, was made more ambiguous by the fact that they had
the skill to change it when on stage.8 Given the highly stylized nature of
Cantonese opera, its system of standardized role types, and the fact that
its music is based in commonly known tune types (Yung ,  -),
actors could learn how to put together a four- to five-hour performance
upon reading or (more likely) hearing a brief outline (Ward , ; Rao
, ).9 The status of actors was changing during the early twentieth
century, however, and many newspaper notices describe the attributes
of visiting performers who had attained the status of stars. Despite the
publicity these performers received in the Chinese newspapers, there is no
evidence of the presence in Vancouver of any stars whose eminence was
such that they made a powerful impression on the broader, non-Chinese
society, as did Mei Lan Feng in New York in  (Rao ).
In Vancouver and Victoria, both of which had large Chinese
populations to whom opera was important, non-Chinese observers
only occasionally reported on the presence of Cantonese opera. An
 article in the British Colonist, a Victoria newspaper, describes the
arrival from San Francisco of eighteen trunks of costumes for the city’s
new theatre, suggesting that a large number of lavish costumes were to
be used. The same newspaper described the building of three theatres
for Cantonese opera in the s, one of which had a seating capacity of
.10 J.S. Matthews wrote a report describing his  visit to a theatre
in Vancouver’s Chinatown.11 To non-Chinese people, Cantonese opera
remained a virtually invisible part of the cultural life of Vancouver and
Victoria, despite its splendour, the extraordinary skill demanded of its
actors, and clear evidence of its importance to overseas Chinese.12
As far as we have been able to determine, there is little photographic
evidence of early Cantonese opera in British Columbia, although there
8
9
10
11
12
According to Barbara Ward (, ), traditional actors could be considered to be outside
the social system because, through their roles in short plays, they were capable of performing
exorcistic functions with ritual efficacy: “In some strangely uncanny way they appeared to
incarnate or act as mediums for spirits, whether of gods, mythical beings, or heroes, or – at
the very least – men and women other than themselves” (Ward , ).
Although individual songs may be practised repeatedly until the singers know them well,
even the amateur opera societies put on performances after no more than a few full rehearsals
(Wong Hok-sing and Hung Ka-fung, personal communication).
Daily British Colonist,  July .
Matthews, City of Vancouver Archives, .
This problem continues today, not because of racism or exclusion but, rather, because of the
language barrier. Performances are normally advertised only in Chinese, and attempts to
perform them in English are rarely successful. This is not due to a lack of interest in reaching
out to a wider audience but, rather, to a lack of resources.
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are a few significant exceptions.13 The Chung Collection at ubc includes
an important photograph – a formal portrait of the Kwok Fung Lin
Troupe taken in Vancouver in .14 The photograph shows that the
troupe included both men and women, a practice not yet permitted in
China. They are wearing the heavily ornamented costumes that were in
use at that time. Of particular interest for my topic are two photographs,
now in the City of Vancouver Archives, that show a parade held in
Chinatown on the occasion of Vancouver’s Golden Jubilee in .15 As
we shall see, the old style heavily decorated Cantonese opera costumes,
Photo : Victoria Yip, offering warm hospitality in her home while sharing her memories
of opera with Professor Huang Jinpei16 (and Elizabeth Johnson). Victoria Yip, who is
now in her nineties, has been unfailingly generous in sharing her knowledge of local
history with many researchers. She has always loved Cantonese opera. As a girl growing
up in Victoria, she attended performances and was greatly disturbed by what she saw of
the poor living conditions of the itinerant actors. She also loved listening to records of
Cantonese opera, which she purchased in Vancouver. After she married into the large
Yip family as the sixteenth daughter-in-law of the merchant Yip Sang, she continued
to enjoy performances in the Vancouver theatres.
13
14
15
16
Articles in the Chinese Times occasionally include illustrations (Eleanor Yuen, personal
communication).
Photograph by Cecil B. Wand, Rare Books and Special Collections, University of British
Columbia Library, #. The tumultuous history of this troupe is analyzed by Wing Chung
Ng, this issue.
Photographs by James Crookall, City of Vancouver Archives, cva  - and cva  -.
In this article Chinese personal names are given with the surname first, as is customary. An
exception is Wing Chung Ng. Cantonese terms that are not names of people or organizations,
and names that do not have conventional renderings, are written using the Yale system of
romanization.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
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Photo : Kwok Fung Lin Troupe wearing costumes similar to those in the Museum of Anthropology
collection, photographed in Vancouver in . Rare Books and Special Collections, University of
British Columbia Library. Photograph by Cecil B. Wand, Chung Collection, #.
the guards’ vests, and the banners and standing fans that decorate the
float were to appear again at a later date.
These lead us to materials that can give us some insight into the nature
of early twentieth-century Cantonese opera in Vancouver. Although
we lack detailed written documents on the contents of the dramas that
were so important to local Chinese audiences, we can learn about other
aspects of this cultural form, which was so popular among Chinese
people in Vancouver, by examining other kinds of evidence. We can
begin to recreate its sounds, colour, imagery, and overall visual impact
and dramatic qualities through examining an abundance of actual
costumes and other materials from that era that remain in Vancouver.
Evidence: Objects Left Behind
For reasons that may never be fully understood, some of the troupes that
toured North America in the early decades of the twentieth century, or
their individual members, left costumes and other performance materials
behind rather than taking them back to China.17 They were then held by
17
In addition to the materials held by the UBC Museum of Anthropology, other historic
Cantonese opera materials are held by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Vancouver
Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Museum of Chinese in the Americas
in New York. Doubtless there are also holdings in other museums. The Ching Won Musical
Society in Vancouver also owns old Cantonese opera costumes. Records in a collections
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Photos  and : Parade celebrating Vancouver’s Golden Jubilee, . Most of the costumes, as well
as the banners and standing fans, are identical to those transferred to the Museum of Anthropology
by the Jin Wah Sing Musical Association in  and . In fact, they are almost certainly the same
ones. City of Vancouver Archives, cva - and cva -. Photographs by James Crookall.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
63
the Jin Wah Sing Musical Association in Chinatown, which eventually
transferred many of them to the UBC Museum of Anthropology. The
largest collection of Cantonese opera materials from the first half of the
twentieth century appears to be located in Vancouver.18 Why they were
left in Vancouver is unclear, given that existing evidence suggests that
apparently this city was often the point of disembarkation for troupes
undertaking North American tours rather than their last performance
venue before returning to China (Ng, this issue). Perhaps they did leave
from Vancouver, given the frequency of sailings from this port. If troupes
or individual actors were returning to China from Vancouver, there are
various reasons why they might have left materials here, especially if
they were under financial duress.19
Possible explanations for the fact that so many materials were left
and preserved here may lie in the history of the Jin Wah Sing Musical
Association; perhaps actors realized that it would be a good home for
their material. Jin Wah Sing is one of two Vancouver Cantonese opera
associations that have a continuous history from the s. 20 It was
founded in  by members of the Chinese Freemasons Association. It
was well connected, as it was and is the only Vancouver opera association
acknowledged as a local affiliate of the Chinese Artists’ Association
of Hong Kong. The other surviving Vancouver association from
that period, the Ching Won Musical Society, was founded in . 21
Others did not survive. The next society to be established and that
18
19
20
21
documentation file (no. ) at the Museum of Anthropology report conversations with two
non-Chinese women who said that they had bought Cantonese opera materials in Chinatown
in the s.
There are various reasons why such materials may not have survived in Hong Kong and
south China. The climate of the region is hot and wet, which is inimical to textile materials
and supports destructive insects and rodents. Storage space is in short supply, at least in
comparison with North America. The Second World War, the Chinese Revolution, and the
Cultural Revolution all resulted in the destruction of cultural materials. Furthermore, there
may have been no desire to keep old materials. Fashion and novelty are preeminent forces in
the world of Cantonese opera, and even Master Wong Toa said of the materials now in the
Museum of Anthropology collection: “We considered them to be garbage!”
Information on the movements of troupes and individual actors is the focus of the article by
Ng, this issue.
The oldest existing Cantonese opera society in Canada, as of the early s, is the Manitoba
Chinese Dramatic Society, which was founded in Winnipeg in . In that same year Dr.
Sun Yat-sen awarded it a certificate of merit for its fundraising activities in support of the
Chinese Revolution.
Voluntary associations of many kinds have long been important features of overseas Chinese
communities as well as urban communities in China. In situations in which people were
separated from their communities of origin, and often from their families, associations brought
them together into organizations based on common place of origin, surname, occupation, or
interest (which included cultural activities such as opera). The book From China to Canada
(Wickberg )includes detailed information on Chinese associations in Canada.
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Photo : Portrait of actors, musicians, and society officers at the successful conclusion of the performance celebrating the fifty-eighth anniversary of the Jin Wah Sing Musical Association, Vancouver
Chinese Cultural Centre, .
Photo : Headquarters of the Jin Wah Sing Musical Association on Pender Street, Vancouver, c.
.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
65
still continues is the Ngai Lum Musical Society, which was founded in
. Each of these societies differs from the others in its membership
and affiliations, but all have the mandate to teach, perform, promote,
and preserve Cantonese opera. Each has its own headquarters, with
musical instruments and all the necessary equipment for its members’
practice sessions. Visitors walking on Chinatown streets may be startled
to hear live music – the distinctive sounds of Cantonese opera percussion
and singing – when these sessions are taking place. These sounds have
been heard in Vancouver’s Chinatown for at least a century.
The Jin Wah Sing Musical Association was very active in promoting
and producing Cantonese opera during the years immediately
following its founding and, together with another society, Sing Kiu,
was responsible for maintaining a lively Cantonese opera presence in
Vancouver.22 The Chinese Times from the years  to  contains many
Photo . Master Wong Toa, right, and Hung Ka-fung, elected head of Jin Wah Sing
in the early s, in front of the plaque that acknowledges the association’s affiliation
with the Chinese Artists’ Association of Hong Kong. Jin Wah Sing invited Master
Wong Toa from Hong Kong in  to teach Cantonese opera to its members. He
remained in that position until his retirement. The Ngai Lum Musical Society also
has a resident teacher, in addition to a society head.
22
See Ng, this issue.
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Photo . A member of Jin Wah Sing making offerings at the society’s shrine to the patron god of Cantonese opera performers, Master Wah Gwong, and also to minor gods responsible for teaching actors
gestures and martial skills. Members also make
offerings to the souls of former society members,
now deceased. Opera troupes and societies place
a small shrine dedicated to Master Wah Gwong
backstage so that the actors can pay their respects
to him before beginning their performances
(Ward , ). The inscriptions on this shrine
acknowledge the moral purpose of opera, which is
to inculcate Chinese values: “As you put on powder
and paint, remember that you must go out to teach
the people.”
Photo . Entrance to the former headquarters of
the Ching Won Musical Society on Pender Street
in Chinatown. They have now moved to a new
location. Like most Chinatown associations, Ching
Won was located on the second floor, the ground
floors normally being devoted to commercial enterprises.23 Photograph by Ben Johnson.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
67
Photo . Members of the Ching Won Musical Society in their headquarters, . They are proud of
their banners, which acknowledge their role in putting on benefit performances to raise funds to defend
China during the Second World War. In  one of their benefit performances raised nearly ,
for tsunami relief in Southeast Asia.23 Photograph by Ben Johnson.
notices of operas put on under the auspices of Jin Wah Sing. Some were
produced by Jin Wah Sing members, while others included professional
actors or complete troupes brought from Hong Kong or China. In 
through to the spring of , a troupe named the Jin Wah Sing Opera
Troupe performed regularly. According to a history provided by the Jin
Wah Sing Musical Association, these performances raised funds for
the Chinese and Canadian war efforts. After this period of flourishing
activity, Jin Wah Sing returned to its status as a local amateur opera
society. In the postwar years it occasionally sponsored tours by opera
troupes24 – supported by a member shareholding system 25 – as well
regular performances featuring society members.
It was in  that the curator of the Museum of Anthropology at ubc
learned that Jin Wah Sing held a large number of very old costumes
23
24
25
Pearl Lam, personal communication.
Information in the Chinese Times in , for example, reports that a troupe invited by Jin Wah
Sing from Hong Kong also included actors invited from San Francisco, suggesting that the association was creating troupes. They gave a series of performances in the spring of that year.
Wong Toa, personal communication. It is not clear whether or not the Jin Wah Sing troupes
of the s and s toured as the Chinese Times notices concern only their Vancouver
performances.
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that its members were no longer using.26 These were heavy and had
been made in outdated styles. Cantonese opera is distinguished by its
emphasis on innovation and changing fashion, and costumes from much
earlier decades may not have been appreciated by local audiences, even
though the overseas Chinese were said to be more conservative in their
tastes than were the homeland Chinese. As Jin Wah Sing was no longer
using these costumes, it was willing to sell them to the Museum of
Anthropology. In , when the museum was planning an exhibition
on Cantonese opera in Canada, Jin Wah Sing donated more than 
additional costumes, musical instruments, props, and materials that
had been used to create settings and adorn the stage.
No one interviewed during our exhibition research had conclusive
information on why the materials had been left with Jin Wah Sing or on
their previous owners. Master Wong Toa said that materials may have
been left here because troupes had financial problems, because members
may have changed their occupations and remained here [illegally], or
because female members may have married and remained in Canada.
Opportunities for marriage must have presented themselves, given the
shortage of Chinese women in Canada at that time. According to the
economic histories studied by Ng, it seems likely that troupes may
indeed have experienced economic failures that resulted in having to
leave their materials behind. They may have been left with Jin Wah Sing
for safekeeping or been given or sold to the association for its own use.
Do the inventory marks that are on the costumes shed any light on
their early ownership?27 None of the costumes examined to date has
the inventory marks of any troupe predating the late s. The great
majority of the inventory marks on the costumes indicate ownership
by the Jin Wah Sing Musical Association either in the form of a handwritten mark: “Jin Wah Sing Opera Society” or as a stamped mark:
“Vancouver, Jin Wah Sing Society.” Some have the hand-written name
of the troupe: “Jin Wah Sing Opera Company.” None has the names of
other troupes, and only one has a mark from another location. This is
a woman’s costume with an inventory stamp in Chinese and English,
26
27
Audrey Hawthorn, curator of the Museum of Anthropology, learned of the existence of the
costumes through Graham Johnson, who was interviewing heads of Chinatown societies as
part of his research for the book From China to Canada (see Hawthorn ). The Museum
of Anthropology documentation file for the acquisition contains letters from Chuck Chang,
the head of Jin Wah Sing at that time.
We recorded many of the inventory marks when specialists were identifying the materials
for the Museum of Anthropology exhibition, and I am now in the process of checking each
piece to record the information in the museum’s database. I have not yet completed this work,
however.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
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Photos , : Master Wong Toa in the basement storage of the Chinese Freemasons’ building, where
the opera materials were kept. He is guiding museum staff members Rosa Ho and Elizabeth Johnson
in the selection of Cantonese opera materials to be donated by Jin Wah Sing to the Museum of Anthropology. Jin Wah Sing to the Museum of Anthropology, . Photographs by Jan Vuori.
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the latter reading “Jin Wah Sing,  Third Ave., Calgary, Alta.” This
stands in contrast to a group of costumes that had belonged to the
Chinese Musical Theatrical Association in New York and is now
held in that city by the Museum of Chinese in the Americas. Among
the costumes in the collection of that museum is a group stamped:
“Vancouver Chinatown / Wo Lee See Co. / Lock Man Ning Theatrical
Company,” which suggests that they had been used in Vancouver before
being taken to New York (Duchesne , -). The marks, or lack
thereof, on the Jin Wah Sing costumes leave us with a mystery. Based
on stylistic analysis, according to the specialists who examined them
a large portion of the materials predates the s. We know from the
Golden Jubilee parade photographs that at least some of the materials
were here and in use by . Before Jin Wah Sing acquired them, were
the costumes owned by troupes or actors who had used no inventory
marks? Or were old-style costumes with no previous owners brought
to Canada for performances in the s?
There is also the question of whether the materials would have been
useful to Jin Wah Sing or the visiting troupes of the late s. We do
not know the extent to which costumes of earlier dates would have been
acceptable at that time, although, going by recent analogy, some may
have been. In their recent performances some Jin Wah Sing members
have worn costumes that date from the s, as is indicated by their
style and the fact that they are heavily sequined (a characteristic of that
time). Furthermore, a photograph from the early s owned by Master
Wong Toa shows association members wearing much older costumes
for the performance of a traditional short ritual play. 28 In another such
performance in New York in , the actors used transforming robes
from the s (Duchesne , ).
To complicate matters further, many of the costumes acquired from
Jin Wah Sing appear to be incomplete. There are a number of complete
sets, and other costumes that may not have required specific elements
to complete them, but the collection includes relatively few headdresses,
belts, and footwear for male roles. Does this mean that many of the
costumes could not be used because they were incomplete, or simply
that the complete costumes were not transferred to the museum? Master
Wong Toa stated that the costumes may not have been systematically
organized before transfer, which would have required that Jin Wah Sing
officers commit a lot of time to sorting unfamiliar materials. He also
28
For information on these important short acts and their ritual functions, see Ward () and
Ward (,  -).
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
71
Photo : Jin Wah Sing production of The Eight Fairies Offer Birthday Congratulations,
. The association members are wearing costumes in the style of the s. Photograph
courtesy of Master Wong Toa.
Photo : Trunk for storing and
transporting opera materials, with
inscriptions in Chinese and English, the latter stating: “made in
kum lon chang co. chong yuen
fong street, canton.” This is the
same company whose manufacturer’s
stamp is on most of the costumes,
and whose name I have rendered as
Gam Leuhn Cheung. On the trunk
is a costume representing a general’s
suit of armour from the s, boots
for a wealthy young man of high
status, Manchu-style shoes for an
actor representing a woman (their
sequins suggesting that they date
from the s), and a more recent
headdress.
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stated that, while footwear did not have to match the costume, the robe
and headdress had to match.29 Another question raised by the collection
concerns why the majority of costumes are for male roles. It is quite
certain that, in the s, many actors and most if not all association
members would have been men, but it was usual in Chinese opera at that
time for men with the appropriate body type, voice, and training to play
female roles. Women were also very active in professional Cantonese
opera by that time and, as it happens, were a major attraction. The fact
that only a minority of the Jin Wah Sing costumes could have been used
to represent women raises the question of whether the costumes could
have been useful to the association as well as the question of why more
women’s costumes were not included. Could it have been the case that,
in the mixed troupes that played in North America – a decade before
they were accepted in China – women were more likely to own their
own costumes? Given certain Chinese beliefs about the polluting power
of women, it may have been the case that women’s costumes were not
shared. Of all the costumes, only one – an incomplete woman’s costume
in s style – has an owner’s name written on it.
This mark raises again the question of previous ownership and
whether the costumes and other materials were left by individual actors
or by troupes. My research notes reveal that the opinions of specialists
differ regarding this question. According to Professor Huang Jinpei,
general types of costumes such as these were of lesser value than were
those that were more likely to be owned privately; hence the former
might not be kept after they had been used a few times.
The inventory marks make it clear that Jin Wah Sing valued these
costumes. They assert the association’s ownership, often followed by a
classification code and number, and a brief identification of the costume
type. 30 They make it clear that the association’s officers cared for the
costumes and considered them to be their collective property, for which
they were responsible. The costumes bear other evidence in addition
to the inventory marks. The origin of the costumes, the beginning of
their journey to North America, is indicated by the fact that almost all
of the older ones bear the stamp of the company that made them. In
most cases this was the Gam Leuhn Cheung Company in Guangzhou.31
Some costumes have another stamp, the Gam San Gung Si, or Glorious
29
30
31
Wong Toa, personal communication.
The later costumes, dating from the s to the s, are made of lightweight materials
upon which an inventory mark written in ink would be both visible and damaging.
The same mark appears in many of the costumes now held by the Museum of Chinese in the
Americas (Duchesne , ).
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
73
Photo : An example of a Jin Wah
Sing inventory mark on hip panels,
constituting part of a costume for a
guard.
Photo 17: The stamp of the Gam Leuhn Cheung Company, Guangzhou, on the hemp lining of one
of the older costumes.
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New Company. I would assume that this was another manufacturer of
costumes, except for the fact that, on one costume, it occurs along with
the stamp of Gam Leuhn Cheung, leaving its identity uncertain until
further research can be undertaken.
In addition to the costumes there are several other kinds of materials
in the collection. Most important among them, from the point of view
of contemporary Cantonese opera practitioners, are four large, heavy,
stoutly built red trunks of a type not used after .32 All bear the
name of the company that manufactured them, written in English,
which suggests that they were intended to be sent overseas. They are
made of wood with rawhide stretched over their lids, which are held
together with hand-forged iron nails. The fittings that allowed them
to be carried on poles are also made of hand-forged iron. According to
Wong Toa, four men were required to carry one trunk. With boards
on top, they sometimes served as beds for male actors. 33 Jin Wah Sing
still has some red trunks, which remain useful for storing costumes and
other materials. In the past, the size and status of a troupe was judged
by the number of costume trunks that accompanied them. 34 Their
continuing importance today was demonstrated when the collection
was exhibited and opera practitioners who visited it chose to have their
photographs taken next to the trunk that was on display rather than
with the costumes and other materials.35
The English word “props” does not quite encompass another category
of materials. Some – such as weapons, horse whips, gilded papier mache
wine cups, handcuffs, and two decapitated heads (one male and one
female, also made of papier mache) – were used as props. Others,
however, served to identify particular characters. These include a papier
mache pagoda carried by Li Jing, the Celestial King Who Holds the
Pagoda, 36 and wings of the same material worn by the God of Thunder.
These were recognized by Wong Toa and so may be of a type used
during his long theatre career, which began in the s; however, they
are now antiquated.
32
33
34
35
36
Wong Toa, personal communication.
Ibid.
Huang Jinpei, personal communication.
Their importance may derive not only from the fact that their numbers represent the status
and wealth of a troupe but also from the fact that at least one would have been used to hold
the image of the patron god and his shrine. In the temporary bamboo theatres built in Hong
Kong and south China for festival performances honouring local deities, the costume trunks
are placed in a long row immediately behind the stage backdrop (Ward , ).
Mary Tuen Wai Yeung and Master Wong Toa, personal communication.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
75
Among the musical instruments are percussion instruments of
types very different from those used today, although we do not have
information on when they went out of use. Contemporary Cantonese
opera musicians have said that they are very difficult to play. They are all
in good condition, which suggests that they have not received heavy use.
Jin Wah Sing also transferred wind instruments and string instruments,
all distinctively Chinese, but none of the Western instruments (such as
saxophones, violins, and cellos) that were adopted by Cantonese opera
in its twentieth-century quest for innovation.
Photo  : Wings
worn to identify the
God of Thunder,
Leuih Gung Edz.
Photos , : Two drums of a style no
longer used, a “barrel drum” Edz
and a “water chestnut drum” N..
76
Photo 
Photo 
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Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
77
Photos , , : Costumes and accessories, musical instruments, props, and materials for the stage
as shown at the Museum of Anthropology and six other venues in the  exhibition entitled “A
Rare Flower: A Century of Cantonese Opera in Canada.” The banners and fans are almost certainly
those in the  Golden Jubilee parade photograph, and the suit of armour at the left of the group
of costumes appears to be the same as that worn by one of the actors on horseback.
Particularly significant among the materials are those used to create
the early twentieth-century Cantonese opera stage. At that time the
stage was virtually bare, and it was the actors’ skilled mime that created
the physical features of the setting in the viewers’ imaginations. These
conventions may, in part, have reflected the exigencies of the troupes’
itinerant life, for scenery would have been very hard to carry. Settings
could be indicated by small plaques hung on the stage, of which there
are two in the collection. Actors entered at stage right and exited at stage
left through openings hung with door panels called fu douh muhn.37 In
the collection there is a pair made of a valuable and durable kind of fine
hemp.38 Written across the top of this pair is the auspicious saying, “good
fortune in all you desire.”39 The fact that these panels are decorated with
silver-coloured brass discs dates them at no later than the early s,
37
38
39
Wong Toa, personal communication.
Wong Hok-sing, personal communication.
The use of such panels is clearly shown in an illustration of a San Francisco Chinese theatre
in , from The Pacific Tourist, edited by F.F. Shearer (Rodecape , ). Hsu (, - )
also describes these stage entrance and exit positions and panels.
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but they show little wear, which suggests that Jin Wah Sing used them
sparingly, if at all, and stored them carefully. According to an actor’s
account, all-female troupes first began to use cloth backdrops painted
with scenes during the period between  and , while other troupes
began to use them during the s and s.40 These could be rolled
up to be transported to performance venues.
A later piece is a proscenium curtain with an advertisement for a
medicine company in Guangzhou emblazoned on it with the gelatin
sequins that were coming into use in the early s. Other objects
created special effects on the stage: these consisted of early electrical
devices that, having been packed with gunpowder, produced smoke
when they were plugged in.41
How to Interpret this Evidence?
Identifying more than  antique objects from the highly complex
and specialized art form of Cantonese opera has proven to be an
extremely challenging but rewarding process. Through this process
diverse materials have taken on histories, relationships, and significance.
Apparently the first acquisition was identified for museum staff by
Master Wong Toa and Chuck Chang, the head of Jin Wah Sing,
with translations provided by a Chinese student. When the remaining
materials were donated in , as the exhibition was being planned, good
identifications were imperative, and the two curators responsible for the
content of the exhibit, Rosa Ho and myself, faced a challenging problem,
especially as very little has been written in English on Cantonese opera
costumes and other materials.42
We were very fortunate, however. Because Vancouver continues
to be a lively centre for the performance of Cantonese opera, senior
specialists were available and were able to help with the identification
of the materials. They were extremely generous in sharing both their
time and the knowledge they had gained through their long experience
with Cantonese opera.43 Two of these people are now in their nineties:
Master Wong Toa and Professor Huang Jinpei. Master Wong Toa is a
40
41
42
43
Personal communication, Mary Tuen Wai Yeung, citing Chen Feinong, a famous actor of
female roles (Chen ,  - ).
Wong Toa, personal communication.
Examples are the works by Duchesne and Hsu.
It is tempting, here, to borrow Clifford’s (, - , -) concept of the “contact zone” to
describe the meetings between those who represented the culture of Cantonese opera and
those who represented the culture of Western museums. Museums were unfamiliar territory
to the opera specialists, and we were grateful for their willingness to enter the strange world
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
79
Photo : This sign, only
thirty centimetres wide,
was hung on the stage to
indicate the location of
the scene, which, in this
case, was the Great King
Temple. Edz.
Photo : Pair of
door panels, deep
pink with green
borders and decorated with metal
discs, used by actors to enter and
leave the stage in
the time before
scenery was used.
N.a-b.
Cantonese opera musician who first trained as an actor under the old
apprenticeship system and who began his career on the Red Boats that
carried opera troupes around the Canton Delta.44 He continues to share
his knowledge with the Museum of Anthropology as questions arise, and
he has published extensively in Chinese. Professor Huang Jinpei, retired
from the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, is an ethnomusicologist
who has broad knowledge of Cantonese opera both from his professional
44
of the museum storeroom, to encounter the unfamiliar value that we placed on old and rare
Cantonese opera materials, and to share their knowledge so that objects salvaged from the
history of their art could be properly identified.
For a valuable study of the Red Boats, see Ward ().
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work and from his childhood experiences in Singapore, where he also
learned English.45 He worked as a valued member of the Museum of
Anthropology’s exhibition team for several years. Another most helpful
person, somewhat younger than the preceding two but with extensive
historical knowledge, is Master Chan Kwok-yuen, Hong Kong’s foremost
designer of Cantonese opera costumes. During one of his visits to
Vancouver, he examined many of the materials, as did the renowned
actor and director of Cantonese opera films Wong Hok-sing, who began
his career in the late s. Hung Ka-fung, president of Jin Wah Sing
in the early s, also shared his knowledge. Both Hung Ka-fung and
Wong Hok-sing have since died.46
Photo : Wong Hok-sing and Huang Jinpei identifying costumes, with Chan Kwok-yuen working
with Rosa Ho in the background.
45
46
I am indebted to Dr. Alan Thrasher for introducing me to Professor Huang. They have
collaborated extensively on the study of Cantonese music.
The research method used by my late colleague Rosa Ho and myself involved bringing the
materials out one by one and then recording how the specialists identified them. Professor
Huang Jinpei looked at the entire collection, while the other specialists examined portions of
it. The transcripts of their comments were placed in binders along with photographs and the
existing catalogue records for the objects. I am currently working to prepare this information
for entry into the museum’s collections database, which will become publicly accessible in
the future, together with images of the materials.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
81
Photo : Chan Kwok-yuen working with two of the many racks of costumes.
The specialists were able to identify the musical instruments, props,
and materials for the stage, and to attribute the costumes to their role
type and character type. They also gave us the clues needed to assign
the costumes to chronological periods in the history of Cantonese opera.
The heaviest costumes, densely decorated with gold and silver threads
and applied ornaments, are the earliest, dating from the s to the
s.47 Of these, the ones made to glitter with silver coloured brass
discs are said to be the earliest, while those decorated with small glass
mirrors are somewhat later. Both would have been impressive on stages
that may not yet have had electric lighting. The costumes have the sheen
of silk and, indeed, were made of silk woven with cotton to give them
the strength needed to hold the discs and mirrors.48 Many costumes
have both kinds of ornamentation, and they are often trimmed with
white rabbit fur, making them look very luxurious indeed, especially
when these decorations are combined with the application of heavy
gold and silver thread. Most of the work on these older costumes was
done by hand,49 including the weaving of their heavy hemp linings
and the stitching of their seams. Those that predate the s do not
have the long silk “water sleeves” that add expressiveness to Beijing
47
48
49
The dating of the early costumes was repeatedly reinforced by Wong Hok-sing on the basis
of his personal experience as a very young actor.
Wong Hok-sing, personal communication.
Ibid. Careful examination of the costumes also reveals that they were made by hand.
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opera costumes, although short-sleeve extensions of nylon fabric that
would decorously cover the actors’ hands were apparently added to the
oldest costumes at a later date, probably by Jin Wah Sing.50 Costumes
ornamented with designs outlined in sequins made of gelatin became
popular in the s, and a few are represented in the collection. Those
that are machine-sewn, possibly made of rayon rather than silk, lined
with cotton fabric, and decorated with relatively coarse embroidery of
twisted silk thread rather than silk floss probably date from the s to
the early s. Their embroidered motifs are often in art deco style.
Most of the heavily ornamented costumes are in the style of Ming
Dynasty robes (-), voluminous and with wide sleeves. A few are
very unusual in that they are in Qing Dynasty style (-),51 having
tight sleeves with horse-hoof-shaped cuffs and Manchu-style closings.
According to Master Wong Toa, the latter were used for operas set in
that dynasty. There are also female shoes with Manchu-style elevated
soles that look like elegant heels placed under the arch of the foot. Two of
the costumes for female roles have short sleeves – otherwise unheard-of,
even today – and were made in the style of clothing of their time (early
s). According to Huang Jinpei, these represent a failed experiment
typical of Cantonese opera’s quest for novelty. According to Wong Toa,
four sequined dresses with short sleeves and of a much later style were
made to be used in one particular opera.
As the specialists interpreted the costumes for us, we learned to look
for many clues that would indicate the role type and character type each
was intended to represent. In contrast to Western theatre costumes, few
Cantonese opera costumes are specific to individual characters, and
those that are relate to supernatural beings. Wide sleeves indicate civil
roles, while narrower ones indicate that the role type and character
are military. Extensive ornamentation indicates high social status, and
simple, dark-coloured costumes indicate poverty. Particular details
distinguish eunuchs from officials, and servants from those they serve.
Ribbons indicate gentility. We carefully recorded the specialists’
interpretation of each piece and benefited from their vast experience.
Although the older robes are heavily decorated with symbols from the
50
51
According to Master Wong Toa, water sleeves were first used in Cantonese opera in the s.
Cantonese opera actors had a complex and sometimes antagonistic relationship with the Qing
Dynasty, thus making the existence of opera costumes in Qing style an interesting paradox
that bears further investigation (Ward , , ). Huang Jinpei reported that, until about
, notices in the Chinese Times referred to Beijing opera. Cantonese actors had to perform
under this guise because, after , their opera was temporarily banned due to their support
of the Taiping Rebellion (Huang Jinpei, personal communication). Authorities give various
dates for the lifting of this ban (one example may be found in Ferguson [, ]).
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
83
Chinese repertoire – coins, bats, butterflies,
auspicious Chinese characters – we learned
that, in Cantonese opera, their meanings
were not necessarily consistent and that
they were not necessarily relevant to the role
type or character being portrayed.52 Why
would eunuchs’ robes be decorated with
the characters meaning “double happiness,”
normally prominent at weddings?
Photo : Detail of a robe from the
s. This close-up shows the heavy
gold and silver thread work, the
dragon’s glass eyes, and the applied
mirrors and metal discs that made the
robe sparkle. N..
Photo : Transforming robe, c. . The front panels are double, and the outer ones
could be unfastened and flipped over on the stage, revealing the undersides and transforming the robe into one with different colours and motifs, thus indicating the supernatural
nature of the being represented. N..
52
Wong Toa, personal communication.
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Photo : Military robe in Qing Dynasty style, c. . This costume is one of the few in the collection in this style. It is unfinished and shows no signs of use. Edz.
Photo : Robe representing a eunuch c. , one of four identical robes in the collection, all the same colour and all well worn. The hip panel and overall configuration
indicate that it was used to represent a eunuch. Edz.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
85
Photo : Costume in the style of contemporary women’s
clothing, c. . Costumes of this type were used only in
Cantonese opera and only in the s. According to Huang
Jinpei, the Chinese Times advertised productions featuring
them as “contemporary dress opera.” N.a-b.
Photo : Shoes representing bound feet,
s.53 Cantonese opera actors did not
have bound feet but could undergo arduous training in order to learn to balance for
long periods on shoes like these, which have
wooden foot supports inside.54 N.a-b.
Photo : Robe representing a young scholar.
The slanted neck and
straight shape are typical. c.  N..
53
54
The Chinese Times has a notice of a June  performance that featured such shoes.
In a  interview with Mary Yeung and myself, Chen Shaozhen, a senior Cantonese opera
researcher and teacher from Guangzhou, described in painful detail her childhood training
in the use of these shoes (Chen Shaozhen, personal communication).
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Photo : Vest worn to represent a Daoist
priest, c. . A vest for a woman would
be less elaborate, according to Chan Kwokyuen, who also said that Cantonese people
could call such a vest a “ families garment”
because it could represent pieces of cloth
contributed by many families. N..
Photo : Headdress
for a high official, c.
. The brilliant blue
areas are made of real
kingfisher feathers. On
a later headdress the
feathers were no longer
used, having been replaced with blue paper.
Edza-c.
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
87
Almost all the costumes have linings that look new and clean, even
when their exterior surfaces are badly worn. Master Wong Toa explained
that costumes were valuable and needed to be protected from the actors’
perspiration, especially when the troupes were performing in the heat
of south China. He said that the actors wore inner shirts made of a net
of fine bamboo tubes that held the costumes away from their bodies, as
well as layers of cotton cloth to absorb perspiration, thus adding weight
and bulk to the already heavy costumes. He emphasized the fact that
bearing the weight of the costumes (as well as some of the specialized
accessories) required stamina and skill on the part of the actors and
that the heaviness of the costumes sometimes caused actors to faint on
stage. The outer, decorated sides of some costumes have deteriorated,
providing clear evidence of how they were used (especially where they
display loose embroidery threads, bent ornaments, and soiling). Others
look completely new, despite their age. This suggests that some costumes
were more useful than others, although it is hard to see a pattern here.
Some costume parts that one would expect to have been heavily used,
such as guards’ vests, are in pristine condition, despite the fact that
guards and retainers always accompany emperors and generals. Perhaps
more were available than were needed; there is now no way to know.
The seven suits of armour suffered serious wear, and the transforming
robes are somewhat worn. The latter were worn in a splendid short play
called Six Kingdoms Present a Chancellor,55 which was designed to show
off the special skills of a troupe and the luxury of its costumes, and
also in the popular short play56 entitled The Celestial Maiden Presents a
Son. Transforming robes also appear in other museum collections and,
according to Chan Kwok-yuen, were produced in such abundance that
they could be bought virtually “off the rack.” Their popularity came
from the fact that they enabled actors to amaze audiences by appearing
as the Celestial Maiden and supernatural “sisters” come to earth and
then, by flipping back the front panels of their costumes, to transform
themselves into something entirely different but equally spectacular.
Now we can only imagine the feelings experienced by Chinese
audiences in early twentieth-century Vancouver as they were spellbound
by the magic of the Cantonese opera performances they witnessed.57
Operas were filled with colour, glitter, brilliance, and the ability to
55
56
57
Wong Hok-sing, personal communication.
Wong Toa and Wong Hok-sing, personal communication.
The Chinese Times sometimes reports general audience responses, both positive and
negative.
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transport the audience to a world of emperors, immortals, and beautiful,
elegant women in a country where so few Chinese women were then
present. Through their stage techniques the actors had the ability to
break this spell 58 and to communicate directly with the audience, thus
making them feel a part of the performance. Victoria Yip shared with
us her first-hand experience as an “opera lover.” It is important that
we continue to learn from those senior specialists who have first-hand
knowledge of Cantonese opera, as well as from the surviving written
records, so that we can gain a better understanding of the actors who
came here at that time, the dramas they performed, the materials they
used, and the itinerant lifestyle they led.
Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the information
contributed by Chan Kwok-yuen, Huang Jinpei, Hung Ka-fung, Wong
Hok-sing, and Wong Toa. Master Wong Toa continues to advise me and
answer any questions that might emerge. Professor Huang Jinpei did all
the painstaking research on the Chinese Times, photocopying relevant
articles and advertisements and writing summaries in English so that
they would be available for our work and that of future researchers.
He also did the Chinese-English translation for the project. Professor
Huang and Master Wong Toa provided expert guidance throughout
the exhibition. Rosa Ho worked with me throughout the research and
production phases of the exhibition, and she refined the label texts using
her high standard of literary Chinese.
Research for this project was supported by the Museums Assistance
Programme of Communications Canada and the Secretary of State,
Multiculturalism Directorate. These bodies, as well as Cathay Pacific
Airways Ltd., the Museum of Anthropology Members’ Fund, and
Sandra Lau supported the exhibition “A Rare Flower: A Century of
Cantonese Opera in Canada,” which opened at the UBC Museum of
Anthropology in May  and then travelled to six other Canadian
venues.
Dr. Edgar Wickberg gave me valuable, penetrating comments on a
draft of this article, based on his many years of research on Chinese
Canadian history. Dr. Graham Johnson also gave me important
comments and provided translations of the written Chinese. Mary
Tuen Wai Yeung provided valuable assistance by asking complex
58
See Brecht ().
Evidence of an Ephemeral Art
89
questions of Master Wong Toa on my behalf as well as by generously
responding to my request for comments on this article. Her comments
reflect her deep knowledge of Cantonese opera, gained through years of
careful research. I am grateful for their help and guidance. Leah Pageot
provided technical support with regard to the production of images.
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Archival Materials
Matthews, J.S. “Chinese Theatre, Chinatown.” Early Vancouver  ( December
): . City of Vancouver Archives.
Yip Sang fonds. City of Vancouver Archives.
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of Anthropology Archives, University of British Columbia.