Historical costumes in films of the Wuxia genre: origins and interpretation

Van Xinan Postgraduate student; Department of Art History; A.N. Kosygin Russian State University 119071, Russia, Moscow, Malaya Kaluzhskaya str., 1, room 1625 wangxinan@rambler.ru

The art of designing screen costumes in cinematography is significantly ahead of the theoretical and methodological understanding of this process in science. The study of the role of costume in the formation of film images began relatively recently. At the same time, this process in the space of the development of Chinese cinema has not been covered at all in Russian science. Publications that deal with the issues of the formation of cinema in China only partially relate to this topic or consider one of its aspects. There are practically no works in Russian that would comprehensively show the formation of approaches to the artistic design of film costumes in Chinese cinema or the concepts of directors.

The history of the formation of the national cinematography of China, its stages and the work of the most prominent cinematographers, including those who worked in the Wuxia genre, are presented in the works of such Chinese scientists as Li Gang ^[1], Li Shaobai ^[2], Wu Gan Pin ^[3], etc. The books of Wang Chaowen ^[4], Meng Ke ^[5], etc. are devoted to the activities of individual directors. The problems of understanding the role of the artist in Chinese cinema and his contribution to the visual culture of the film, the imagery of costumes are presented in the books of S.A. Toroptsev ^{[6, 7, 8, 9, 10]}, S.I. Yutkevich ^[11] and E.A. Soboleva ^[12]. D.L. Karaev ^[13] and Zhu Ding ^[14] examined the features of Chinese cinema in the last decades of the XX century. The analysis of the works of costume designers in modern Chinese cinema is reflected in the publications of H. Li ^[15], M. Zhao ^[16], N.I. Narkevich ^[17], C. Mengxin ^[18], Zhang Cheng ^[19] and some other authors writing in Russian. They analyze the use cases of costumes in different genres of cinema, based on the work of costume designers in films of various periods. This work is devoted to revealing the specifics of costume and its origins in Chinese culture as the most important element of the cinematic image in Wuxia films at an early stage of their formation and development.

Since the middle of the XX century. in the cinema of Hong Kong, later Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, the wuxia genre has been rapidly developing, in which fictional characters demonstrated martial art and the moral and ethical code of a lonely wandering warrior. Starting from the first samples of wuxia in cinematography, the principle of continuity in relation to literary works of this genre is also asserted: this connection persists throughout the history of the cinematic embodiment of the wuxia phenomenon. At the same time, it is impossible to associate films of this genre only with the literary tradition: the transfer of us into the field of cinema led to the need to solve a wide range of new tasks, in particular, it was necessary to solve the problem of complex formation of images of characters and their visualization in cinema. Costume design became one of the key tasks, which presented a certain complexity. Wuxia is a genre that suggests a reference to the mythologized historical China. Accordingly, images of warriors dressed in costumes appeared in the first films, which were borrowed from collective ideas about historical, dynastic China ^[20]. Collectively, the images of these warriors (knights errant) they became inseparable from the specifics of their ancient costumes. For generations, this iconic image of the knight errant has been firmly rooted in the collective (unconscious) consciousness of ethnic Chinese, regardless of geographical boundaries.

Defining the origins of the formation of historical costume in Wuxia films, it should be noted that the formation of this new genre of cinema, starting in the 20s of the XX century, is determined by close interaction with Chinese literature and theater. "The extraordinary popularity of Chinese opera in the last decade of the Qing Empire (1901-1911) and the widespread distribution of novels in the Wuxia genre, usually serialized in newspapers, contributed to the fact that at the beginning of the twentieth century this genre was quickly picked up by Chinese cinematographers" ^[21]. Researcher Theodora Ho points out that the literary plots of Wuxia became widespread thanks to the Beijing Opera, which adapted them for the stage. This was the first experience of visualizing wuxia, which was later actively perceived by cinematographers. The appearance in 1928 of the first film in the Wuxia genre called "The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple" marked the beginning of a successful union of aesthetics of the Beijing Opera and Wuxia in cinema ^[22]. There is a traditional Chinese notion that you cannot change the stage costume of the Beijing Opera, no matter how old it is. This is due to the fact that the era, region, tribe, occupation, social class, and economic status of the characters must be revealed through the costume. The Chinese stage costume was created as a result of a long process of formation and improvement. Since the Chinese theater began on the square, costumes have traditionally been distinguished by the property of redundancy, hyperbolization, so that the audience can easily distinguish the roles. Color is of particular importance. For example, red is often used to denote loyalty, black – strength and endurance, yellow – wisdom, white – bravery ^[23]. These principles will for a long time determine the thinking of cinematographers in the interpretation of costume in Wuxia films.

In his directorial debut, The Butterfly Murders (1979), Tsui Hark demonstrates a new approach to costume interpretation. First of all, there is such a common feature in the costumes of the characters as the use of bright colors. The director uses this technique to visually highlight certain characters, as well as to designate various clans. Unlike its predecessors, Hark departs from the classical use of traditional costume, introducing an author's interpretation into it. The Tien Fung clan is distinguished by snow-white or bright red clothing, which indicates the status of a hero in the clan. Similarly, Tien Fung himself is dressed entirely in black, which gives him superiority and identifies him as a strong and experienced warrior. Traditionally, black is usually associated with masculinity and strength — qualities that the hero possesses. The image of one of the key heroines named the Green Shadow is constructed through active use in a green suit. When Tien Fung walks along a path surrounded by trees, the heroine approaches him, who moves from tree to tree. She is dressed in a bright green suit, in harmony with the surrounding foliage.

"Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain" is Hark's second film in the wuxia genre, shot in 1983. Here the narrative is more complex, with a wide variety of characters and situations. The film tells the story of Ti Ming-Chi (Yuen Biao), who escapes from clan feuds in the real world to the fantasy world of Mount Zu. Once on the mountain, he becomes a disciple of Tin Yin (Adam Cheng), a fencing master, and learns that his destiny is to destroy the evil Blood Demon with the help of Yi Chen (Man Hoi), a Buddhist monk. The costumes of the characters in this film are functional in the sense that they reveal their personalities and social roles. Ti Ming-Chi and Chang Mei are wearing armor suitable for low-ranking soldiers and have curved swords. Xiao Yu and Yi Chen wear traditional Buddhist robes and use long staffs as weapons. Ting Yin, the stoic hero of the film, is dressed in a bright white robe and a black swordsman's hat and carries a more refined Tai chi sword. Finally, another striking character, the Ice Queen, has a very unusual appearance. The highlight of her image is a bright layered dress with long flowing trains, which give her an element of mystery and otherworldly beauty. Compared to the characters in the painting "Killer Butterflies", the heroes of "Zu: Warriors from the magic Mountain" seem much more lively and dynamic.

After working as a stuntman and choreographer, Cheng Xiaodong made his directorial debut in the film Duel to Death (1983). In this film, the costumes and appearance of the characters also play an important role in determining the personality of the characters and their origin. The plot is based on a duel between two warriors - the Japanese Hashimoto and the Chinese Pou Chinwan. A Japanese samurai is introduced into the narrative following a conversation scene between Pou Chingwan and a Buddhist monk, each of whom wears traditional Chinese clothes. The figure of the monk is especially distinguished by the traditional Buddhist robe of red-orange color and a necklace of large rosaries. In the scene of Hashimoto's appearance, the hero appears dressed in a black kimono. A large group of boys runs past him on their way to kendo (Japanese-style fencing) classes. They're wearing fencing gear. In the next scene, Hashimoto meets with Japanese samurai. They are also dressed in traditional samurai clothes, their origin and position can be easily determined by the hairstyle in which the hair is tied in a knot. Similarly, the style of the weapon is used to identify the various characters in the film. The Japanese in the film wear curved samurai swords, often on their belts, while Chinwan and other Chinese characters carry Tai chi swords on their backs. Costumes in the film are also used to define gender roles. At the beginning of the film, Shin Lam, the daughter of Master Han, is dressed in men's clothes. Her behavior is violent and aggressive, and she participates in many battles. Over time, she begins to have feelings for Pou Chinwan. A scene appears in the film in which the heroine changes into women's clothes. This is an important transition that symbolizes the change of the heroine's state of mind, her inner sense of self. The light elegant dress is consistent with her new feminine image and behavior: the girl behaves more modestly. Thus emphasizing her femininity, she goes to Chinwan and tries to convince him to give up the duel for her.

The color in the film is also functional, which is primarily manifested in the costumes of the characters. Both warriors wear noble colors. The black color of Hashimoto's kimono declares him to be a strong and noble warrior. Chinwan is mostly in white, which reveals his main quality – bravery, fearlessness. Shin Lam wears a variety of colorful dresses, which at the same time combine with her strong and determined character, emphasizing her femininity. Perhaps the most striking example of the use of color in the film is playing with red during the final duel. It is no coincidence that both fighters are dressed in light clothes and placed on a light background. This allows you to visually highlight the red blood that appears as a result of injury.

"Chinese Ghost Story" is a significant film because it is the result of a collaboration between Cui Hark, the film's producer, and Tony Ching, the director and choreographer of the action films, who creatively introduces the aesthetics of the action film. In addition, unlike earlier works, this film has a strong romantic orientation. "Chinese Ghost Story" tells about a young wandering scientist who meets a ghost girl and falls in love with her.

The "Chinese Ghost Story" also makes extensive use of the traditional language of color. However, here it is used not only to indicate the personality of the character, but also to express emotions. In those scenes where the main characters meet each other, they are dressed in clothes of various shades of pink and white, which means their love for each other. The heroine also wears purple dresses, which is designed to visualize a mystical meaning in her image of a ghost. There are many ghosts and demons in the film, especially in the depiction of the other world, where the hero goes to save his beloved. The costumes of demonic creatures are characterized by an abundance of use of deep blue and various shades of black – this technique allows you to convey to the viewer feelings of fear and insecurity.

Later, the heroine learns that she will marry the evil Lord of the Black Mountain. She is trying on a wedding dress, which is an ornate flowing red robe. Although the dress is luxurious, and the scene itself demonstrates the beauty of actress Joey Wong, the all-encompassing evil associated with the image of the Lord of the Black Mountain is fully manifested here.

There are also battle scenes in "Chinese Ghost Story" where the use of magic is demonstrated. This is a sharp departure from the style of the previous film "Duel to the Death", in which the martial art of the characters was associated with physical abilities and skill in handling weapons. The battle scenes in which the characters use their magical abilities demonstrate special effects and magnificent choreography, which inspires a strong sense of movement and visual flow. In this sense, the costume also acquires a special meaning. For example, a ghost girl uses the wide and light sleeves of her dress as a weapon, as well as to move through the air. She begins her actions with circular movements of her arms, then rotates her body, which sets the sleeves in motion.

Thus, historical costumes that are created for Wuxia films play a key role in creating the image of a knight errant hero. In addition, the formation and development of this genre in cinema is characterized by the adaptation of the traditional principles of Beijing Opera. This process also affects the design of the costume, its interpretation as an important means of communication with the viewer, visualization of the social status, clan affiliation, personality and emotional experiences of the characters. It is also interesting how the costume is used to change gender roles. Men's clothing is quite concise, in addition, restrained in terms of the use of color (black / white / blue), the women's suit is distinguished by its layering and brightness of color. The color in the costume is the element that carries the greatest semantic load. Chinese directors of Wuxia films generally adhere to realism in the depiction of costumes of a number of socially labeled characters: a warrior (for example, a samurai), a monk, etc. Great fantasy can manifest itself in the depiction of otherworldly creatures. Weapons are an important part of the character's costume, the type of weapon also clearly corresponds to his image, expressing primarily the social status of the hero.