Whip is a common prop in China traditional opera performances. It is often used to describe the situation of riding a horse, emphasizing the acoustic effect of horse running. But in fact, in China's traditional opera performances, the real whip was not used, but the clever use of cloth products was used instead.
The prop commonly used to represent the whip in China traditional opera performances is called "whip", that is, a short brown stick with long ribbons at both ends, which can be waved to simulate the sound of the whip. The sound made by this cloth product is very crisp, which can create a good atmosphere to describe the running of horses.
In order to make the whip better adapt to the needs of the plot, the performer will also tie many ribbons of different colors outside to show the differences between different roles. For example, in Wild Arrow in the Desert, Jiang Gan's whip was added with a red and yellow ribbon to show his identity.
At the same time, in stage performances, whips can also be used to represent other items. For example, in Riding a White Horse, the performer waved a whip to simulate a spinning sword; In the case of padlocked dragons, whips were used as pendants that swung up and down.
Of course, when using a whip, you need to pay attention to skills, including the grasp of techniques, strength and speed, which are all elements that need to be mastered. Moreover, the specific shape of the whip will be different because of the needs of different operas. But generally speaking, whip, as a kind of cloth product, has become one of the indispensable props in China traditional opera performances.
As a special form of reflecting life, drama requires the performance of life scenes in the limited space of the stage and the limited time of a performance, which will inevitably lead to two pairs of contradictions: the infinite space reflecting life scenes (in a relative sense) and the limited space of the stage, the infinite time for the continuation of the drama plot and the limited time for the actual performance.
China traditional operas have their own methods to solve these contradictions. It openly shows the assumption of the stage, admits that drama is drama, and takes a detached attitude towards the treatment of stage space and time.
We don't ask whether the use of stage space conforms to the scale of life, nor whether the performance time conforms to the continuation of plot time. Instead, it relies on the breakthrough structure system and virtual expression techniques to create a unique artistic conception on the stage without any devices and make a broad image summary of life.