Costume

Chinese puppetry is steeped in the traditions of the Chinese opera, from its costuming to the stories that are told on the puppet stage. The much smaller puppet is thus dressed in signifiers that connote its personal characteristics. Details, in costuming or hair styling, refer audiences to archetypes and popular fictional characters for recognition (Department of Education 1996, 245-63, 342). Maria de Lourdes Orozco Cuautle's Chinese Puppet Doll's hair is styled up -- a shorthand for her marital status, as married Chinese women wear their hair up while unmarried women do not. The female robe, known as the nu pei (女帔), is made of satin fabric with diamantine cable details and slits along the left and right sides. The nu pi is also characterized by its long collar and loose sleeves. It is typically worn by “empresses, imperial concubines and noblewomen” (Que 2017, 19).