ABSTRACT
In Chinese theatre, there are more than fifty conventional hand positions, based on the need to be able to differentiate between the various roles into which Peking Opera characters are divided. Specifically, they are a way of distinguishing male characters and female characters, which until recently were performed exclusively by male actors. In addition to having special make-up and costumes, it was also necessary to reconstruct a behaviour of the hands appropriate to the character's sex and social status. Women, for example, gesture with a tapered hand, while young characters gesture discreetly keeping the thumb hidden, and old characters and warriors lift the thumb to emphasise the gesture's power.
