Some of the more striking types of headgear include great pheasant plumes, two of them, of sometimes nearly six or seven feet in length, sprouting from the actors head like antennae. Originally, these were used to indicate that the wearer was an insurgent chief or a minority nationality. But because of their beauty, they were soon adopted by many types of military stage characters. Sometimes, when watching Peking Opera, I wonder if there were no good tailors in ancient China. At least, they had trouble measuring arms.
Water sleeves are long strips of white silk.
These sleeves are flicked to emphasize a point, shaken when angry, stretched out in dance. Typically, all of the high officials costumes have water sleeves. Of props, there are very few save for the arms of combat such as swords and spears. An umbrella is sometimes carried in an important person's entourage. Another common prop is the horse whip.