That the actress in Malacca is a pretend bibik is hardly surprising

Fan Bingbing in sarong kabaya. Photo: fanbingbing/Facebook

Unsurprisingly, she came as a well-heeled nyonya. In China, there are reportedly scores of fans of 小娘惹 (The Little Nyonya), MediaCorp’s surprising hit series of 2008. So to tempt Chinese travelers as she is supposed to, Fan Bingbing (范冰冰) looked like she was on her way to a festive celebration, where a tok panjang lay waiting for her to partake in its lavish spread of lauk (dishes), cooked by the ablest bibik hands. On her first day in Malacca (Melaka), Ms Fan wore two sets of sarong kebaya and what appeared to be hanfu (汉服). Earlier in the day, when she greeted fans at the Stadthuys—with it unmistakable red exterior—and then later, to meet the chief minister Ab Rauf Yusoh in his Ayer Keroh office, the adored star wore a pink, unconventionally-opaque kebaya (the blouse) by Penang-based Kenny Loh Couture that was judiciously sulam-ed (embroidered) with chrysanthemums. The blouse is fastened with a set of kerosangs (linked brooches) and paired with a bright blue sarong batik with peony print. Surprisingly, she did not wear a pair of kasut manek (beaded slippers). Instead, she was shod in rather unattractive beige court shoes, affixed with bejeweled buckles that looked like she may have picked up from a pasar nearby.

For the ‘opening’ of the much-talked-about mural of Ms Fan as one Empress Wu Zetian (武则天), she changed into a cream, lace baju panjang (long tunic, but without the high-neck baju dalam or inner tunic) by Kuala Lumpur-based designer Khoon Hooi, held together with unlinked kerosangs and paired with a curiously modern sarong skirt in a satiny fabric. Again, she wore those unseemly shoes that she had on earlier. For both looks, she wore her hair in a sanggol (bun, presumably in the style a la Melaka since she is in the state), on which was studded fresh pecah periuk (‘broken pot’ or red ixoras), but since the sanggol was covered, we could not see if it was traditionally fashioned, complete with the tombong (knotted top resembling a coconut apple) and the lekair (the coil that framed the top knot). Wisps of hair on each side were allowed to fall—in a modern fashion—to flank her face that was minimally made-up, save for the fairly bright, matte red lips.

In a second set of sarong kebaya. Screen shot: 阿猫Susan/WhatsApp

The nyonya, even if Nanyang, turnout could disappoint some fans hoping that Fan Bingbing would be dressed as Hang Li Poh (汉丽宝, Han Libao), the Chinese princess sent by the Ming court to marry Malaccan sultan Mansur Shah in the 1400s. Whether the princess was real is not quite clear. Some historians cite the lack of historical records in China of her existence as reason to believe she is fictitious, even when she is mentioned in the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) and is accepted to be as actual as the legendary warrior Hang Tuah among many Malaccans. It is possible that Ms Fan preferred not to court controversy by appearing as a historical figure that cannot be determined to be as real as (or more powerful than) Wu Zetian, the famous Tang empress that she played in the 2014 television series 武媚娘传奇 (wu meiniang quanqi) or The Empress of China.

But those who hoped she would don something ethnically Chinese were not ultimately disappointed. Afternoon tea was arranged with Sultan Ibrahim, who was on a two-day visit to the state. For the royal occasion, Ms Fan did not, surprisingly, come close to Empress Wu. She wore what could be a 袍服 (paofu or robe)—with wide sleeves, in the palest green silk, without a trace of embroidery, and over an aquamarine mamianqun (horse-face skirt). And, yes, those same shoes (she had multiple changes of clothes, but she brought only a pair of shoe?). Although she added a single strand of purple beads (sapphire or amethyst?) for a necklace, there was something startlingly and starkly simple about the outfit, even monastic. It isn’t clear why Fan Bingbing, who could play a wealthy nyonya and did earlier (whether she looked like one is debatable), would adopt a considerably more modest—even body-obscuring—outfit when meeting the sultan. Was a humble dress preferred in the presence of royalty? And, therefore, as was the tarian (dances) that greeted them, something tradisional?

Updated: 15 June 2024, 8am