5 Amazing Opera Masks in Oriental Culture Kunqu Opera

Opera Masks of the traditional Kunqu, each of the historical characters portrayed in the performance, has its own unique design painted on the face of the actor. In addition to the color of the makeup, the characteristics, personality, moral character, and the like are displayed through the symbolic and exaggerated artistic designs on their faces.

When it comes to the origins of dramatic facial makeup, there are many theories. One theory is that facial makeup began in ancient times as part of people’s devotion to primitive totem beliefs, from which people formed traditions of tattoos and facial makeup.

One theory is that they originated with Emperor Li Longji (685-762) in the Tang Dynasty. This emperor and his concubine Yang Yuhuan were both fond of performance art, consisting of song and dance. In the palace, there was even a special place for practicing singing and dancing opera called the Pear Garden.

After that, people used “Pear Garden” to refer to Chinese opera. According to legend, one day an actor who played the comedy role suddenly fell ill right before the scheduled performance. At the last moment, the emperor performed this role in the show, but because he feared people would recognize him, he took off the square white jade pendant that hung on his clothes, and hung it on his headwear to cover his face. From then on, clowns painted their faces with a white block. Moreover, from this, we can see why clowns are considered important Kunqu Opera roles.

Each theory, regardless of its authenticity, demonstrates how the design of opera facial makeup underwent a complex development process of rising in popularity and becoming a unique form of art in its own right. With the passing of time, each type of operatic style has become more defined, and each kind of facial makeup pattern used has been adapted to the features of each actor.

Sheng represents the male roles; Dan represents the female roles; Chou, which means clown, represents the comic role; and Jing is a rather complex male character that has various rough, heroic, and dignified characteristics. Fu or Mo, generally refers to middle-aged and elderly men in dramas. He can be a father, an official, etc. Generally, they wear long black or white beards.

The facial makeup of the Sheng and Dan are quite simple, using a little rouge and powder, and has also been referred to as the “handsome role.”

The Jing and Chou facial makeup design, on the other hand, is more complex, especially the Jing, which uses oil paints and complicated patterns, and has been called the “painted role.” As for the Chou, a small patch of white powder is applied to the area around the bridge of the actor’s nose, and so has been called the “minor painted role.”

This kind of makeup art uses a form of deformation and exaggeration to express meaning. The colors and patterns of facial makeup show the basic predisposition of each specific character. At the same time, the pattern on each type of facial makeup has its own limitations, only being able to articulate one certain look very clearly, but not being able to express any significant changes.

For this very reason, the facial makeup pattern of each character is slightly different depending on the different narratives of the story they are performing. Even when different actors play the same role, because of the different understanding of the role or the different shape of the actor’s face, the details of facial makeup will also change.

References

The Peony Pavilion (Tang Xianzu) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peony_Pavilion

The Peach Blossom Fan (Kong Shangren) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peach_Blossom_Fan

Kunqu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunqu

The Palace of Long Life (Hong Sheng) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palace_of_Eternal_Life

《Historical Dictionary of Chinese Theater》By Tan Ye https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=USOzayld_z8C&pg=PA223&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
The Peach Blossom Fan (1699) https://www.douban.com/location/drama/6224487/

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