Lani Barry
Prof. Margaret Souza
Anthropology in Makeup Independent Study
6 December 2011
The Makeup of Chinese Opera
Asian forms of theatre have makeup styles that are by far more elaborate than many classical European theatrical practices. Indian Kathakali, Japanese Kabuki, and Chinese Opera all share traditions of fantastical painted faces for the theatre. Westerners are unaware that there are many styles such as the Beijing Opera style, Shanghai Opera style, Cantonese Opera, and that hundreds of forms branch out from these. Makeup patterns vary for each operatic style. While many people visualize Chinese actors clad in large headdresses with white and pink faces and painted over-pronounced eyebrows, in reality, the variance of colors and patterns in the makeup of Chinese Opera is astounding. In this paper I explore the origins of Chinese Opera makeup, and the diversity of faces that can appear and the character types they are associated with. Additionally, I discuss how the actors apply their makeup and how the traditions carry on today.
Like the theatrical makeup of many cultures present today, the evolution of Chinese Opera makeup was thought to come from tribal practices in the primeval eras, Warring clans of the provinces along the Yangtze River were known to blacken their teeth, paint their faces with dye, and wear animal skins, feathers, and masks. Whether the makeup was intended to scare off demons, predators, enemies, or simply perform rituals during celebrations, these practices from 400 B.C. were thought to influence early theatrical makeup.
During the Tang Dynasty it was the emperor Xuanzong (who ruled from 712 A.D. to 755 A.D.) who created China’s first opera company, which he dubbed the “Pear Garden.” It was also during the Tang Dynasty when plays involved having actors paint their face and wear masks for performances. Many of the makeup designs that survive in Chinese Opera today come from the use of masks in theatrical performances. Painted in intricate designs and carved out of wood, actors kept masks on the face with their mouths by biting down on a hold. However, because the mouth was engaged to keep the mask on, actors who wore them did not sing. Masks were eventually retired, and the practice of face painting was adopted; this allowed actors to freely speak and sing while still maintaining features of their character. Masks are rarely used in performances today unless an actor is playing a particular god, fairy, or ghost whose face cannot be shown.
During the Song Dynasty (960 A.D. to 1279 A.D), historical texts recalled that makeup involving face painting had been set into two facial types. Liu, in The Art of Facial Makeup in Chinese Opera writes, “In the Song Dynasty, two basic categories of "clean-faced" makeup and "colorful-faced" makeup came into being so that image and emotion could be vividly illustrated (Liu 6). “Clean-faced makeup” would have been used for leading male and leading lady roles, which would become shing and dan roles, while “colorful-face” evolved for characters whose emotion was expressed by their facepaint, like jing warrior characters or clown-like chou characters. Types of roles such as the male or jing and the clown characters called chou were defined and regulated during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D. to 1644 A.D.) By this time, the jing actors had a variation of the heavily painted face we see today, and the chou had their whimsical face concepts formed. Schools of theatre, such as the Beijing Opera, did not further evolve the theatrical makeup of characters until the closing of the Qing Dynasty (1644 A.D. to 1912 A.D.) Makeup designs were named based on their construction and symbolism, for example, the “quartered face,” the “old man face,” or “three-tile face.” Each design is symbolic of the character’s personality type. Audience members of modern Chinese Opera are able to identify the disposition of each character based on the face.
Western theatrical makeup practices designate role types based on the age, gender, or vocal range of the actor, while Chinese theatre varies its casting practices. Very early Chinese variety theatre of the Yuan Dynasty (1271 A.D. to 1368 A.D.) called Zaju had men and women cast in a variety of roles. Men and Women could cross-dress and play the opposite gender in an opera; this can be seen in a temple mural from Shanxi dated to 1324. James Brandon, in The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre explains, “Performers of either sex acted male or female roles. The heading of the 1324 mural informs us that a certain famous actress 'Elegance of Zhongdu performed here', while the main character depicted, the one presumably played by the named female star, is male” (Brandon 29). The mural advertises the arrival of a popular actress and her theatrical troupe, while depicting the instruments used and costumes the actors wore. Cross-dressing is clearly depicted by both men and women in the 1324 mural.
Because of the heavy influence of Confucians teachings in Chinese culture, that men should take care of everything outside the home while women stay concerned with homemaking, the Qianlong Emperor had banned all female performers in Beijing in 1772. Only men and young boys could participate in opera, and only in the last century have women returned to the stage to play roles. Men and women are now able to play a variety of the major role types, and cross-dressing still occurs in Chinese opera today.
There are four main types of characters in Chinese opera, which are divided into other subcategories. The first is sheng, a male character whose face is generally unpainted. The painted face characters are; tan or dan, a young female role, jing, men with elaborate face makeup, and clown characters called chou whose makeup is centralized to the center of the face. Liu describes the remaining subcategories noting, “The four roles are subdivided, based on the characters' age, temperament, and the kind of singing, speech, gesticulation, and martial displays they are called upon to make” (Liu 11). This description suggests the complexity of makeup practices in Chinese opera as well as makeup’s unique ability to visually inform the audience of what may appear minor characteristics.
There are three kinds of sheng characters, and while their faces aren’t as fully painted as other opera characters’, there still is a makeup style to identity a sheng. Lao-Sheng characters are men over thirty who wear facial hair in a variety of blacks and grays to show their age. Their eyebrows are darkened, and light red eye shadow gradients down towards their eyes. Characters that are young, masculine men who perform great feats of martial arts are called Wu-sheng. Their faces are painted paler than the Lao-Sheng characters, and the red eye shadow is much more pronounced. Lastly, Hsao-Sheng characters are effeminate handsome young men who often play charming lovers.
There are four kinds of tan female roles; Hua-tan, Ching-Yi, Wu-Tan, and Lao-Tan. Hua-Tan is often the naïve, tomboyish character with a boisterous personality. Ching-Yi is the proper, virtuous, and polite young female role. Wu-Tan is the militant female role, often a general or warrior (called Dao Ma Tan) with great acrobatic and martial art skill. Lao-Tan is the role of an older woman, who is the female equivalent of the old man Sheng character. Those in Lao-Tan roles wear what is closer to Western stage makeup, with no specific markings other than eyebrows or hair that has been lightened to look gray. All other tan roles wear what is commonly advertised to promote Chinese Opera characters: faces that have been painted or powdered white, with red or pink shadow powdered from the brow bone to the cheeks or chin. The eyebrows are painted black and thick, eyes are also pronounced, and lips are painted crimson red.
Jing or ching characters perhaps wore the most elaborate and exciting patterns of makeup in Chinese Opera. Hundreds of varieties of face paint can be seen, but depending on the school of opera the actor is from, there are regulations on design and color. Min and Peng, in Destiny, the Culture of China – Opera, illuminate the complexity of these varieties in face painting noting:
Facial make-up in Chinese Opera, besides giving information about the personality traits and mindset of a character, also has inherent artistic interest. The designs and colors employed all have specific meanings. […] A face that is made up in a straightforward and consistent manner is called a "complete face"; one that incorporates many diverse elements is referred to as a "fragmented face".
(Min, Peng, 1)
A “complete face” was painted on actors whose character was easily discernable, whether they had respectable intention or were less than trustworthy. Characters with “fragmented faces” displayed to the audience that their nature was fractured and sinister, these often appear on villains.
Jing characters are often considered secondary roles, but they even have their own subdivision dedicated to what skills the character displays. The jing roles often play generals, officials, bandits, or warriors, and each color of face paint and design will designate their character type. The patterns are categorized into types such as the previously mentioned ‘tiled face’ and ‘quartered face’, but also ‘whole face’, ‘six-division face’, ‘lop-sided face’, and ‘tiny-flowered face’. All the colors of the rainbow are used, but red is often the most prominent. Jing characters can also display their performance specialty by the color of their face. To help spectators understand this concept while viewing a performance, tourism specialists at My Beijing China explain how the jing face paint will inform them of their talents:
Dong-Chui (T'ung Ch'uei), better known as Hei Tou (black face), who is good at singing and usually a loyal general; Jia Zi (Chia Tze), who is good at acting, and generally a more complicated character; and Wu Jing, who is mainly proficient in fighting and acrobatics and seldom plays a very prominent role. (MyBeijingChina, 1)
‘Lop-sided’ jing face paint is asymmetrical, and the features are painted on to appear faulty and warped. A designed called ‘fractured’ has evolved from the ‘three-tiled’ face. Reserved for military characters of low rank or wandering warriors, ‘fractured’ face paint for jing is incredibly elaborate and evolved into a style of its own. The number ten in Chinese is a cross shape (十), so the ‘ten’ face design appears much like a cross where the eyes, chin, and forehead will be darkened. ‘Three-tile’ design relies on the use of one base color, while secondary colors define the eyes, mouth, and brows. There is another facial style based on the ‘three-tile’ called the ‘variegated,” which means the makeup style is complex and kaleidoscopic. For a jing’s makeup style to be variegated, the color of the cheeks and forehead must be different. Like the ‘ten’ face, there is also a makeup style based on the Chinese number for six (六). The ‘six’ face is for honorable characters such as generals, government officials, and the elderly. The plainest of jing makeup is ‘solid,’ where everything but the eyebrows is painted a single color. ‘Solid’ faced jing represent the most honorable characters.
The colorings of jing makeup designs also have very special significance. Red represents a morally upright character; it is the color of bravery and loyalty, and pink is reserved for similar characters of an older age. Yellow is reserved for characters that are levelheaded, ardent, and determined. Green face jing characters are impetuous, gruff, and obstinate. Blue-faced characters are shrewd, steady, and fierce. Purple is similar to red and yellow, for he is equally moral, refined, and temperate. Black and white face characters are much more sinister. White-faced jing are cunning, deceitful, and malevolent. Black represents ferociousness and boorish tendencies. Characters who play gods or spirits in Chinese opera will have their faces painted gold or silver. Thus, facial colors immediately provide the audience with valuable information.
The last main character type who a painted face is the chou, or clown character. The chou is a jester-like comedic character who often plays a variety of secondary roles in an opera. While he commonly is slow-witted, peculiar, and amusing, chou can also be fiendish. The roles a chou can play are anywhere from a prince, to a merchant, to a jailer, but there are two subcategories for chou. Wu chou required acrobatic skill, as they are often military or solider characters. Wen chou play types like civil-servants, innkeepers, and scholars. All chou have a very simple face of makeup with a white circle encompassing the nose and eyes, often defined by light rouge. The brows and lips are only slightly defined, as the white portion of the face is meant to be the most prominent aspect. Li notes the symbolic importance of these highly specific makeup practices claiming,
Facial makeups are a special art in Chinese operas, which distinctly show the appearances of different roles as well as their dispositions and moral qualities by means of artistic exaggeration combined with truthful portrayal and symbolism. Facial makeups also serve to express praise or condemnation toward the characters. (Li, 1)
That makeup has the ability to evoke a reaction or inspire a preconceived notion of a character is only a small facet of makeup’s diversity in Chinese opera.
Facial features even have names and styles for characters in Chinese Opera. In her thesis on Chinese Opera Makeup, Hsueh-Fang Liu lists as many as twenty-three kids of eyebrow styles alone. Some styles of eyebrows painted on actors are straightforward in name and meaning, such as ‘Elderly Eyebrows,’ which are painted on old characters to give the appearance of sagging eyelids. ‘Villain Eyebrows’ are another style of brows that, as the self-explanatory name suggests, are painted to look furrowed and treacherous. Other styles have interesting names such as the ‘Reclining Silkworm Eyebrows.’ This particular style is only painted on an actor playing a character from a Chinese folktale named Kuan Yu, because such features are described in the story. ‘Praying Mantis Pincher Eyebrows’ are arched and pointy eyebrows for villainous characters, while ‘Willow Leaf Eyebrows’ are painted on characters who are eunuchs and are much more effeminate than other male characters.
Eyes, mouths, noses, and foreheads have just as much variety as eyebrows in Chinese Opera. Beyond the colors or patterns of set designs for characters, there is deeper meaning in the style of each feature, and educated audience members can identify the personality of a character from just these alone. For example, ‘Kidney Eyes’ are reserved for monk characters, and ‘Ring Eyes’ are designed to look like the large eyes of a panther, rendering the characters vicious and impetuous.
The space on the forehead is used for painting symbols or patterns that have significance. If an actor has a red marking on his forehead, it is assumed that a head injury will be the cause of the character’s death. Other ominous forehead markings are the ‘Long-Life Forehead,’ which incidentally means the character is doomed to a brutal death. ‘True Nature Forehead’ is for characters that are demons and take the disguise of human form; only the marking on their forehead reveals what they truly are.
Noses in Chinese Opera makeup tend to be more complimentary than other features. For example, a ‘Hooked Nose’ is reserved for a forehead pattern called ‘Bat Forehead,’ while ‘Full Nose’ or ‘Villain Nose’ is meant for the villain facial designs. Noses tend to lack significance by themselves, but mouths have more meaning to their shape. Eunuch characters have their own mouth design, called ‘Water Chestnut Mouth.’ The form of the mouth is diminutive and feminine, which is meant to show the eunuch’s lack of masculinity. ‘Tiger Mouth’ is meant for outstanding martial artists and warriors, even though the shape is turned downward like a frown. ‘Fire Brazier Mouth’ is meant for villainous characters; while a ‘Gold Ignot Mouth’ isn’t specifically an evil character yet not a virtuous one either.
Beards are of equal importance in Chinese Opera, as they show social rank or assist in the actor expressing emotions if they are used in gesticulation. A character with a full beard is affluent and authoritative; a mustached character is a discourteous trickster whereas a ‘Three-Part Beard’ appears on upright and dignified characters. Like the colors of the face, the colors of the beard represent temperament as well as age. Red beards are reserved for vicious outlaws, but black, grey, and white beards are for characters up to fifty, sixty, or seventy years old. To express the sentiments of the character, the actor could contemplate by caressing his beard through his fingertips. To initiate combat, a warrior may flick his beard over his shoulder. There are many beard movements in Chinese Opera, and a simple motion could foreshadow future action or how the character feels.
Not only do actors of a Chinese Opera troupe have to be trained in the hundreds of facial makeup styles and meanings of each character’s feature, but also the designing and application process is an art itself. Sophia Delza advises, “The art of face painting (Lien P'u) and make-up (Hua Ch'uang) are to be considered separately as stylistic techniques for "changing the face" (Delza, 6). Thus, considering the process of face painting is as important as the significations of the makeup itself.
Western greasepaint makeup for the theatre often has cold cream as the makeup’s base, but makeup for Chinese opera is not premixed in this fashion. The colors for the actor’s makeup are separated into small containers, usually in powder form, and sit in the dressing room along with palettes, oil, brushes, and wooden applicators. The actors are responsible for their own makeup and are often trained as assistants to veteran actors upon joining the troupe. Actors begin their training within a Chinese Opera troupe as young as eight or nine years old, and their training can last up to ten years before they are ready to perform onstage.
There is a traditional order to the makeup application process that is followed by each actor. To begin, the actor mixes the base color for their face; for some sheng and tan characters, this is a mixture of oil and white powder. For actors who play jing, it is entirely up to the temperament of the characters they are playing in order to choose a color. Application by hand often helps matte the final result of the base coat. The second step in creating the face of the character is painting on the eyebrows, which is also crucial to determining the nature of their part. If a forehead symbol is required for the character they must wait until the eyebrows are painted on, as the eyebrows are the foundation for the rest of the facial design. Next, an actor will either accentuate the eye or begin the designs around the eyes, followed by the nose, mouth, and cheeks.
There is a practice in the Chinese Opera called ‘changing face,’ where an actor makes additions or alters his face between scenes. The reason for this is usually an event in the play that causes a change the character’s circumstance, such as an injury, evil deeds, or death. Some actors learn the art of blowing makeup powder onstage or in the wings, making an immediate and noticeable change to the color of the face. Otherwise, it is mostly aging lines, eyebrow alterations, or black spots to the face that indicate a change. Sophia Delza provides an example of the Changing Face process:
For the Changing Face, an actor must go through a series of experiences, which radically change his behavior and his character. In The White Snake Lady, a snake is transformed into a beautiful girl; due to various events she becomes a haggard old woman. These changes are the result of experiences, not the result of "time." (Delza, 14)
The application process takes place during the opera becomes as significant as each image of the character presented.
The Chinese Opera continues to survive today in The People’s Republic of China, southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and in communities of the Chinese Diaspora. Sponsored performances on television, government subsided troupes touring, and cultural presentations at educational centers help keep this spectacular form of theatre alive. I was lucky enough to watch a performance of Chinese Opera in Flushing, NY, as my Theatre professor from Hunter College was performing a lao-sheng character in a production. During a Q&A afterward, he explained that some of their rehearsals and staging were not customary to conventional Chinese Opera. However, their costumes, makeup, and songs were all authentic. While Western styles and techniques may have been added to companies who tour and perform opera, the productions still maintain performances in Mandarin and Cantonese, minimalistic sets, elaborate costumes, and traditional makeup designs. The culminations of thousands of years and decades of training, the makeup of Chinese Opera is unforgettable as each face in a performance tells a story of its own.
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