The Chou, because of its dramatic role to play, so the nose rubbed a small piece of white powder, commonly known as 'small painted face.' They apply little powder, called 'handsome play', 'plain face', 'and clear face.' Jing and Chou have more complex face painting, especially the Chou are re-applied paint and design, so called 'painted face.' The opera mask, mainly referring to the Chou face painting. Facial make-ups is different in different situation. There are three main features of facial make-ups: contradictory unity of beauty and ugliness, closely related to the role of personality and its stylized design. It is an essential part of Chinese culture. Peking Opera make-ups has been recognized as one of the traditional culture of the Han identity. Peking Opera make-ups art is an art very popular among majority of opera lovers. About sources of facial makeup, the general view is that it comes from mask.

P.S.Peking Opera make-ups is a special kind of make-up method of Han cultural characteristics. Our team speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, and serve customers worldwide with passion and hearts. So far we carry 3000+ goods covering Ladies Fashion, Kungfu Clothing, Home Furnishings, Babies & Kids, Painting Arts, Textile Arts, Carving Arts, Tribal Jewelry Art, Wall Masks and Musical Instruments. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste. “A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide”Īileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Only then does the makeup attract attention from the audience and really come alive. When drawing the lines on a mask, fine brushes are used with great attention. The application of colors requires the harmony of strong hues and light hues. Like calligraphy and Chinese painting, the brush must be handled with force and precision. The make-up of the Peking Opera is extremely artistic and takes great skill to achieve it. The Chou 丑(clown) who is a comic figure, a jester, who wears a white makeup stain on his face. He most often represents a god, a general or a mandarin. The Jing 净(painted face) who is a character often wearing a mask and who has the most assertive personality. The Dan 旦(woman) who has six types of roles, ranging from the virtuous girl to the old woman. The Sheng生 (man) who represents the young or old man, which can be distinguished from their beard.

Peking opera always has four fixed main roles whatever the play performing. The Makeup of the Four Roles The Makeup of the role “Dan” There are also Chinese paper cuttings, which is a popular Chinese traditional art depicting characters from Chinese Peking Opera. A 3D mask with its decorative elements placed under glass or framed can become an original and beautiful decorative object. Nowadays various reproductions of these Chinese operatic masks, which can be worn for parties and theatrical performances or which can be hung on the wall as decoration, are sold commercially. The purple mask characterizes righteousness and sophistication.Ĭolorful Masks with Different Connotations

The blue mask symbolizes ferocity and cunning. The green mask symbolizes bravery, brutality, despotism, vehemence and irascibility. The yellow mask symbolizes ferocity and ambition. The white mask symbolizes mistrust and cunning.

The black mask symbolizes firmness and honesty, or temerity.

The red mask symbolizes loyalty, courage, bravery, sincerity and righteousness.

Peking Opera Characters Dan and Jing with Drawn MaskĬolors and the Expression of Personalitiesįor Chinese classical opera, each color used on a mask contributes effectively to express the character’s personality: The innumerable combinations of colored lines add intensity to each character’s expression and produce a strong aesthetic effect at the same time. Initially, the actors wore real masks which were later replaced by a kind of makeup specifically designed for each character. The appearance of Peking Opera in China dates back to the end of the 18th century and was a mixture of dances, acrobatics and music featuring Chinese historical stories and folklores. Due to their shapes and bright colors, the Chinese masks of Peking Opera are remarkable and the visual effect that they provide is particularly striking.

Chinese opera makeup meaning