What is Peking Opera Face Changing all about?

Face-changing is a stunt used to portray characters in the art of Sichuan opera. It is a romanticized technique to reveal the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters in the play.

The emotional makeup of Chinese opera. Face-changing was first used for the roles of gods and monsters, and it existed in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming opera "Goukou Erlang beheading Jianjiao", there is a record of "changing the green face". At that time, face-changing was done by actors who went backstage to change their costumes. In later times, it was transformed into on-the-spot face-changing, which has become a performance stunt, and is found in many local operas, with Sichuan Opera being the most famous. There are two types of face-changing: big face-changing and small face-changing. The big face-changing is to change the whole face, with 3, 5 or even 9 changes; the small face-changing is a partial face-changing. There are three main techniques of face-changing: wiping stormy eyes, blowing powder and pulling face. The first two are coated with make-up, such as wiping the eyes of the actor's fingers on the preexisting brow or sideburns of the ink green, a wipe that is changed; blowing powder is even rougher, i.e., the actor blew up the color powder, in order to change the face; the latter is to add the use of masks, layer by layer set on the face, tightening and tightening dead or alive degrees, change one by one when tugging it down. In addition, there are tearing face and sticking face, is not used more. Changing face requires quick movements, without revealing traces. Mainly used in the drama characters panic, despair, anger and other sudden changes in mood.

The techniques of face-changing are roughly divided into three: "wipe the face", "blowing the face" and "pulling". In addition, there is also a "luck" face change.

"Wipe the face" is the makeup oil paint on a specific part of the face, when the hand to the face, you can become another face. If you want to change the whole face, you can apply the paint to the forehead or eyebrows, and if you want to change only the lower part of the face, you can apply the paint to the face or nose. If only a part of the face is to be changed, the oil paint can be applied only to the place where it is to be changed. For example, Xu Xian in "White Snake", Pei Yu in "Release Pei", and Chen Lun in "Flying Cloud Sword" all use the technique of "wiping the face".

"Blow face" is only suitable for powdered cosmetics, such as gold powder, toner, silver powder and so on. There is a very small box on the floor of the stage, filled with powder, the actor to do a dance movement on the ground, take the opportunity to face close to the box to blow, powder on the face, immediately into another color of the face. It is important to note: when blowing, close your eyes, mouth and breath. The "face blowing" method is used to change the faces of characters such as Zidu in "Capturing Zidu Alive" and Le Yangzi in "Ruling Zhongshan".

The "face-pulling" method is a more complicated one. It is to draw the face on a piece of silk beforehand, cut it out, tie a handful of threads on each face, and then stick it on the face one by one. The threads are tied in a convenient and inconspicuous place of the clothes (e.g. on the belt). As the play progresses, it is pulled off one by one under the cover of dance movements. For example, the bowl boy (purple and gold cymbal bowl) in "The Legend of the White Snake" can change into seven or eight different faces, such as green, red, white and black. The thief in "The Old Building" and Nie Long in "Wang Niang Tan" also use the "face pulling" technique. There are certain difficulties in "face-pulling". First, there should not be too much adhesive on the face-pieces, so as not to be unable to pull them off, or to pull all of them off at once. Secondly, the movement should be clean and sharp, and the fake movement should be skillful to hide the audience's eyes.

There is also a way to "change faces by luck". Legend has it that the late famous Sichuan opera actor Peng Sihong, when playing Zhuge Liang in "The Empty City Plan", was able to use qigong to turn his face from red to white and then from white to green when the qin boy reported that Sima Yi's army had retreated, which was meant to show Zhuge Liang's fear of being relieved of his burden.

All in all, face-changing is a great skill in Sichuan Opera, which has now been borrowed by other brother operas and has been spread abroad.

The face-changing skill of Sichuan Opera is incredible: a face can be changed to as many as fourteen in a flash, which is really something to be marveled at.

And Mr. Lu Xun's cross-eyed "a broad face on the change", the same let us be amazed.

Once poor, bitter, once powerful, soaring, it is difficult to look people in the eye, friends and acquaintances do not interact, see also do not greet each other, and even walking also corner of the clothes, whisking people at hand.

This is a kind of "change of face".

The real world, we can often see the dignitaries driving high-grade cars, access to high-grade villas, clubs, clothes and sideburns frequently participate in the so-called socializing, entertainment, a drunkenness and pointing to the high and mighty faction, and once the "double rule", once the power is lost, and then drooped his head, full of helplessness and remorse, teaching people to look at the The first time I saw this, I couldn't help but laugh and cry, and I felt that it was very funny and I hated it!

This is the second type of "face change".

I know a project to build and repair the manager, a few years ago, well-dressed, bright face, do not want to be newly touched down is a big change, a trivial downtrodden elephant, and even talk is not enough, mumbling, let a person have pity. Asked to know because out of the contract labor was cheated more than 30 million, bank and personal loans can not be due to return.

This "face" of the three.

And the ugly woman, not through their own quality of training to enhance the degree of lovely, but with the help of modern cosmetic surgery technology to beautify into a delicate and beautiful face, but actually can be exchanged for her money and even the future, is really wonderful!

This is the fourth type of "face-lift"!

Really, money is a man's face, with money, men can dress up Song Yu, Pan An, and even do whatever they want; no money, men are bold, like an empty shell body without a soul. And women have money, can also mold themselves into a lady, or charming, charming princess.

However, the "face" of all kinds of how much, we do not want this "face" continue to change in all corners of society, then come up with the valuable courage to do the necessary soul to it!