What is the meaning of Chinese theater face painting

The term "face painting" refers to the colorful make-up on the faces of male actors in traditional Chinese theatre. This kind of facial make-up is mainly used for jing (bai flower face) and chou (clown). It has a certain format in terms of form, color and type. An insider audience can tell from the face makeup whether the character is a hero or a villain, smart or stupid, loved or loathed. Peking Opera's fascinating facial makeup occupies a special place among the countless facial make-ups in Chinese drama. Peking Opera face painting is famous for its "symbolism" and "exaggeration". It demonstrates a character's personality traits through the use of exaggerated and distorted shapes. The eyes, forehead and cheeks are often drawn as the wings of a bat, butterfly or swallow, and the mouth and nose are exaggerated to create the desired facial effect.

Categorization of faces:

Faces are classified into four basic types according to the way they are depicted and colored: rubbed, hooked, smudged, and broken.

. Kneading face: heavy and majestic, the whole color is mainly, and the texture of the five senses is aggravated to realize. It is a very ancient form of face painting.

. Hook face: colorful, rich patterns, complex and beautiful, colorful, and some also affixed gold and silver, gorgeous.

. Wipe the face: light-colored for more, thought the powder on the face, not to show people the true face, highlighting the nature of the treacherous bad guys.

. Broken face: asymmetrical face, left and right, describing the ugly face or meaning than the opposite role.

Based on the arrangement of the pattern of the face, the face is divided into the following four types:

. Whole face: the most primitive form of face painting, the use of two eyebrows to divide the face into two parts of the forehead and face of the face of the face.

. Three-tile face: a face that is based on the whole face and then utilizes the mouth and nose to divide the face into left and right parts.

. Flower Three Tile Face: This is a face with various patterns added to the border that divides the three tiles of the face.

. Shattered Face: A variant of the Three Tile Face, whose dividing edge is so flowery that it destroys the original outline.

Color of the face:

The Peking Opera face color is very delicate, it seems that the colorful face of the product but the huge and small has a reason, never just to look good. Different meanings of the colors drawn in different patterns in the outline, the character is characterized.

The general color meaning of face painting is: . Red General: Loyalty and chivalry, mostly positive roles.

Other: ironic meaning, indicating fake good people.

Special cases: the old man shows that the young red light is still there; the bad guy did some good things.

. Black General: straight and rigid, brave and wise.

Other: indicates the yin in yin and yang, used for ghosts. Darker in color or ugly in appearance.

General: sinister and treacherous; headstrong.

Other: and yet, eunuch face; indicates old age,

. Purple General: upright and powerful; does not pander to the powerful.

Other: bad face, ugly.

. Yellow: brave and explosive

. Gold General: divine and high-minded.

Other: fierce generals.

. Silver Immortal, demonic.

. Green General: brave, reckless.

Other: good green man.

. Blue Rigid and sinister.

Patterns of the face:

The patterns of the face are very rich, roughly divided into forehead figure, eyebrow figure, eye socket figure, nose socket figure, fork of the mouth figure, and under the mouth figure. Each part of the pattern varies a lot, there are regular but not definitive, such as:

Bao Zheng black forehead has a white crescent moon, which indicates that the clean and honest.

Meng Liang has a red gourd on his forehead, signaling that the man loves to drink.

Wen Zhong, Yang Jian is painted with three eyes, derived from classical legends.

Ju Ling, the Furious God, and the Money Leopard have multiple faces, highlighting their god-ghost-demon characteristics.

Yang Qilang has a traditional Chinese character "虎" on his forehead, showing his invincibility.