Folk Craft Story —— The Origin of Mashao Facial Makeup

Long ago, there was an emperor named Wang who lived a leisurely life in Zou Yang. Zhuang is a loose-minded person who always waits until the last minute to come up with a solution. Fortunately, with the help of good ministers around him, he is always in danger.

One day, someone reported to Wang: "Your Majesty, the Cao people have received reliable information that neighboring countries are assembling thousands of troops to prepare for the siege of Zouyang City. We must make preparations early, just in case! " King Miao Zhuang is playing chess with his courtiers. He said without looking up, "I don't know if the news is true or not." Leave it alone. Playing chess is very important at present. " A few days later, someone came to report that the troops of neighboring countries had left the city. King Miao Zhuang is drinking. He said unhurriedly: "Neighboring countries have never been our opponents. Don't worry, I'll arrange it. " But people waited and waited, but nothing happened to the emperor. Until the soldiers guarding the city came to report that the troops of neighboring countries had camped twenty miles outside Zou Yang, and their troops were countless. King Miao Zhuang knew something was wrong, so he hurriedly called his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

A sage said to the emperor, "I have an idea, but I want to wronged the emperor, not whether you listen or not." Wang nodded anxiously. The minister said, "It is better to slip away from the enemy's eyes openly than to hide in the east. We can dress up as a vaudeville team, find a rich man to walk in front of the team as a rich man, then beat gongs and drums all the way with a group of people with heavy make-up, and then let the children in the city mix and play. You put on rags and make faces, and the queen pretends to be pregnant, and then mix with a group of people with various faces and go out noisily. Maybe you can fool the enemy. " There is no other way now, so Wang has to agree. He ordered the ministers to find materials for dressing up and put on their own makeup, and the teams went out of the city with great interest. When the leader of the enemy met them, he carefully examined the identity of the rich leader and found that he was not the king of Miao Zhuang, so he no longer doubted them. In this way, Wang sang and danced in the team and left the city safely. By the time the enemy found out, he had disappeared.

Later, this incident spread to the people and was talked about by the people. On holidays, people will also dress up as masks, put on costumes and make a big scene. This kind of facial makeup is also widely painted on big spoons and hung at home to pray for peace and good luck.