The origin of the mask

Human beings have been wearing masks for thousands of years. The earliest masks may have been produced during hunting activities. In order to facilitate access to prey, hunters used masks to dress themselves up as various animals.

In folk activities around the world, people often use masks to dress up as gods, ghosts and various strange birds and monsters to express their worship of natural forces or to conquer them in their imagination. In some folk opera performances.

Masks are still the main means of makeup. For example, Guizhou opera and so on. The world's earliest known mask, made of stone, dates back to 7000 BC and is now in the Museum of the Holy Bible in Paris.

Types of masks:

1. According to its structure, it can be divided into ordinary masks, half masks, two-layer masks, three-layer masks, eye-motor jaw masks, and eye-motor jaw masks.

2. According to their texture, they can be divided into leather masks, stone masks, pottery masks, wooden masks, bamboo masks, copper masks, iron masks, gold masks, silver masks, cloth masks, paper masks, bamboo shoot shell masks, tortoise shell masks, and straw masks. , dry paint masks, plastic masks, etc.

3. According to their shapes, they can be divided into animal masks, ghost masks, hero masks, secular character masks, etc.

4. Religious masks. From the perspective of use, religious masks are divided into Tiaoshen masks and hanging masks. The former is a mask worn during sacred dance performances in various religious ritual activities, while the latter is a mask hung in temples to protect Buddhism for people to offer and worship.