| Chinese
Theatrical Art - Peking Opera |
Peking Opera is one of
most famous drama in China. It has a history of
over 150 years, and is more firmly rooted in the
masses. Peking Opera has developed faster than other
older forms of Chinese drama, now it becomes the
major dramatic form in China. Its fascinating painted
faces have a special place among the numerous kinds
of facial make-up in Chinese drama. Audiences consider
them "living art" - as alive as the opera
actors themselves. Here we introduce "Peking
Opera Painted Faces" to all the lovers of traditional
Chinese opera, and help friends all over the world
to learn Peking Opera.
The development of the art of painting faces is
closely related to that of Chinese dramatic art,
although the earliest painted faces, or their precursors,
appeared long before Chinese drama took shape. Clowns
with a big white spot painted on their
faces were seen in Song dynasty operettas and Yuan
dynasty poetic dramas of the
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twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. Facial make-up like that of Peking opera
jing roles (warriors or robust male characters)
had, however, been used in songs and dances nearly
a thousand years earlier. As far back as the Northern
and Southern Dynasties and the Sui-Tang (420-907)
a song and dance featured warriors wearing masks,
a precursor of the painted face. This is told in
the Old History of the Tang Dynasty: Chapter on
Music: "Prince Lanling of the Northern Qi was
a great warrior but had a pretty, womanish face.
To frighten his enemies, he would wear a fearsome
mask when he went to war. Once, in a battle with
the state of Zhou outside Jinyong City, he proved
himself the strongest and bravest of all. His people
were so proud of him that they composed a song and
dance called "Prince Lanling at the Front"
in which the actors wore masks and their movements
simulated the way the prince vanquished his enemies."
Thus the custom of actors wearing masks began. Though
not in general use nowadays, masks are still worn
in some traditional operas, such as the local dramas
performed by the Bouyei people of Xingyi, Guizhou
Province. Such masks may be regarded as living fossils
in the history of opera facial make-up. As Chinese
dramatic art developed, the drawbacks of wearing
masks became increasingly evident, for masks prevented
the actors from showing their facial expressions.
A vividly painted face, however, enables audiences
to see expressions clearly even from a distance,
a great advantage in the days when dramatic performances
were usually staged in the open air before large
crowds. So actors began to apply powder, ink, paint,
and soot to their faces, creating the art of facial
make-up.
In the beginning only three sharply contrasting
colours
- red, white, and black - were generally used in
facial make-up. Eyes, ears nose, mouth, and facial
contours were delineated clearly, and a character's
most distinctive features, such as thick brows,
large eyes, upturned nose, or wide mouth, were usually
exaggerated. The earliest painted faces were simple
and crude, but with time the designs became more
elaborate and ornamental. By the late eighteenth
and early nineteenth centuries, when Peking Opera
had acquired its unique artistic style and methods
of performance, the art of Peking Opera facial make-up
was developing fast, thanks to the improvements
and innovations made by successive generations of
performers and artists and to the assimilation of
the best make-up used in various local opera.
Colours
and designs have since become richer and more diversified;
distinctions between different roles and characters
have become sharper, and a host of new faces has
been created for both historical and legendary figures. |
