Chinese opera, known as xiqu (戲曲) in Mandarin, is one of the oldest dramatic art forms in China. It incorporates music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics, and stylized dance movements to enact traditional stories and legends. An essential part of Chinese opera is the elaborate make-up and costumes worn by the performers, particularly the painted faces which convey information about the character being portrayed. Each color, shape, and feature has symbolic meaning and is used to quickly identify key traits and personalities to the audience.
The History of Chinese Opera Face Painting
Chinese opera dates back over a thousand years, arising during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Early forms included short skits and comic acts performed in public spaces and marketplaces to entertain the populace. Over subsequent dynasties, more refined forms of opera developed into a composite art form mixing elements of spoken drama, dance, martial arts, acrobatics, and music. The use of elaborate and colorful costumes, headgear and face paint became an essential visual element helping the audience understand and identify the type of role being played.
Face painting designs was originally fairly simple, using just a few colors to represent good, evil, courage, treachery, etc. Over time, the palette expanded to include more colors, and the designs became increasingly complex and refined. Each possible color, shape, and facial feature took on symbolic meaning used to convey key personality traits and background details to the audience at a glance.
By the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, Chinese opera had fully formed and standardized into the major regional styles still performed today, including Peking, Yue (Cantonese), Kunqu, Huangmeixi, Yuju, Pingju, Tanhuang, and more. Each opera type evolved its own conventions and facial patterns to represent stock characters that recurred across performances. These distinctive painted faces became an essential visual shorthand helping audiences quickly identify the archetype and predict behavior of each role.
Significance of Colors in Chinese Opera Face Painting
Colors are chosen deliberately in Chinese opera facial patterns to convey symbolism about a character’s temperament and nature. Though there are some general associations, specific meanings can vary across opera styles and roles.
Some typical color symbolism includes:
– Red – loyalty, courage, honor and integrity. Often worn by loyal generals, warriors, and heroes.
– Black – impartiality, incorruptibility and integrity. Worn by judges and other principled figures.
– White – sinister, crafty, treacherous. Worn by villainous characters.
– Gold and silver – power, wealth, and high status. Worn by gods, nobles, and royalty.
– Green – impulsive, violent, wild. Worn by quick-tempered soldiers.
– Blue – cruelty, frightening. Worn by sinister spiritual beings and demons.
– Yellow – ambitious, fierce. Worn by certain generals and warriors.
– Pink – humility. Worn by maidens and gentle souls.
Beyond the basic colors, how they are combined also matters. For example, a mostly red face signifies honesty and passion, while adding white markings signals evil intent hiding within. Darkening the red with black conveys a more serious and solemn nature. Pairing red with gold indicates high status and importance. Complexity and contrasts add nuance to reflect multifaceted personalities.
Meaning of Painted Facial Features
In addition to color choices, the shapes, lines, and accents painted on the face convey symbolism. Some common meanings:
– Circles or spots – A full, round circle on the forehead or cheeks represents honesty and openness. Smaller spots can mean a delicate nature or young age.
– Triangles or stripes – Triangular marks symbolize crafty or fierce nature. Bold stripes indicate physical strength and valor. Thick stripes slanting upward convey hot temper.
– Curved lines – Graceful, curved lines and flourishes represent a refined and cultured spirit.
– Sharp points or edges – Jagged lines and sharp angles communicate a sinister and dangerous character.
– Bold brows – Dark, dramatic eyebrows express forcefulness of personality and determination. Thinner arched brows show intelligence and focus. White brows signal an evil heart.
– Drawn tears – Black teardrops drawn descending from the eyes represent sorrow and grief.
– Exaggerated eyes – Wide round eyes convey naivete and innocence. Narrow slanted eyes show treachery. Large glaring eyes communicate power and intensity.
– High or knitted brows – A brow placed high on the forehead, or knitted brows, show surprise or anxiety.
– Wrinkles – Facial wrinkles represent age and experience. Deep wrinkles crossing the nose bridge signify wisdom.
– Beards – Beards or mustaches demonstrate maturity and experience, or suggest masculinity. Certain beard shapes became associated with specific character types.
– Colored lips – Bright red or pink lips convey youth, vibrancy and passion. Dark lips represent maturity and credibility. Thin lips signal coldness or pursed lips indicate anger.
Standard Chinese Opera Role Types
Over centuries, a vast vocabulary of face painting designs developed to represent over a hundred distinct character types in Chinese opera. Some classic roles and their associated facial patterns include:
| Role Type | Typical Facial Design | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Sheng – Male lead roles | Red or black base with symbolic accents | Courage, righteousness, integrity |
| Dan – Female lead roles | White base with rosy cheeks, arched brows | Dignity, loyalty, inner strength |
| Jing – Painted face roles | Bold red, black and white markings | Forcefulness, power, intensity |
| Chou – Clown roles | White base with red accents and patches | Humor, wit, jokes |
| Lao Sheng – Older male roles | Wrinkled forehead, white beard | Age, wisdom, experience |
| Hua Dan – Flirtatious maiden | Delicate flower motifs, pink cheeks | Innocence, vivacity, charm |
These represent just a small sampling of common character types. The detailed symbolic language of Chinese opera facial paintings allowed the distinct personalities and backgrounds of hundreds of different roles to be depicted.
How to Read the Faces of Chinese Opera
When viewing Chinese opera, the complex and elaborate face paint provides instant visual cues to the audience about a character’s core nature, background, and likely behavior. Here are some tips for decoding the meanings:
– Note the dominant face color and what it conveys about temperament – red for loyalty, black for integrity, white for evil, etc.
– Look for symbolic shapes and lines that add further personality context – circles for openness, stripes for valor, jagged edges for sinister qualities.
– Study the eyes for clues to the character’s essence – wise, innocent, evil, treacherous, etc.
– Check facial hair, wrinkles and furrowed brows for signs of maturity and experience.
– Consider the lips to determine vibrancy and passion or coldness.
– Note how colors are mixed and contrasted for complexity – a red face with white markings signifies hidden evil.
– If a common role like Sheng or Hua Dan, check if facial details match convention.
– Recall that thicker paint and bolder elements convey forcefulness and intensity.
With practice, the layered nuances and subtleties of Chinese opera facial paintings can be readily interpreted. The stylized visual language reveals key insights into each character at a glance for the audience. So by learning how to read the faces of Chinese opera, you can more fully understand and appreciate this unique theatrical art form.
Conclusion
In Chinese opera, the symbolic face paint applied to performers represents a crucial visual vocabulary. The colors, shapes, lines and accents follow conventions to express key traits about each role in an instant for the audience. Red conveys loyalty, white signals evil, circles represent openness, and flowers symbolize innocence and charm. By learning this visual language, the elaborate facial paintings can be decoded to reveal dramatic insights into the essence and personality of each portrayed character. After over 500 years of refinement, this stylized make-up has become an integral part of Chinese opera’s performance tradition and aesthetic appeal.
