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Beijing Opera Facial Design (5)
Cross-shaped Face (十字门脸 shízìmén liǎn) : The cross-shaped face is developed on the basis of the three-tile face and six-section face by joining the eye sockets of the three-tile face with the vertical color belt of the six-section face at the point between the eyebrows, hence its name. This type of face charts give prominence to the forehead and nose, and produce a more three-dimensional feeling impression of the face.
The Palace of Everlasting Life
During the reign of Emperor Kangxi (康熙), plays created by the Suzhou school sprung up one after another and professional troupes developed with each passing day. Many literati participated in the Kunqu legend creation. Kunqu was still in its booming age. It was in this period that there appeared two shining stars and two masterpieces, which pushed the Kunqu legend creation to a new height. The two shining stars are Hong Sheng (洪升) in south and Kong Shangren (孔尚任) in the north.
Beijing Opera Facial Design (4)
Six-section Face (六分脸 liù fēn liǎn) : The six-section face derives from the prepared face, only maintaining the major color on the cheeks, also called old face (老脸 Beilǎo liǎn). A colored area wide at top and narrow down below runs from the top of the nose to the forehead, and the whitened part around the eye sockets is extended to cover half of the forehead, while the black eyebrows are simplified into two gray oval dots. The relatively large area of white color forms a clear contrast with the main color on the cheeks. The design is simple yet solemn, suitable for revered...
Kunqu Opera: Lei Feng Pagoda
The story about the “White Snake Lady” (白蛇) had already been very popular in the early 12th century. The legend about White Snake’s struggle for mundane love had already been recorded before the late 16th century and it was collected by Feng Menglong in his work “Stories to Caution the World” (警世通言). In fact, it had already been edited by a writer Chen Liulong by that time, only not fully developed, and there was no record found about it being performed. Within the 100 years after that, “Lei Feng Pagoda” (雷峰塔) had undergone three significant reformations.
Beijing Oepra Facial Design (3)
Three-tile Face with Flowery Patterns(花三块瓦脸 huā sān kuài wǎ liǎn) On the basis of the three-tile face more meticulous and flexible methods are adopted in the treatment of the eyebrows, the eye sockets and the nostrils, to produce different designs that depict more accurately the disposition or personality of the characters. Moreover, decorative patterns are added to the forehead and the space between the brows.
Beijing Opera Facial Design (2)
The three-tile face is the basic form of Beijing Opera facial design. First, a brush is used to delineate the eyebrows, the eye sockets and nostrils to divide the face into three empty parts, namely, the forehead and the left and right cheeks.
Beijing Opera Facial Design (1)
Face preparation is the first stage of theatrical makeup. The methods of rubbing and smearing are employed to apply the basic color to the entire face. On this basic color, heavier colors are used to depict the eyes, brows, mouth and nose as well as the veins of the facial muscles. Broadly speaking, face preparation includes water-white face(水白脸shǔi bái liǎn), rubbed face(揉脸 róu liǎn) in different colors and eunuch’s face(太监脸 tài jiàn liǎn) evolved on the basis of the rubbed face.
Characters and Role Categories in Beijing Opera
The Beijing Opera repertoire runs to more than 1,000 items, all of which tell and retell touching stories of sorrow, happiness, separation, and reunion. Their rich and varied characters leave indelible impressions in the minds of opera audiences, and very distinct role characterizations have emerged over the years in Beijing Opera, which are referred to as ” role categories” (行当).
Shanghai Opera: as Traditional as Beijing Opera
Huju (沪剧), or "Shanghai opera" is a variety of Chinese opera from the area of Shanghai. It is typically sung in the Shanghainese dialect. Shanghai Opera (Huju) originated at about the same time as Beijing Opera, around 200 years ago. However, the Shanghai version of opera is based on local folk-songs of the Huangpu River region, rather than deriving from Anhui and Shanxi.
Yue Opera: Chinese Opera in Cantonese
Yue Opera is a major genre of opera in South China, prevalent in Guangdong and Guangxi, Hong Kong, Macao and overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Its singing and dialogue are all in Cantonese dialect.