Various colors were used to identify the roles of the performers and to reveal a character's moral and spiritual roles, as well as other defining characteristics.

As the operatic arts developed performers gradually took off their masks and painted colorful patterns on their faces instead since it was difficult to show facial expressions behind a mask.ĭuring the heyday of Peking Opera in theQing Dynasty(1644-1911), performers carefully studied facial structures and carefully analyzed the personalities and appropriate facial characteristics of operatic characters.

The origin of lianpucan be traced back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period more than 1,400 years ago when leading actors used to wear masks. Jing lianpupatterns of are much more complicated and varied. There are relatively few lianpupatterns for a chourole - the most common being a white- painted nose for comic relief. Of the four roles of Peking Opera - sheng, dan, jingand chou, only the jingand chouroles have elaborate facial make-up called 'lianpu.' This pattern represents his weapon, the huo hu lu.

His face is painted red with an inverted gourd on his forehead. Take Meng Liang - the famous warrior of the Song Dynasty - for example. Make-up is a special art in Chinese operas, especially in Peking Opera, where it distinguishes different roles and reveals their dispositions and moral qualities via artistic exaggeration, truthful portrayals and symbolism. Each pattern is rooted in his ability to make subtle and interesting changes within the human face, and each pattern has its own symbolic meaning.

Peking opera mask design meaning