October 19, 2009
Shop For Exquisite Beijing Opera Masks In Beijing
Worn by the Beijing Opera performers to represents characters with unique traits, Beijing Opera masks provide a kaleidoscopic views of the anicent Chinese psyche. Beautiful, unique patterns on a mask are filled with brilliant, complex colors to symbolize personality, emotion, and virtue of a character as interpreted by the designer. While Beijing Opera itself is only 200 years old, the traditon of wearing elaborately-designed masks in plays has a history of at least 4,000 years. It’s a great idea to go on a Beijing China tour with a personal shopper in Beijing to buy some exquisite Beijing Opera masks in the amazing local shops.
The countless famous figures from China’s long history are often grouped by Chinese into several broad, contrasting categories: good vs. evil, uprightness vs. foxy, loyal vs. unloyal, impulsive vs. cool-headed, and naive vs. sophisticated. These dispositions are all represented in the designs of facial makeups for Beijing Opera, with only small variations. Watching a play, one can judge the personality and role of a specific character from the mask he/she wears, without knowing anything about the story being told.
The colors of a Beijing Opera mask is the main clue that gives away the character. Patterns may vary among facial makeup designers, but there is a universal rule that governs the use of colors. Below is a short list with the major colors used for Beijing Opera masks and the characters they represent.
Red – uprightness, courage, loyalty
Green – impulsiveness, violence, lack of self-control
Black – boldness, fierceness, impartialness
White – evil, craftiness, treacherousness
Yellow – ambition, cool-headedness, fierceness
Blue – wildness, stauchness, shrewdness
Purple – sophistication, nobleness, uprightness
Gold/Silver – representing gods, spirits, and fairies.
Masks used for performance may have originated from masks worn by ancient dancers to expel ghosts and evil spirits in ceremonies. Many people believe that masked used by performers from the Tang dynasty had a great influence on the designs in later periods. The legendary Prince Lanling from the Northern Qi period was a fearsome warrior but with a handsome, feminine face that looked less than frightening. In order to frighten and overwhelm his enemies, Lanling wore a ferocious-looking mask every time he went to the battlefield. This is also believed by some to be a possible origin of performance mask.
The roles of actors in traditonal plays were formalized during the Ming dynasty, and so were the facial designs worn by the actors. Beijing Opera was created and rose to prominence in the late Qing dynasty, and it was during this period that the major facial designs were improved to a high level of sophistication and finalized.
There are 14 basic facial designs for the Jing and Chou roles in Beijing Opera, the only two roles allowed to wear a variety of makeups. They include: “whole face”, “three tile face”, “quartered face”, “six division face”, “tiny flower face”, “lopsided face”, “monk face”, “eunuch face”, “shoe-shaped gold face”, “spirit resonance face”, “deity face”, “clown face”, “elfin face”, and “hero face.”
In recent years, Beijing Opera masks became increasingly popular as a form of gift. Beautiful, unique masks, in different sizes, colors, and designs, are a popular product in almost all local gift shops in Beijing. This makes a sharp contrast to the art of Beijing Opera itself, which, due to a lack of funding and a diminishing audience, is thought to be on a general decline.
When shopping for Beijing Opera masks in Beijing, you need a Beijing guide to help you find shops with products made by the best local artisans.
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