What is the facial makeup of traditional opera？
2 min readWhen you are watching an opera，what impresses on you the most may be the “painted face.”Facial patterns date far back in history.Ancient Chinese actorssometimes wore masks known as”dummy faces.”Later，painted patterns replaced the mask.Facial patterns follow a set mode in composition，sketching and coloring.The patterns use multi-colored exaggeration and symbolism to suggest a character’s personality，and painted faces become what the Chinese call”a mirror of the soul.”
From the painted faces，Chinese audiences can instantly tell the personality of characters on the stage Audiences have long become accustomed to the facial patterns and expression.
Generally speaking，red face makeup refers to loyal and upright persons；black face makeup refers to faithful and straightforward persons；white face makeup refers to imperious and treacherous persons；multi-colored face makeup refers to ghosts and gods；the white makeup between eyes and nose indicates a clown’s face，which appears funny and humorous.
How many kinds can the facial makeup be divided into according to its pattern features？
In accordance with facial makeup patterns，the facial makeup falls into another four types as below：
Zhenglian（whole-face facial makeup）
Zhenglian refers to a whole-face makeup pattern.Typically paint the whole facewith one color，and then outline eyebrows，eyes，nose，and facial lines.It aims to display the personality of a character in a play.
Sankuai Walian（three piece facial makeup）
This makeup refers to left-and-right-side makeup patterns produced on the basis of a whole-face makeup pattern.This type seems incomplete，and it is divided by the mouth and nose on the same face.
Huasankuai Walian（flowered three piece facial makeup）
On the basis of the left-and-right-side makeup patterns of sankuai walian，some more artistic lines have been added along the edge of these patterns until a sankuai walian facial makeup becomes fragmented.
Suilian（fragmented makeup）
This makeup refers to a variation of Sankuai Walian facial makeup.Flower-shaped lines are added along the edge of left-and-right-side makeup patterns.These lineshave been exaggerated to such an extent that it misshapes the left-and-right-side makeup patterns.
