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| A senior male
role wearing a “rankou” (artificial beard).
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This female role
is played by a man in his late 70s. All roles in Peking Opera
were originally played by men.
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The facial makeup
of a “jing” role is done by the actor himself
in the dressing room. This is Bao Zheng, an upright official
whose face is mainly black.
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Peking Opera stage makeup is applied in a spirit similar to that
of paint to canvas. The “picture” on a performer’s
face instantly identifies him or her in one of the hundreds of
roles in the Peking Opera gallery.
Female Roles
 Makeup
for the dan or female role in Peking Opera endows its actress
with an oval face, pointed chin, arched eyebrows, almond shaped
eyes, and rosebud mouth -- the idealized Chinese concept of feminine
beauty. Whether naturally round or angular, an actress’ face
can be made to appear perfectly oval with the help of a hairpiece
(pianzi), pasted to her forehead and temples. Other aesthetic
attributes are created with the help of white face powder, rouge,
lipstick, and black eye makeup. Subtle differences in application
distinguish civilian from martial roles; the eyebrows of women
generals and warriors slant upward above exaggeratedly large eyes,
accentuating their martial bearing. Traditional Peking Opera costumes
are based on fashions worn during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),
with accentuations of color and style, for example shuixiu (water
sleeves) -- extra lengths of white silk attached to the cuffs
of a costume -- that add grace to dance sequences. All costumes
are in fine fabrics that maintain onstage aesthetic consistency,
and differences in social status are delineated by varying degrees
of resplendent costumes, particularly headdresses and hair ornaments.
The role of even a female beggar calls for a dozen or more head
ornaments, and that of a daughter of a rich family many more.
Male Roles
When describing an angry man, Chinese people often describe
him as “.. puffing out his beard and glowering.” This
relates directly to the way in which ire is expressed in Peking
Opera, with a rankou (artificial beard) made from horsehair that
hooks over the actor’s ears. Shaking the rankou conveys joy,
and when the character sings, “I am so old that my hair is
as white as frost,” he rests his beard on both palms, in
an expression of sad resignation. There are over a dozen beard-related
performance techniques, or rankou gong, each carefully choreographed
to convey its particular significance.
Rankou are in various colors: black, gray, white, red, blue
or purple, and more than 20 different shapes that indicate social
status and character. Sun Quan, king of Wu (one of the three kingdoms),
wears purple beard because according to historical records he
“has blue eyes and purple beard.” Characters with red
whiskers are hot tempered and heroic, and demons and monsters
sport blue beards. The rankou is integral to the plot of the classic
Peking Opera “Wenzhao Pass.” The play’s central
character, Wu Zixu, is sole survivor of the family of Wu She,
prime minister of the ancient State of Chu, who was slain along
with all his family members for speaking out against the king’s
incestuous behavior. Wu Zixu vows to avenge the death of his family,
and travels to a neighboring state with the intention of commandeering
its troops. Upon reaching the border he sees his picture on a
wanted notice, charging whoever sees Wu Zixu to capture and report
him to the King of Chu. That night, Wu Zixu takes refuge at the
home of a local scholar named Donggao, but is so distraught at
the thought of being prevented from crossing the Wenzhao Pass
that he awakes after a troubled night to find that his hair and
beard have turned white. Master Donggao sends a friend resembling
Wu Zixu to the checkpoint, and in the ensuing commotion of his
imitator’s arrest, the real white haired and bearded Wu Zixu
passes through unrecognized.
The facial makeup of male roles highlights their respective
characteristics. The face of Guan Yu, a hero from the Three Kingdoms
Period, is in accordance with historical accounts, “Red as
dates, with eyebrows in the shape of reclining silkworm, slanting
eyes, and a long beard.” As Guan Yu was regarded as embodying
the Confucian virtues of benevolence and justness, red facial
makeup in Peking Opera denotes righteous roles. Eunuchs were also
later portrayed with red faces, in their case indicating rude
health at the expense of the cruelly oppressed people, but delineation
of these miscreants’ eyebrows, eyes and mouth distinguished
them from the virtuous Guan Yu role. The flaws in the main character
of another Peking Opera, Xue Gang, who is descended from a hero
but whose crass conduct results in his entire family being executed,
are evident in his white-to-the-lips makeup.
Aspects of male role facial makeup also indicate attributes
and skills. The forehead of Dou Erdun, famed for his dexterous
use of double hooks, bears a painted motif of the weapon. On the
face of Zhao Kuangyin, who eventually founded and was first emperor
of the Song Dynasty, appears a small dragon that anticipates his
later glory. Some of the makeup for male roles also incorporates
Chinese characters, for instance Yang Yansi, seventh son of Yang
Jiye, and a hero who excelled at martial arts. His face resembles
a stylized tiger, and on his forehead is painted the Chinese character
hu (tiger). Similarly, Xiang Yu, the hero who overthrew the tyrannical
Qin Dynasty but who died tragically young, wears on either side
of his face the Chinese characters shou (longevity), signifying
that his heroism has made him immortal. The makeup for supporting
roles is much simpler.
As these cosmetic intricacies are not visible to all members
of the audience, especially those sitting in the back row, there
arose the saying, “Judging a character by the color of his
face from a distance and by his features at close range.”
The fundamental color of each style of face makeup is significant.
A white face indicates cunning and a black face incorruptibility.
A yellow face indicates bravery and valor, blue and green are
seen on the faces of pastoral, Robin Hood type heroes, and gold
and silver signify gods and bodhisattvas.
The makeup for well-known character Peking Opera character Zhong
Kui is notable for being in the shape of a bat -- symbol of happiness
because its Chinese pronunciation is a homonym of that for happiness.
There are various versions of Zhong Kui’s story, the most
popular of which tells of his winning first place in the highest
imperial examination, and of the emperor’s canceling Zhong’s
zhuangyuan title because of his physical unattractiveness. In
despair, Zhong Kui commits suicide by dashing his head against
a pillar. The immortal Jade Emperor takes pity on him, and confers
on him the post of dispeller of demons. Du Ping, one of Zhong
Kui’s fellow imperial examinees, and fiancé of his
younger sister, buries his late fellow scholar, and Zhong Kui’s
gratitude moves him to escort his sister to her wedding to Du
Ping. He goes on to excel at his post as judge and exorcist of
demons and protector of mortals. Despite being the most ugly of
all the gods in Chinese mythology, Zhong Kui is the most popular,
and the Peking Opera “Zhong Kui Marries off His Sister”
is a national favorite. The bat design of Zhong Kui’s makeup
signifies the happiness he brings to mortals, and the red shoe-shaped
ingot on his forehead his death from dashing his head against
a pillar as well as his high-principled character. A smaller gold
bat on his forehead indicates his status as a god, and the reddish
brown on his cheeks his dignity. Zhong Kui’s black and white
lines on his face endorse the character’s just uprightness,
and the smiling expression reflects his innate good humor.
Peking Opera is a guileless art, one that strives to let the
audience know at a glance exactly what roles are being played.
The archetypes it creates also act as role models, endorsing the
virtues and qualities that are admired in China and in countries
the world over.
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