What is the Chinese art of face changing?
The Chinese art of face changing doesn’t involve makeup or magic. However it may appear as if what’s happening is a form of wizardry. Also referred to as Bian Lian, face swapping is an ancient and traditional Sichuan art. Performers use silk masks to reflect the mood changes of their character.
What is the face changing in Sichuan opera?
The face changing, known as "Bian Lian" in Chinese, is an important aspect of Chinese Sichuan opera. Performers uses "face changing technique" on the stage and transforms it into a special art with stunning skills. They are wave their arms and twist their heads, and their painted masks change again and again and again.
What is face changing (Bian Lian)?
Bian Lian, or Face Changing, as it’s known in the western world, in an old dramatic art associated with Chinese opera from the Sichuan Province. It is considered a part of China’s cultural heritage and is the only art form to be ranked as a level two national secret.
Is face-changing a form of magic in China?
Through performance and movements, performers are in effect playing with magic. In fact, face changing is a kind of magic," said He. He can slip off his masks within a fraction of a second, and has been deemed the fastest face changing artist in the country by state-run China Central Television.
What is the Chinese name for face changing?
Bian LianBian Lian (simplified Chinese: 变脸; traditional Chinese: 變臉; pinyin: Biàn Liǎn; lit. 'Face-Changing') is an ancient Chinese dramatic art that is part of the more general Sichuan opera. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music.
How Bian Lian is done?
7:1352:11Secrets revealed: Dazzling art of Face-changing in Sichuan OperaYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipFace changing in Chinese pinyin began about 300 years ago during the region of the Qin Dynasty. ItMoreFace changing in Chinese pinyin began about 300 years ago during the region of the Qin Dynasty. It is an important aspect of Sutra Oprah under the precise techniques that are used to change masks
What are Bian Lian masks made of?
Also referred to as Bian Lian, face swapping is an ancient and traditional Sichuan art. Performers use silk masks to reflect the mood changes of their character.
What do Chinese opera masks mean?
Chinese opera masks are significant in a way that they represent the performers' or characters' personalities, intense moods, and status quo even. Expressive meanings through facial designs. Chinese opera mask is basically among the main methods, which performers use as makeup.
How do you pronounce Bian Lian?
0:180:57BIANLIANG - HOW TO PRONOUNCE IT!? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo today I will show you how pronounce this word the pronunciation of this word is sounds like bianMoreSo today I will show you how pronounce this word the pronunciation of this word is sounds like bian Liang Bai Luo yang.
What are opera masks called?
Like many jumping spiders, Chinese opera masks, also called Jing masks, have unique patterns and colors that convey information to their intended audience.
How does the Chinese mask changing trick work?
Performers might use dust or powder to obscure the face so the mask can be changed. The dust or powder might be hidden in the hand or in a small can on the floor of the stage. Face dragging. Greasepaint might be hidden in the sideburns or eyebrows, then dragged across the face to change the appearance or expression.
What is Peking Opera mask?
Ingenious Chinese Facial Makeup. Painted opera masks were originally clay imitations of the facial makeup of the performers on the stage of Peking Opera. Before the appearance of three-dimensional opera masks, drawings of the facial makeup had been commonly seen.
What is Chinese Peking Opera?
Peking opera is a performance art incorporating singing, reciting, acting, martial arts. Although widely practised throughout China, its performance centres on Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.
What are Chinese demon masks called?
The hannya mask is said to be demonic and dangerous but also sorrowful and tormented, displaying the complexity of human emotions.
What does blue mean in a Chinese mask?
For example red masks represent prosperity and bravery, while white masks represent evil and being hypercritical. Purple masks represent justice and sophistication, black represents integrity and impartiality, blue represents stubbornness and fierceness.
What does a red mask mean?
Red Masquerade Masks show you are energetic and vigorous and are good if you'd like people to take some risk. Red is also a color of dominance, power, attention, and sexuality. Gold Masquerade Masks symbolize illumination, wisdom, prestige, and class.
How is mask changing done?
The most complex of the methods. Using dance movements as a distraction, the mask is quickly whisked away while another is pulled down from the top of the head by a series of silk threads attached to different parts of the costume.
What is Peking Opera mask?
Ingenious Chinese Facial Makeup. Painted opera masks were originally clay imitations of the facial makeup of the performers on the stage of Peking Opera. Before the appearance of three-dimensional opera masks, drawings of the facial makeup had been commonly seen.
What is Chinese Peking Opera?
Peking opera is a performance art incorporating singing, reciting, acting, martial arts. Although widely practised throughout China, its performance centres on Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.
How to change your face?
Here masters use three main methods of altering the way their face looks : plastering, powdering or pulling. Plastering requires spreading concealing paste or make-up on their face, and powdering involves blowing into a hidden box of colored powder to cover the face with a new color.
What is the art of changing the face called?
Bian Lian – The Ancient Chinese Art of Face Changing. Bian Lian , or Face Changing, as it’s known in the western world, in an old dramatic art associated with Chinese opera from the Sichuan Province. It is considered a part of China’s cultural heritage and is the only art form to be ranked as a level two national secret.
How many masks can a Bian Lian artist change?
In 1994 artists changed up to four masks per show, by 1998 the number rose to eight, and today’s Bian Lian masters can change between 18 and 20 colored masks. Although it is still regarded as a well-kept national secret, the technique of Bian Lian was leaked and is now performed in various Asian countries.
How many masks do Chinese artists use?
The secret of how they manage to change from three to twenty masks during a single performance without anyone realizing the trick has fascinated people since it started being practiced, during the Qing dynasty, around 300 years ago. It is said Bian Lian actually started out as a survival technique. People painted all kinds of designs on their faces to frighten wild animals, but as time went by it became a dramatic art performed on stage. Another legend tells of a people’s hero, a Chinese version of Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, who whenever cornered by guards would change his appearance to confuse them and escape.
Why didn't Bian Lian learn art?
Bian Lian was only passed on from father to son or master to apprentice, and girls weren’t allowed to learn the art for fear they would marry into another family and give away the secret.
What material did the 1920s face changers use?
By the 1920s, face Changing artists were using layers of oiled paper or dried pig bladder for their masks, which allowed them to change masks in less than a second. But today’s masters use silk as material for their props, which enables them to change a large number of colorful masks during a single performance.
Why do people paint their faces?
People painted all kinds of designs on their faces to frighten wild animals, but as time went by it became a dramatic art performed on stage. Another legend tells of a people’s hero, a Chinese version of Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, who whenever cornered by guards would change his appearance to confuse them and escape.
What is the Chinese art of face changing?
However it may appear as if what’s happening is a form of wizardry. Also referred to as Bian Lian, face swapping is an ancient and traditional Sichuan art. Performers use silk masks to reflect the mood changes of their character.
How many people are trained in the Chinese face changing?
Considered one of China’s most closely guarded treasures, they’re only about 200 people trained in Bian Lian. Tourists and other curious parties have attempted to decode the performance over the years, to little effect.
What is the Bian Lian mask?
These silk masks, which depict various expressions in ornate detail, transform the performer’s face as they turn or with a quick sleight of hand. The change is so fast that many experts and fans alike have puzzled over the mystery of Bian Lian’s technique for years.
Will Liu perform Bian Lian?
Liu will perform Bian Lian at both restaurants throughout the week. However, Chef Li Jun Han recommends calling first to confirm the schedule. Liu will only be performing these traditional Chinese arts for diners through the Summer of 2018.
What is the meaning of "face changing" in Chinese?
Face-changing, or "bian lian" in Chinese, is an important subgenre of Chinese Sichuan opera. Sichuan opera is one of the Han Chinese operas, popular in eastern and central Sichuan, Chongqing and Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province. Sichuan Opera masks are the important part of the Sichuan Opera performing; they are treasures that the ancient opera artists work together to create and pass down. The secret of the face change has been passed down from one generation to the next within families. Traditionally only males were permitted to learn Bian Lian, the theory being that women do not stay within the family and would marry out, increasing the risk the secret would be passed to another family. Controversially, a Malaysian Chinese woman named Candy Chong has become a popular performer after learning Bian Lian from her father. Another female performer is Du Li Min, who teaches a workshop in Kuala Lumpur with her husband Bian Jiang.
How has the face change been passed down?
The secret of the face change has been passed down from one generation to the next within families. Traditionally only males were permitted to learn Bian Lian, the theory being that women do not stay within the family and would marry out, increasing the risk the secret would be passed to another family.
What is the name of the Chinese opera where the characters change their faces?
Bian Lian ( simplified Chinese: 变脸; traditional Chinese: 變臉; pinyin: Biàn Liǎn; lit. 'Face-Changing') is an ancient Chinese dramatic art that is part of the more general Sichuan opera. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music. They also wear vividly colored masks, typically depicting well known characters from the opera, which they change from one face to another almost instantaneously with the swipe of a fan, a movement of the head, or wave of the hand.
Why do actors change their face to red?
The actor can pull down a mask which has previously been hidden on top of their head, changing their face to red, green, blue or black to express happiness, hate, anger or sadness, respectively.
Is the opera well known outside of China?
Since the cultural basis of the opera are not well known outside of China, international performers have been making efforts to inform and increase the entertainment value for Westerners who do not know the context and meaning of the different faces.
How many masks can you change in Sichuan Opera?
Performers change masks in quick succession with a wave of the hand or by turning around. Professionals can change around some 10 masks in 20 seconds. In China, there are only 200 artists who are able to perform face-changing.
How old is Wang Daozheng?
Some artists of Sichuan Opera have sold the trick to other parts of the country and even overseas, according to Wang Daozheng, a 68-year-old face-changing master in Sichuan. Some cultural experts have called for the case to be investigated and the secret-teller to be punished.
What is the name of the oldest form of Chinese opera?
The secret performing technique of "Bianlian", or face-changing, in one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera - Sichuan Opera - has been revealed by some performers without authority allowance.
Why do people give their faces in China?
If you can get the endorsement of one particular person of high social standing, that person’s approval and standing within their peer group can “give” you the “face” that you need to be more broadly accepted by their peers.
What a loss of face?
“What a loss of face!” is a common exclamation from the crowd whenever someone is making a fool of themselves or doing something they shouldn’t, and if someone says that you don’t even want face (不要脸), then you know that they have a very low opinion of you indeed.
What does "not having a face" mean?
Not having face (没面子): Not having a good reputation or having bad social standing. Giving face (给面子): Giving deference to someone in order to improve their standing or reputation, or to pay homage to their superior reputation or standing. Losing face (丢脸): Losing social status or hurting one’s reputation.
What does it mean when someone has a face?
So, for example, if you hear it said that someone “has face,” that means that they have a good reputation. Someone who doesn’t have face is someone who has a very bad reputation.
Why is direct criticism uncommon in Chinese business meetings?
Where in a Western business meeting a boss might criticize an employee’s proposal, for example, direct criticism would be uncommon in a Chinese business meeting because it would cause the person being criticized to lose face.
Where is the saving face concept from?
Updated November 20, 2019. Although in the West we talk about “saving face” on occasion, the concept of “face” (面子）is far more deeply-rooted in China, and it’s something you’ll hear people talk about all the time.
Is there a consciousness of reputation in China?
Obviously, a consciousness of reputation is quite common in the West as well, especially among particular social groups. The difference in China may be that it’s frequently and openly discussed and that there is no real “brown-noser” stigma associated with actively pursuing improving one’s own standing and reputation the way there sometimes is in the West.
When did the face change in Chinese opera begin?
In the early years of Chinese opera, the actors went backstage to change their faces; as time went by, however, higher skills were required for the actors. The fine skills and secret art passed down only from father to son or master to apprentice caused the art to grow in attraction and mystery. Though its origins might be traced back to the Ming dynasty, Face Changing, as it is known today, probably began 300 years ago during the Qing dynasty. The secret of Bian Lian has been passed down from one generation to the next within families, with only males permitted to learn it for fear that woman who married into another family would let the secret out. The movie The King of Masks tells the story of an old master who finally teaches a girl his craft after an experience that changes their fate.
Why did people paint their faces?
It is said that people first used this art as a survival technique, as the ancestors painted images and designs on their faces in order to frighten away wild animals. Only later was it adopted as a dramatic art on stage. My students also wrote about an ancient legend of a Chinese hero who stole from the rich to give to the poor. In the stories, whenever the hero was caught by feudal officials, he changed his face to puzzle them and escape.
What is the Quick Change Act?
First, the “Quick Change Act” refers to the Quick Change Costume Act, which has been adequately covered below, except to add that the male magician also employs special costuming, which can include his shirt, tie, vest, pants as well as jackets.
What is the only art to be ranked as a "level 2" national secret of China?
The unique skill of face changing is the only art to be ranked as a "level two" national secret of China.
Why did Chinese actors go backstage?
In the early years of Chinese opera, the actors went backstage to change their faces ; as time went by, however, higher skills were required for the actors. The fine skills and secret art passed down only from father to son or master to apprentice caused the art to grow in attraction and mystery.
Did a magician's trick go wrong?
Most of the time no, but there was one instance that I know of where this trick did go wrong. There was a magician who got in over his head. He was so excited about creating danger that he set up the trick so that the assistant was in actual danger. He used a chain saw with a real chain on it. He ended up slicing through his wife’s neck. His music was too loud so she couldn’t signal him, he didn’t have safe guards in place, and it turned out badly.
