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6. Using Special Skills
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Face Changing The Sichuan opera is famous for its tales of the fantastic. Ghosts, demons, and fairies share the stage with emperors, beauties, and heroes. It even has a special role type for female ghosts and fox spirits. The Sichuan opera makes use of special skills to tell these stories. One of the most famous of these is face changing. Audiences are stunned to see a character change his face in the blink of an eye. These metamorphoses show emotions like sudden terror, or display the ability of magical beings to transform. One of the earliest methods was to blow into a vessel like a wine bowl to spread a gold powder all over the actor’s face; the powder would stick to make-up. Another method was to use the fingertips to rub red or black on the face to show a shift in emotion. In one variation of this, “stormy eyes”, the actor blackens his eyes to show anger or fear. In the twentieth century, Sichuan opera became famous for yet another face-changing technique. In this method, actors rapidly switch through many silk masks, each with an intricate design. The mechanism for this is considered a national treasure and not discussed openly, but Using Special Skills CHAPTER 6 Opposite Photo 6.01 An actor performing face changing in a tea-house in Chengdu, Sichuan Opera Chinese Opera: The Actor’s Craft 172 has found its way into magic shows and has been the subject of documentaries. The instantaneous and multiple changes are a striking Sichuan opera stage technique. All of these techniques are still used in the Sichuan opera repertoire. In the play Wresting the Dragon Throne, the wicked prince feigns concern for his father’s illness, but is eager to take the throne. He reveals his true evil nature to the audience during the story by rubbing white grease paint, used to show villainy, below his eyebrows and on his face (see Photo 6.02). In another play, the good eunuch Chen Lin uses the same technique to change his face, but this time rubs black paint around his eyes. This indicates his fear as he tries to protect an infant prince from the plotting of a concubine who is suspicious of him (see Photo 6.03). A simple method of face changing involves a mask that is kept on by biting down with the teeth. The young maiden Yan Xijiao uses this technique in the opera The Haunting of Zhang Sanlang. She cannot give up her beau even though she has died. She returns wearing her mask to bring him to the underworld so that they can be a ghostly couple (see Photo 6.04). Photo 6.02 Wresting the Dragon Throne, Sichuan Opera [54.144.95.36] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 21:13 GMT) Photo 6.03 A Palace Interrogation, Sichuan Opera Photo 6.04 The Haunting of Zhang Sanlang, Sichuan Opera Photo 6.05 The Legend of the White Snake, Sichuan Opera Using Special Skills 175 One of the most famous uses of face changing in the Sichuan opera appears in The Legend of the White Snake. In this play, White Snake, a snake spirit who has transformed into a beautiful maiden in order to marry a human, is tracked down by heavenly spirits commanded by the Buddhist abbot, Fahai. They are no match for White Snake, so Fahai resorts to a powerful weapon, golden cymbals or naobo. They transform into a warrior spirit who repeatedly changes his face as he fights with White Snake (see Photo 6.05). At first, he tracks her with a black face, white eyes and bloody mouth (see Photo 6.06). As he pursues her, his face changes in an instant to gold with thick painted eyebrows (see Photo 6.07). And finally, when he catches up with her, his face changes again in a flash to oily white with pink cheeks and a smile of satisfaction (see Photo 6.08). The skill of the face changer is dramatic. Rather than an extraneous trick, it is closely bound to the story so that the audience sees inner states or displays of magic power that reveal who these characters really are. Photo 6.06 The Legend of the White Snake, Sichuan Opera [54.144.95.36] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 21:13 GMT) Photo 6.08 The Legend of the White Snake, Sichuan Opera Photo 6.07 The Legend of the White Snake, Sichuan Opera Using...