Face Changing in Chinese Sichuan Opera

Object Details

Creator

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Views

101,198

Video Title

Face Changing in Chinese Sichuan Opera

Description

Known in Chinese as bian lian, face changing is an important aspect of Chinese Sichuan opera. Faster than the eye can detect, the faces of opera performers may change multiple times during a performance. One technique allows the performer to whisk away one face mask while another is pulled down from the top of the head by a series of silk threads attached to different parts of the costume. The secrets of face changing have been passed down from generation to generation, but only some two hundred individuals have mastered the art. Traditionally restricted to males, the practice of bian lian is now being learned by women as well. Many of the face masks depict well-known characters from Sichuan opera. The colors range from green and blue to red, yellow, brown, and gold; they depict emotions such as fear, tension, relaxation, slyness, desperation, and outrage. In this video from the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program, “China: Tradition and the Art of Living,” Hu Dongxiao from the Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe displays seven different faces in sixty seconds. Learn more about the art of face changing: https://s.si.edu/3adOYiB Learn more about “China: Tradition and the Art of Living”: https://s.si.edu/2wDUygA Editing: Jackson Harvey Camera: David Barnes, Shiyu Wang, Abby Sternberg [Catalog No. CFV11262; © 2019 Smithsonian Institution]

Video Duration

1 min 34 sec

YouTube Keywords

culture music performance tradition folk language festival smithsonian "washington dc"

Uploaded

2020-04-14T23:21:33.000Z

Type

YouTube Videos

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smithsonianfolklife

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

YouTube Channel

smithsonianfolklife

YouTube Category

People & Blogs

Topic

Cultural property

Record ID

yt_K1IVyo7Txus

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