Face Changing in Chinese Sichuan Opera

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]