The unique skills of traditional Chinese opera such as changing faces are not only a reflection of history, but also a vivid present. Only by carefully inheriting and creatively applying in the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese opera, can the unique work have stronger vitality. Not long ago, a newly created play by Zhejiang Wuju Theater was performed in seven consecutive performances at China Wuju Theater, and the performances were packed. One of the leading actors is Yang Xiayun, a plum blossom award winner and outstanding young actress. Her character appeared wearing a mask and changed her face three times in a blink of an eye, making the audience overjoyed. Face changing is a unique skill in traditional Chinese opera performance, commonly found in many local genres, and some puppetry and shadow puppetry also have face changing procedures. Among them, the face changing of Sichuan Opera has a high reputation. Tea houses and restaurants in the Sichuan Chongqing area, where tourists flock, often arrange specialized face changing performances and gradually become imitated by Sichuan restaurants in various regions. The Sichuan opera work "Face Changing" created by screenwriter Wei Minglun and the film "Face Changing" directed by director Wu Tianming are all named after this unique skill, making face changing an important symbol of Sichuan opera. The so-called "face changing" in traditional Chinese opera refers to the performer using special techniques to suddenly change their facial makeup on stage. It is quickly completed in front of the audience, both fast and skillful, leaving the audience surprised and producing a strong theatrical effect. Generally speaking, the makeup of opera actors is already fixed upon their appearance, and cannot be changed easily before their departure. However, in order to meet the performance needs of certain specific situations, opera has developed many special face changing techniques, allowing characters to change their makeup during the drama process. There are various techniques in the art of changing faces, each with its own tricks, roughly divided into two categories: changing facial makeup and changing masks. Various face-changing techniques have been created during the performance of various types of traditional Chinese opera since the early Qing Dynasty. Folk creators may not have had the opportunity to leave their names, but they have left behind exquisite art. The face changing of traditional Chinese opera has been passed down from generation to generation and continuously enriched and matured, resulting in their own unique styles and techniques, greatly enhancing the expressive power of traditional Chinese opera. The main method of facial makeup changing in front of the audience is to "wipe the face", which refers to the actor using special techniques to instantly change the color and pattern of a character's face on stage. Usually, when the actor uses a sharp turn or sleeves to briefly cover the face, they apply a pre prepared pigment to the face, causing a significant change in the character's facial image. In the Sichuan opera "Eastern Window Revision", Qin Hui is writing a memorial to persecute Yue Fei and is knocked down by Yue Fei in an illusion. The actor takes advantage of a sudden turn and wipes ashtray hidden in his palm onto his face, expressing the character's panic at this moment. There are several times in the Wu drama "Burning Zidu" that face changing is used - the first three times using face wiping techniques, and the last time using face blowing techniques, where there is hidden gold powder in the palm of the hand. When the audience is not paying attention, a strong blow is used to spray the gold powder all over the face. The "face pulling" technique in Sichuan opera involves using a string to change masks, which is currently the most common type of face changing. The golden bowl in "The Legend of the White Snake" is the most famous. It utilizes multiple layers of masks that are pre covered on the actor's face and cleverly pulls them off layer by layer through a designed string, achieving the effect of changing faces. In the early days, masks used papyrus, but now silk is more commonly used. With the improvement of materials, more masks can be changed during each face changing performance. National first-class actor Wang Daozheng and Sichuan
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