Bian Lian
Encyclopedia
Sichuan opera
Sichuanese opera is a type of Chinese opera originating in China's Sichuan province around 1700. Today's Sichuan opera is a relatively recent synthesis of 5 historic melodic styles...
. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music. They also wear vividly colored mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
s, which they change within a fraction of a second.
History
The face changing, or "bian lian" in ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, is an important aspect of Chinese Sichuan opera. Performers wave their arms and twist their heads, and their painted masks change repeatedly.
Famed Sichuan Opera performer Wang Daozheng in a 2006 interview said the secret of "bian lian" leaked out during the 1986 visit of a Sichuan Opera troupe to Japan. Wang laments the leak of this Chinese traditional secret performance art and is concerned the foreign performers in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and other countries are not well-trained. Wang argues that "bian lian" is one of the traditional arts protected by PRC secrecy laws but PRC Ministry of Culture officials said that that is not true.
Recently, Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
learned this secret art from skilled masters by paying them about 3,000,000 yuan (360,000), much to the chagrin of other old experts. Andy Lau only learned how to do the trick, but has not yet mastered it. This secret has been passed down from one generation to the next within families. In fact only males are permitted to learn Bian Lian. The old way of thinking was that women do not stay within the family and would marry out, increasing the risk the secret would be passed to another family. Therefore the art is technically forbidden to women. A Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...
girl named Candy Chong has recently become a popular performer after learning it from her father.
Bian Lian is rarely seen performed in the United States because foreigners are not permitted to learn the art form. American Magician Dan Chan
Dan chan
Dan Chan is an American magician who specializes in magic, Bian lian and pickpocketing.-Biography:Dan Chan, also known as Dan Chan the Magic Man, was born in San Francisco, California on October 22, 1977. Chan attended Lowell High a Bay Area magnet school in San Francisco. Chan later attended the...
is one of a handful of performers who perform Bian Lian in the United States. Dan has been featured on Chinese newspapers, radio and television discussing Chinese culture and variety arts in China. Juliana Chen
Juliana Chen
Juliana Chen is a Chinese magician, who was born in the Hunan province of China. She has appeared on the cover of The Linking Ring, published by the International Brotherhood of Magicians.-Early Life:...
introduced her card manipulation on a World's Greatest Magic TV special with a brief black light performance of Bian Lian. Michael Stroud, creator of the long-running Magique Bazaar theater show, is the first professional magician to bring it to the US after a cultural exchange with China.
Four Ways in Face-changing
Blowing Dust( simplified Chinese: 吹脸）The actor blows black dust hidden in his palm or close to his eyes, nose or mouth, so that it blows back into his face.
Manipulating Beard(simplified Chinese: 髯口功夫)
Beard colors can be changed while the beard is being manipulated, from black to gray and finally to white, expresssing anger or excitement.
Pulling-downing Masks( simplified Chinese: 扯脸）
The actor can pull down a mask which has previously been hidden on the top of his head, changing his face into red, green, blue or black to respectly express happiness, hate ,anger and sadness.
Mop( simplified Chinese: 抹脸）
The actor mops out the greasepanit hidden in his sideburns or eyebrows, to change his facial appearance.
See also
- Sichuan operaSichuan operaSichuanese opera is a type of Chinese opera originating in China's Sichuan province around 1700. Today's Sichuan opera is a relatively recent synthesis of 5 historic melodic styles...
- Music of SichuanMusic of SichuanSichuan is a province of China which has a long history of both folk and classical music. Sichuan opera is an ancient tradition that is well-known across China, while the folk-based Sichuan lantern drama is popular in the region. The Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu is one of the older...
- The King of MasksThe King of MasksThe King of Masks is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Wu Tianming.-Synopsis:Wang is The King of Masks, an aged street performer who practices the change-mask opera art of bian lian. He laments that he has no male heirs to carry on his mysterious and complicated art and trade...
, a 19961996 in filmMajor releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
Chinese film directed by Wu TianmingWu TianmingWu Tianming is a Chinese film director.-Biography:Born in Shaanxi Province, China, Wu Tianming attended the Beijing Film Academy, majoring in directing before the Cultural Revolution...