According to traditional customs, there are two ways to classify the roles of characters in Chinese opera: "Sheng, Dan, Jing, Chou" and "Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou". Since modern times, Since the "mo" line of many dramas has gradually been classified into the "sheng" line, "sheng, dan, jing, and ugly" are usually regarded as the four basic types of the line. Each profession has its own hard-working branches, each with its own basically fixed characters and performance characteristics. Among them, "Dan" is the collective name for female characters; "Sheng", "Jing" and Liangxing are male characters; in the "Chou" line, except for sometimes playing Choudan and Laodan, most of them are male characters.
生: Male Xiaosheng, Laosheng, Wusheng
Dan: Female, Huadan Dao, Ma Dan, Lao Dan, Qingyi
Jing: Painted face
End: Older male
Ugly: Harlequin, Wen Chou, Wu Chou
Generally speaking, the makeup of "Sheng" and "Dan" is to apply a little makeup to achieve a beautifying effect. , this kind of makeup is called "junmian", also called "plain face" or "clean face". It is characterized by "a thousand faces", which means that the facial makeup of all "生" characters is roughly the same. No matter how many characters there are, they all have the same face from the facial makeup; the facial makeup of the "Dan" character is also the same regardless of the number of characters There are many characters with similar facial makeup. The personalities of "Sheng" and "Dan" characters are mainly expressed through performances and costumes.
Facial makeup is used for various characters in the "clean" and "ugly" professions. It uses exaggerated strong colors and endlessly changing lines to change the actor's true appearance, which is in line with the "plain" "life" ", "Dan" makeup contrasts. The hooked faces of the "Jing" and "Chou" characters are based on the person's profile, and each person has one profile. Although it is composed of various stylized profiles, it is a kind of character makeup that directly expresses the character's personality. How many " There are many different types of roles for "clean" and "ugly" characters. Therefore, the characteristics of facial makeup are "ever-changing".
"Jing" is commonly known as Hua Lian. The patterned facial makeup outlined in various colors is the prominent symbol, showing a rough, majestic and heroic character in character and temperament. In performance, this kind of character should have a broad and resonant tone, a strong and vigorous singing, thick and distinct movement lines, large "color blocks", wide opening and closing, and magnificent bearing. For example, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Cao Cao, Bao Zheng, Lian Po, etc. are all in pure disguise.
According to their different identities, personalities and artistic and technical characteristics, Jingxing characters can be roughly divided into Zhengjing (commonly known as Dahualian), Fujing (commonly known as Erhualian) and Wujing (commonly known as Wuer). flower). There are also two painted faces and two painted faces in the auxiliary net. The common name for ugliness is small face or three-faced face.
Zhengjing (big painted face) mainly performs work. In Peking Opera, it is also called Tongchuihualian or Blackheadhualian. Most of the characters played are important officials of the imperial court, so their majestic appearance is a characteristic of its style.
Vice Jing (also known as Erhua Lian) can be divided into frame Hua Lian and Er Hua Lian. The painted faces mainly focus on workmanship and body movements, and they often play bold and brave positive characters, such as Lu Zhishen, Zhang Fei, Li Kui, etc. There are also those who play villains, such as the white-faced Cao Cao in Peking Opera. In other opera types, most of them are not called "Present Flower Face". Some opera types are called "Straw Shoes Flower Face", such as Sichuan Opera, Hunan Opera, etc. Erhualian is also a kind of pretentious person, with relatively few plays, and sometimes the performance is almost ugly, such as Liu Biao in "Famen Temple".
Wu Jing (Wu Erhua) is divided into two categories: heavy handle work and heavy falling and simple beating. Characters such as Yang Qilang in "Golden Beach" and Li Yuanba in "Siping Mountain" play heavy work frame roles. The category of heavy falling, plain beating and beating is also called beating and painting face. For example, in "Pick the Pulley" Niu Gao has a painted face, Jin Wushu has a martial face, and Jin Wushu's general Heifeng Li beats the painted face.
"Chou" (little painted face or three-faced face) is a comedy character. The face is drawn between the bridge of the nose and the eye sockets, and they often play funny and teasing characters. In the performance, there is generally no emphasis on singing, and the main focus is on clear and fluent speech. It can be divided into two branches: Wen Chou and Wu Chou.
The classification of the roles of characters in opera is different in various opera types. The above classification is mainly based on the classification of Peking Opera, because Peking Opera integrates the essence of many opera types and represents the characteristics of most opera types. Universal rules, but this can only be a general classification. Specific to each type of drama, the titles and divisions are more complicated.
Mo Xing plays a middle-aged man or above. In Northern Zaju, the last name is "Mo Ni" or "Mo Ni Se", which generally refers to the main character of the last one. It is the same as "生" in Song and Yuan Dynasties, but has a different meaning from "Mo". The "mo" in southern operas of the Song and Yuan Dynasties is actually the "deputy mo". In addition to being in charge of the news station and introducing the plot outline and the theme of the play, he also plays a major role with low social status in the play. The "Mo" line of Kun Opera was developed after the role system of Nan Opera in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. According to the path of Nan Kun Opera, it includes three families: Laosheng, Fumo and Laowai. It was initially finalized around the middle of the Qing Dynasty.