The Art of Chinese Face Mask Changing

变脸, 變臉, Biàn Liǎn more commonly known as face changing is a 300 year old tradition set within Chinese Sichuan opera that began during the reign of the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795). Originally performers would blow into a bowl of coloured powder which would stick to their well oiled skin to actors smearing themselves with paint that would be hidden within the palms of their hands. The focus of the art is to represent mood and emotion as an actor performs their piece with blacks and reds re