Friday, January 7, 2011

China Mask History

In China, we can find masks dating back to the Neolithic period (10000 BCE-2000 BCE). While there are clay masks, interestingly there are also some examples of masks made from jade, an intriguing choice. Jade was fairly common in the region, and was used for masks as well as pottery and other day to day items. In the Shang Dynasty (2000 BCE-1000BCE) was China’s bronze age, and the masks were made of bronze. The masks are almost geometric in their style-triangles and rectangles give the masks a precise feel. These masks were used for ritual and ceremony it is believed. The Zhou(1600 BCE-256 BCE) dynasty would also carry these bronze masks with little change. During the Han Dynasty (200 BCE-220AD) we start to see more stylistic masks of tigers and other animals, with more flowing and detailed faces. These masks were also made of bronze. There would be divisive years from 220-600 AD, with no real dynasty being established until the short lived Sui Dynasty(500 AD-600 AD), it only lasted one hundred years. It wasn’t until the Tang Dynasty (618-906) that masks would make a dramatic leap forward in appearance and usage. Chinese Opera is starting to take stage. The use of face paint and masks is prevalent in Chinese Opera. What is interesting from a mask point of view is the symbolism of colours on the face; red represents bravery and loyalty, black is objectiveness,and yellow for sophistication. There are more colours representing attributes like being calm, impulsive or jealous. The characters are easily represented by these colours, and the audience at a glance knows what to expect from each. Performers to this day are referred to “Disciples of the Pear Garden”, and perform in over three hundred types of Chinese Opera.

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