Jing role
type of roles in Chinese opera
The Jing (simplified Chinese: 净; traditional Chinese: 淨) is a role type in Chinese opera for "rough" or "mighty" male characters. In many genres (such as Peking opera and Cantonese opera), this role requires heavy face painting. As a result, it is also known as Hualian ("Painted face"). However, not all characters with painted faces fall into this category, with Chou (clowns) being another major painted-face role type.
This type of role will entail a forceful character, so a Jing actor must have a strong voice and be able to exaggerate gestures. Depending on the repertoire of the particular troupe, he will play either primary or secondary roles. The colour and face design represents the identity and personality of the character.
Face design
Face painting in Chinese theatre probably began with masks, and actors painted their faces as early as 9th-century Tang dynasty (618–907). During the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) red and white facial designs were used in opera to distinguish good characters from bad ones. After the 14th century, facial patterns multiplied, and new colors have been introduced.
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This entry incorporates text from “Jing role” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.