#maskwear

[habunshu]

Hello! Sorry to bother you.

I noticed you are in JTTW fandom and wanted to ask if you know where can I find more info on Sun Wukong's make up and stage performance? I tried to find stuff on my own but quickly realised that I'm just one small weak goblin. I saw some blogs about chinese opera behind the scenes with SW images and couple of videos but that's about it... and since you look like you are way more knowledgeable I came here to beg a favour.

Do you know any videos, documentaries or blogs on this topic?

Thank you for your time ♥♥♥

Hi!

TLDR: Bold text are writings/videos linked to Peking Opera Culture and specifics surrounding Monkey King performances. Post has a mid-length summary of key aspects of his Peking appearances and core thematics. This mainly goes along visual design analysis, as I don’t focus in performance art as much! Read more divide for courtesy

(Also taking a moment to highly praise @/bonesmarinated ‘s Peking opera Wukong pieces!)

The Monkey King/Sun Wukong is a very well covered and well performed character in Peking Opera, I’ll give a short(ish) summary of the key aspect of his design across various performances based on work I can recall from my Undergrad as well as my own experience- and i’ll link any documents/websites/images I have on hand

Wukong’s Lian Pu falls under what is known the Jing role (complex hero) with similar facial decoration also being delegated to the Chou roles in Opera as well.

The dominant school of art in depicting him either on live performers or maskwear, have a fairly universal foundation for his appearance.

The oldest forms of Peking opera stick to Wuseguan (Five Colour Theory) with his Lian Pu sticking to a core 3 of White (Cunning), Red (Bravery), and Black (Loyalty). Even with Modernisation of the Peking Opera and developments in the science behind art and makeup, Lianpu is specific in its purpose of portraying the nature of a character beyond body language and aiding in accessibility for people at the far end of the audience.

The Monkey King’s Lian Pu is reflective of his mischievous and bold nature, combining it with the shape of an Old World Monkey’s furless face shape so that even those “uneducated” in Peking Opera culture can at least see /what/ Wukong is before they see /who/ he is. The White and red placement are linked to yin-yang dynamics relating to the stone he was born from and the energy it cultivated) as well as general themes beyond the tale itself.

Zheng’s “Evolution, Symbolism, and Artistry: A Study on the Colors of Peking Opera Facial Makeup” Discusses this in more detail. ( DOI: 10.23977/artpl.2023.041207) (ISSN 2523-5877)

(General Mask colours in Peking Opera, separate from Lian Pu: The Cultural Connotation and Symbolic Meaning of Chinese Opera Mask Color - Hanbing Tu)

In more modern designs, the key foundation of Wukong’s face doesn’t change much, however some variations do add colour to Wukong’s eyelids- mainly pink or yellow/gold. Both of these relate physically to the ‘whites’ of Old World Monkey’s eyes, with the yellow face paint being representative of “barbarism” or “savagery”. Gold is used on the faces of various immortal creatures from all backgrounds as Silver is.

(Left: Chu Luhao as Monkey King, stedling divine peaches and wine in celestial realm, Kaohsiung ) (Right: Monkey King Wukong in Beijing Opera Journey to the West at Liyuan Theater)

As with Taiwans branch off in culture, This Lian Pu on the left shows the eyebrows as the top of the eyelid makeup, contrast to Chinese style and other Sino-influenced regions. This works in Chu Luhao’s production as it plays towards the character Wukong is before he’s sealed under the mountain and begun the journey- hence more “wide eyed”.

Mentioning Yellow within the Wuseguan, this is why most of his earlier outfits have such a heavy bias towards yellow cloth, barbarism being represented across his whole body (his form, as a monkey over his soul that achieves enlightenment) with costumes later down his hero’s journey adding more black, blue (simplicity).

(Left: Performer playing Monkey in Journey to the West, Chinese Opera performance in Singapore) (Middle: Chu Luhao’s production, Sun Wukong arrives at the Dragon Palace of the East Sea) (Right: CANTON, CHINA – CIRCA JULY 2019: Beijing Opera performance of “Monkey King Making Havoc in Heaven”)

Key Read -> The Artistic Symbolism of the Painted Faces in Chinese Opera: An Introduction, David Ming-Yüeh Liang. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43560653

Book -> Chinese opera: Images and stories, Peter Lovrick, Wang-Ngai Siu

Book -> Drama kings: Players and publics in the re-creation of Peking opera, 1870-1937, Joshua Goldstein. https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XT_1fZ9Jp18C&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=info:49R3XREYwVoJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=3OF1F4SILK&sig=gQyW7bGJzgnxG62Y2TxU01ZPazQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

This analytical paper on Monkey King: Hero is Back showcases modern animated links to Peking Monkey King designs - https://fslmjournals.taylors.edu.my/wp-content/uploads/SEARCH/SEARCH-2024-16-1/SEARCH-2024-P5-16-1.pdf

A blog site I found interesting was an interview with Yao Yudong, the successor to colourful Peking Opera masks, where he discusses creating the mask designs (with a Wukong mask as a recorded example) and a more in-depth written post. He expresses the key two styles of Wukong’s red markings known as “Upside down Gourd” style, and the less complex “Upside down Peach” style attributed to a different art school. In which his mask is directly attributed to items that come into contact with his face.

Jiao Feng, Peking Opera Facial Makeup: The Art of Face Painting: http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/ctenglish/2018/ich/202001/t20200117_800190202.html

Connected is a video of an Opera performer who does his own Lian Pu, which depending on the time period could take up to two hours. Although this design is significantly more contemporary in the use of gold on white sections as markings like black paint. https://x.com/chinadaily/status/1365730927133958144?s=46&t=06bYiE12l6qVJUxPCBuvvQ

In regards to Wukong’s combat performances, he falls into the role of a Wusheng (武生), which is the strand of stage costume used in representation of his staple armour.

(Monkey King in Journey to the West Performance, Beijing Opera)

In this costume, Wukong’s Phoenix feather cap is mirrored by Lingzi (翎子) or Zhilling (雉翎), which likely play back and forth with influencing eachother as time progresses, due to Wukong’s theatrical personality being heightened by the Pheasant tails and their movements as actors play their roles. In his Wusheng roles, he is more likely to be adorned with gold eyelids to highlight his layered immortality and connect to the golden armour he wears. The trait of biting the pheasant tails as a theatrical act of frustration is seen across adaptations, most recently in Black Myth: Wukong’s Chapter 6 Animation.

This animation’s design seems to relay the Lingzi strongly due to the way the studio details the lowest connection points to the crown ornament.

As stated in Bond’s writings “BEIJING OPERA COSTUMES: THE VISUAL COMMUNICATION OF CHARACTER AND CULTURE”, Wukong’s in-game Suozi Set and various adaptations Dragon Palace armours split similarly to the Kao (Armour) on Peking stages, with the falling of the frantic drastically increasing the size of the actor and his silhouette.

Qing-era flags on the costumes of Wusheng were used to express social standing, gender, nature, and ranking. The image above showcasing them has them match the Kao pattern of the clothing, other flags often held zodiac patterns- with the monkey showcasing vain, egotistical, inventive and tricky individuals; and the peach included in a flag hinting towards immortality.

(Ching Dynasty Year of the Monkey Flag used in the Peking Opera) Zaricore Flag Collection: https://www.flagcollection.com/itemdetails.php?CollectionItem_ID=943

Due to the History of Lian Pu, and Wuseguan, despite modernisation of Opera arts vastly widening the colours and complexity of costumes; Wukong sticks to a key 5 colour scheme, with a emphasis on the original trio of red-white-black, and gold being reserved for Wusheng/Wuxiaosheng to showcase immortality and strength. The prevalence of Opera alongside fictional theatre means that the two constantly play off of eachother in mannerisms and influence, both at the time of JTTW’s writing to the 21st century. But as Opera is a physical performance, all aspects of Peking costume design is meant to make the emotional and psychological aspects of characters physical, to a large audience space needing to see facial expressions heightened and clarified by Lian Pu.

Read -> Cultural-based visual expression: emotional analysis of human face via Peking Opera Painted Faces (POPF)

[txttletale]

I wear a mask because *I* don't want to get COVID??? I agree with your original point that individual choices can't make up for systemic failures, but I don't get how you can say wearing a mask is "mainly purely performative" like did you forget that masks actually are protective to the wearer

if you read carefully you will see that i did not call wearing a mask inherently purely performative but was remarking on the fact that several people were in fact describing their own and others maskwearing in exactly that manner

[furmity]

In 2020 I despaired that a generation of germaphobes was being created. You remember when ordinary folk were disinfecting their groceries and stripping their clothes to wash as soon as they came home? I thought more people would be changed by that. I thought it was a new dawn of hygiene.

Little did I know I would still see people sneeze into their hand before touching the handrail in the year 2024. Maybe it's because I am traumatised from living through an ongoing global pandemic. I've survived the virus three times now, but they're still figuring out all the things it does to us. The vulnerable are among us and it is so sad wondering about the lone- maskwearer on a crowded street.

I wear a mask most of the time (I am not perfect), but I always wear one at my job, during my commute, in the supermarket, and in the doctor's surgery. You know, public places. I never used to carry sanitizer, now I do. I never knew I'd have sanitizer preferences one day, but oh yes I do.

Covid or no, it's cold and flu season now. People spluttering on the bus. I had this gorgeous two years when enough people were taking enough precautions, and I didn't get so much as a sniffle. Did you hear the Yamagata flu strain died out? Yeah, imagine that.

[thedivinemsem]

This post was going to be about my being triggered....but then I googled and learned that “triggered” generally applys to an excessive reaction to something based on past trauma.

And that’s not what happened today before my yoga class.  Rather, we were told that someone in the class before us didn’t come because they had tested positive for covid.  Fortunately she’s fine, and also fortunately the classes are small enough that everyone can social distance whether masked or unmasked.

But that information led someone in my class to announce quite loudly that masks didn’t work anyhow - she was a retired nurse and even the surgical masks that they used weren’t that good - and by the way Pfizer had admitted there were problems with the vaccine and she was glad she had only gotten one.  

At this point a couple of people gently reminded her that this was a yoga class and we should focus on being relaxed and centered.  And I said that personally I was pro-vaccine for all preventable diseases but I certainly respected her right to think differently.

But she didn’t take the hint, and continued by saying what a shame it was that masks were required in schools and that all of the children were suffering because they were unable to see each others facial expressions and that was hindering their learning.

And that is where I started to “lose it” internally....I would have called it being triggered (until I learned what that meant), but whatever the proper term,  I believed that her misinformation was not only wrong but dangerous to others and I had a responsibility to speak out.

So, in the most polite tone I could muster, I mentioned that my grandkids were masked at school and in fact, they often chose to mask when they visited me, and I hadn’t seen any ill effects from their maskwearing.  I also said that there was a teacher in my family who was happy to wear a mask because kids are germy....and beyond covid there is flu and RSV and other airborne diseases that have been less prevalent in schools since masking started.  But again, I understood that everyone makes their own choices and that’s as it should be.   And I restated what others had said, that this was a yoga class and a time to relax and look inward rather than discuss controversial topics.

Internally I was boiling..You see, my mother was legally blind and was an awesome student throughout her school career - and she certainly didn’t rely on “facial expressions” for cues.   So this “theory” sounded ridiculous and I was surprised that a medical professional would regurgitate it as fact.

She decided wisely to move on.....but instead of stopping - she said “and then there’s the money we are sending to Ukraine”.

At this point I decided enough was enough.   I said that my father was Ukrainian, I had family in the country and I was not comfortable debating US support for Ukraine.  I asked that we please just focus on yoga.

A couple of other people talked about how sorry they were for Ukraine and the anti-mask/vaxer decided to shut up.  About this time the instructor came back from a break and started class and all was well.

And at the end of class Ms Antimask/vax came over and said she hoped I didn’t think she was supporting the war against Ukraine - she was very sorry for the situation there.  I said I was glad to hear she supported Ukraine because the US needed to honor the terms of the Budapest Memorandum especially since Russia had decided to violate the agreement.  

She looked totally lost....and thats fine with me as long as she keeps her misinformation to herself in the future.

I do my best to respect everyone’s right to have their own opinion.  But when they share their misinformation under the assumption that everyone agrees with them.....I’ve decided its important to let them know I don’t agree.  Too often in the past I’ve kept quiet when wrong things were being presented as truths.....but I realize now that allowing untruths and misinformation to go unchallenged is being complicit....silence is consent, as it were.

#nomoresilence #misinformationshouldbechallenged #getting feistyinmyoldage

[thoughtslovehugs]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ⓣiʄⓐռʏ (@tifanyxw)

One of my favourites so far... Light, not oily yet hydrating and quickly absorbed.. Decided to test out a few #moisturisers this year since we need to wear mask more often this year... something for day time, night time, with makeup, without makeup.. Definitely need something to keep the skin hydrated with mask on for long hours... #tifalternatives #findyourfit #skincareroutine #maskwear https://www.instagram.com/p/CO78Qo9ntoE/?igshid=werdrpt9o24z

[awesomededersse]

Mon premier #maskselfie que j'ai pris à la sortie du #métrobeaubien jeudi dernier avant d'aller rejoindre des amies. Je fais ma part pour freiner la propagation de la #covid19 en portant un masque dans les endroits fermés et en me lavant ou me désinfectant les mains régulièrement. Voilà! #mask #masks #Masks4All #goth #gothic #gothmask #gothicmask #blackmask #fashionmask #maskwear (à Beaubien station) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCjtTVTn8xG/?igshid=1kwr77y0ax5tn

[syberstock]

Visit #Bugeyedart's shop, for cool #artwork on awesome products! Payment Options – #Redbubble #sanfransisco Credit Card - We accept Visa, MasterCard & American Express. #ApplePay - Only for registered users. Pre-paid Debit ... https://www.redbubble.com/people/Bugeyedart/explore?asc=u #Mask, #masked #MaskeDsinger , #maskedup , #MASKIT #maskwear #MASKMOVEMENT #maskerorganic , #facialmask , #facialhair , #maskedriderryuki , #maskedlife , #maskerhijab , #maskfamilyusa, #MaskRequired #nomasks (at Raw and UnCut) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCaeguhAHRD/?igshid=1n8vc41cjkcpb

[theoildropper]

Today is not a new mask day so I’m rollin’ Thieves. Ahhh I love that smell. I also like to take capsules of Thieves essential oil for respiratory and immune support. #maskwear #nurselife #nursepractitioner #theoildropper #healthy #health #stayhealthy #freshair #smellssogood #boymomlife #craftymom #craftingismytherapy #workdaywednesday https://www.instagram.com/p/CCGWskalZNH/?igshid=658z5z0pd2vw

[lynnstevens]

The hubs bought me a new mask. He knows me so well. 😀 #maskwear #maskselfie #broadwaylove https://www.instagram.com/p/CAKz8nPAHbD/?igshid=fo3emem9k5wj

[noctude]

btw im officially Down With The Sickness so. apologies in advance for anything

[seaswalllow]

i am LOSING MY SHIT RIGHT NOW

if y’all follow twitter y’all know why, i imagine this is abt to hit the dashboard here seriously

[canada4news]

As end to pandemic mask-wearing nears, South Koreans scramble to arrange cosmetic surgery

As end to pandemic mask-wearing nears, South Koreans scramble to arrange cosmetic surgery

SEOUL (Reuters) – When Ryu Han-na, a 20-year-old university student, got cosmetic surgery on her nose in mid-December, she had a simple reason: it might be the last chance to do so covertly before people start taking off masks this year as vaccines are distributed. Ryu, who has been attending her courses online throughout 2020, said the ability to recuperate at home and wear a mask in public…

[retailconfessionals]

Dear customers

that pull down your mask to hear me better..... I..... What?

[harupei]

✨🙌 MASK WEAR TOKYOさんより オリジナルマスクが発売になったよ！✨✨✨ ハリのある布マスクでふにゃふにゃしていないのに、肌なの触れる生地はシルクで、肌触りは優しいんだよ😙❤️ . @mask.wear.tokyo ⤴️ こちらのアカウントプロフィールから公式サイトに入れます🙏 Product Al lってとこに入ると全部のデザインがみれるよ😙✨ . 100人以上のクリエイターデザインの个性的なマスクがたくさんあるよ✨ のぞいてみてね😊 早く終わってほしいコロナだけど、たまにはマスクでオシャレもね😆✨ . #マスク #mask#maskwear#maskweartokyo #布マスク #コロナウイルスが早く終息しますように . #harupei#ハルペイ#doodle#draw#drawing#illustrator#illustration#japan#絵#雑貨#湘南#イラスト#イラストレーター#ゆるい#茅ヶ崎 https://www.instagram.com/p/CKiUuE9sKWV/?igshid=1koo95tmmg74d

[eviltwinlil-la]

Are they. Like. Are they okay?