Yi Li 36 Types of Beijing Opera Masks - 21

Yi Li - White Eunuch Face

Eunuch Face

This makeup represents a eunuch who tyrannizes people. Only two colors, red and white are used. The face is basically similar to a full face or a three-tile face, except that certain features indicative of a despot are magnified; thin, pointed brows that suggest craftiness; eye sockets shaped like kitchen knives to symbolize butchery of the people; a beardless mouth turned downward at the corners, a sign of cruelty and deceitfulness; a circle of light on the forehead to mock the eunuch's claim to be a disciple of the Buddha, "cleaned" of all sensual desires because he has been castrated; and lines representing folds on the plump cheeks and forehead, marks of ease and comfort.

Yi Li with his white eunuch face has a role in the opera "The Golden Terrace.

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