Mask Master Sun Qiuping

Text by Ma Yalun & Tang Lin Photos by Su Zhuolin

In the CCNU Community along the South Lake in Wuhan, China, lives a unique craftswoman called Sun Qiuping. She has a great passion for drawing Peking Opera masks, which has not been discolored through years. In the past decades, she had made tens of thousands of Peking Opera masks, which won her the nickname “Peking Opera Mask Master Sun.”

On entering her home, we saw numerous masks on walls, tables, and the floor, and her home was filled with various Peking Opera mask molds.

Her encounter with these masks came from her childhood. Her father, a Peking Opera lover, always took her to watch the performances. Even after her family moved south from Shenyang City to Wuhan City, her family's love for the art didn't change. His father would still sing some pieces from the show at his leisure. Little Qiuping wasn't interested in the opera performance itself but the colorful facial makeup of the performers. Every time she was free, she would draw the masks from memory in her workbook, which always won the praise of her father and the admiration of her peers. Little Qiuping gradually found her inborn talent for drawing. Her father noticed her interests and pushed her to practice calligraphy, which also helped develop her drawing skills. Chinese traditional calligraphy with a brush was conducive to her skill of drawing lines after she began drawing Peking Opera masks.

孙秋萍正在绘制脸谱 Sun Qiuping drawing a mask

Chance favors only the prepared mind. When Sun Qiuping grew up, she found a job in the Wuhan Scientific and Educational Instrument Co., Ltd, where she learned the moldmaking and other techniques relevant to mask manufacturing. In her 40s, she was transferred to the Logistics Department of Central China Normal University, which enabled her to have more free time. Encouraged by her teacher Zhang Weiming, she began focusing on mask drawing.

At the very beginning, she knew nothing about the mask field, so she could only learn by herself. In order to draw historic figures vividly, she read a lot of historical documents to acquire knowledge of their facial features and searched for the suitable materials locally and outside of Wuhan in order to make molds and headdresses in person since they were not sold in the market.

Making Peking Opera masks is no easy job. Ten steps need to be done: making the mold, opening the mold, trimming the mold, drawing lines, coloring, decorating, neatening, and varnishing. Besides, the facial expressions, age, height, weight, character, and even the geological and cultural connotations of the figure must be taken into account when crafting a Peking Opera mask. When drawing a figure, one needs to carefully research the changes that come with a subject's age. Take Guan Yu, a great general in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms for example. His eyebrows vary at different ages. In his youth, they are like scimitars; in middle age, thick and flat; in his old age, gray.

Sun Qiuping specializes in everything relevant to Peking Opera mask-drawing, like papercutting, cross-stitching, and even masks popular in Shaanxi Province and masks from Russia and Japan. Therefore, her drawing methods and materials expand constantly. Everything she sees can be turned into a Peking Opera mask. She can make masks modeled after ping pong paddles, spatulas, big spoons, eggshells, and the like. “In this way, people without fixed molds can paint masks themselves,” said Sun Qiuping. She hopes that more and more people love Peking Opera masks and make masks themselves.

Sun Qiuping taught in communities, primary schools and universities to help residents and students draw Peking Opera masks. Eight years have passed since she first taught others to draw. Every year, she gave lessons to foreign students of Central China Normal University. “They are really meticulous, drawing thin and fine lines,” said Sun Qiuping. One year, as many as 70 foreign students came to learn with volunteers helping to interpret. She was so happy to see so many of them excited about Peking Opera masks. She always walked through the classroom and taught students one by one. In her mind, Peking Opera masks are visible symbols of unwritten Chinese culture and thus serve as a good window to become acquainted with traditional cultures. What's more, foreign students can make friends, enrich their lives in China, and acquire skills in drawing.

“Most of my masks are given to people for free.” Sun Qiuping is never possessive of her works and delivers them as gifts to relatives and friends during festivals, ceremonies and parties, and even when they go abroad.

As she said: “Big masks can be hung on walls, and small ones can be tied onto keychains. Each mask, delicate and vivid, brings color to one's home and life.”

万张脸谱背后的孙秋萍

文/马亚伦 唐琳 摄影/苏卓琳

中国武汉南湖边上的华大家园小区里，生活着一位奇艺人——孙秋萍。她一生酷爱画脸谱，乐此不彼。十多年间，孙秋萍已经制作了上万张脸谱。人们亲切地称她“脸谱孙”。

一进孙秋萍家门，无数脸谱奔入眼帘，墙上、桌上到处都是，连地上也被各种脸谱模具占据。

孙秋萍与脸谱的情缘要从幼时说起。她的父亲是个典型的票友，酷爱京剧，总带着秋萍去看演出。举家从沈阳南迁至武汉后，家庭热爱戏曲的传统没有改变。悠闲之余，父亲总要给她唱上几嗓子。秋萍对说唱没怎么上心，偏偏对演员五颜六色的脸蛋着了迷。一有空就在作业本上凭着记忆画上一个，常常得到父亲赞赏和小伙伴们羡慕的目光。秋萍天启的艺术慧根逐渐萌芽。父亲发现她的爱好，便要求她每天写毛笔字，练习手感，这对她后来画脸谱勾勒线条美感很有帮助。

孙家书房的墙面上挂满脸谱 On the wall of Sun's study hung numerous masks

上苍常把机会赠与有准备的人。孙秋萍长大后，在武汉科教仪器厂找到了工作，在那里，她学会了制模、倒模等与制作脸谱相关的技术。四十多岁时，孙秋萍调到华师后勤部门，工作更为轻松，于是，在师父张威铭的鼓励下，孙秋萍开始专注脸谱事业。

起初，她所从事的行当无所借鉴，只能自己摸索。为了生动形象地反映历史人物，她查阅历史资料，了解人物脸型特征；模子和头饰没有现成的，她满武汉找材料，自己动手。

做脸谱并不是件简单的事，除了制作原型、开模、倒模型、修型、上漆、勾线、上色、装饰、休整、上光漆等十个步骤的精工细活，人物的表情、年龄、身高、体重、个性，甚至地缘人文关系都得考虑在内。同样一张花脸，仔细观察会发现，在不同年龄阶段的模样各有讲究。比方说《三国演义》中的关羽，年轻时吊眉，中年时是粗平眉，到了老年就成了灰眉。

孙秋萍指导外国留学生绘制脸谱Sun Qiuping showing a foreign student how to draw a mask

孙秋萍和她的学生们 Sun Qiuping and her students

孙秋萍收集一切与脸谱有关的手工艺品，剪纸、十字绣，甚至还有陕西的社火脸谱和俄罗斯、日本等国的面具，创作方式和创作材料也在不断拓宽。无论看到什么物件，她都能捣腾出一个脸谱来。乒乓球拍、锅铲、饭勺、鸡蛋壳……不一而足。“这样，没有石膏模子的人也可以自己动手创作脸谱。”孙秋萍说，她希望热爱脸谱、制作脸谱的人越来越多。

孙秋萍带着技艺走进社区、小学、大学，小朋友、老人爱学。过去8年间，孙秋萍每年都要给华师的留学生上脸谱课。“他们非常认真，勾线勾得又细又准。”孙秋萍对洋弟子非常满意。最多的一年，有70来个留学生和翻译志愿者一起向孙秋萍学习技艺。看着留学生热爱脸谱，孙秋萍很高兴，总是来回巡视，一个一个手把手教他们。在她看来，脸谱是没有文字的中国名著，是传播中华优秀文化的很好载体。学生们在一起学脸谱，不仅学到了技艺，更增进了友谊，丰富了在中国的留学生活。

“大多数脸谱都送人了。”孙秋萍并不吝啬自己的手艺。逢年过节、结婚酒宴、生日派对、出国访友，亲朋好友们都期待得到她亲手制作的脸谱。大的可以挂在墙上，小的可以系在钥匙扣上，个个色彩精致、生动鲜活，给家居带来亮色，给生活增添情趣。