Bian Lian - History

History

Face-changing, or "biàn liǎn" in Chinese, is an important sub-genre of Chinese Sichuan opera. The secret for how to accomplish it has been passed down from one generation to the next within families. Traditionally only males were permitted to learn Bian Lian, the theory being that women do not stay within the family and would marry out, increasing the risk the secret would be passed to another family. Therefore the art of Bian Lian is technically forbidden to women. Controversially, a Malaysian Chinese woman named Candy Chong has become a popular performer after learning Bian Lian from her father.

Famed Sichuan Opera performer Wang Daozheng in a 2006 interview said the secret of Bian Lian leaked out during the 1986 visit of a Sichuan Opera troupe to Japan. Wang laments the leak of this Chinese traditional secret performance art and is concerned that non-Chinese performers in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and other countries are not well-trained. Wang argues that Bian Lian is one of the traditional arts protected by Chinese secrecy laws but officials of the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China have stated that this is not true.

In 2003, Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau learned this secret art from skilled masters by paying them roughly 3,000,000 yuan (ca. US$360,000). Knowing the secret does not make it easy and thus far, Andy Lau has only learned how the masks are changed so quickly, but has not yet mastered the technique.

Bian Lian had been rarely seen outside of China because non-Chinese were not permitted to learn the art form, but since the mid 2000s it has been performed occasionally in international mass media and at Chinese themed events. Juliana Chen performed on The World's Greatest Magic television special with a brief black-light performance of Bian Lian. Michael Stroud, (as The Magique Bazaar) performed Bian Lian on America's Got Talent. Bian Lian was also featured on Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour. In San Francisco, Bian Lian was featured at the China Town Autumn Moon Festival 2010-2012 and at the Miss National Asia 2011 and 2012 beauty pageants.

Since the cultural basis of the opera are not well known outside of China, international performers have been making efforts to inform and increase the entertainment value for Westerners. Dan Chan performs the traditional Dong Zhou movements of Sichuan Opera. Michael Stroud has adapted his Bian Lian to modern faces and music.