Introduction 4: The Study of a Thousand Faces

Introduction 4: The Study of a Thousand Faces

Let me talk about an amazing industry around me.

In ancient times, the mask industry was called Yirongshu (1). Oftentimes, masks arent as good as what we imagined or what weve see on TV. They use real human skin that peels off the face. Most of the time, this is done by using a material that mimics the texture of human skin. Its applied to key parts of the face to change ones appearance. According to the theories, women are better at performing this technique than men because theyre better at recognizing facial structures. For instance, in our daily lives, men may look at some women and think they're not wearing any makeup, but women can tell right away that they are. Of course, I haven't read any publications about this, so I can't verify whether its true or not.

There are currently two mask-making systems, and I have come into contact with both of them. Ah Tou, one of my masters, was the girl who put Uncle Threes mask on me before. She has a profound artistic background and deploys a lot of modern materials and makeup techniques when making masks. The Zhang family's system, on the other hand, completely sticks to the old traditions without any new advancements. I never asked whether the so-called human skin masks were actually made of real human skin back in the old days, but only the Zhangs know the formula to create the special materials they need. I created my own system by using flour or Fujian-style dumpling filling to make temporary masks, but their lifespan depends on the weather and how sweaty I am.

I suppose the two systems have the same origin. The story of how Ah Tou learned this technique can be very long. She said that she had heard that the first master started this business near the border. In the beginning, the master went to the Mogao Caves (2) to fix the caves and build Buddhist statues for the rich. The rich had an unwritten rule that the Buddhist statues faces would resemble them. The master gradually showed his talent for making faces. Since there weren't many materials available to make the moulds at that time, he started using paper effigy (3) moulds. After that, human skin masks gradually started to emerge. Later, one of his relatives committed a crime and needed to escape. He took the risk and made a paper mask for them, enabling them to successfully escape. Afterwards, this master's reputation grew. He stopped making statues and focused on the skin mask business, which helped criminals flee the country. With further improvement on the materials, it became a specialized industry.

At that time, this skill was only passed on to other people, not to ones own family. It couldnt be handed down because two consecutive generations wouldnt be able to do it for a living. It was thought that people in this industry were so short-lived because King Yama of Hell always received the wrong people and ended up blaming them for it. Personally, I think its because the chance of being murdered in this business is too high, so many people come to bad ends.

The Zhang family's skin masks utilized an ancient method, while Ah Tous technique was improved by many people over time. This technology was later whitewashed in cosmetic surgeries and forensic medicine. It had now become a very professional interdisciplinary practice involving art, anatomy, medicine, material science, and even facial recognition.

TN Notes:

(1) Yirongshu= technique to change ones appearance

(2) An extremely famous historical site in northern China. Its a cave dug out in 366 A.D. as a place for Buddhist meditation and worship. More info here.

(3) Paper dolls used to represent deceased ones during a funeral

(4) Both a "legendary faceless being" in Chinese mythology and the "primordial and central chaos" in Chinese cosmogony, comparable with the world egg. More info here.

(5) Hes talking about Poker-Face pretending to be Consultant Zhang in Vol 2 Angry Sea, Hidden Sands