Hahoe Mask Dance is one of the most representative Korean Mask Dances in traditional folk customs. With the longest history among all the Mask Dances, it is the only one that has been appointed as the national treasure. The particular figure designs and tinges in Hahoe Mask Dance not only reflect the traits of characters in the plays but also present to the world the Korean tradition and its immanent thoughts, culture, morality, arts and so on. If kimchi is the most representative food of Korea, Hahoe Mask Dance must be the most representative face.
In China, Beijing Opera, as the most influential one, enjoys the fame as “national opera”. It has been spread to the whole world and has become an important means to introduce Chinese traditional culture. The painting on the face of an opera performer is called a facial mask which is a big characteristic of Beijing Opera. The facial masks can help the audience to understand the plots of an opera. hey are different based on different roles. For the roles of “Sheng” and “Dan”, the facial makeups are quite simple with little cosmetics. So they are often called as “handsome makeup”, “plain face” or “clean face”. As for the roles of “Jing” and “Chou”, their facial masks are more complex. “Jing”, particularly, is always heavily painted with complicated designs. So it is often called “flowerish face”. The facial masks in Beijing Opera mainly refer to the facial paintings of “Jing”.
The article is aimed at an analysis and a comparison between Hahoe Mask Dance and Beijing Opera in the aspects of figure designs, tinges and colors, hence to understand the traditional cultures of both countries deeply.