Beijing Opera roles require performers to paint ( they) faces in patterns and colours to suggest different character types and(quality).
In Beijing Opera, facial painting can be quite complex(复杂的). However, in the (begin), only three colours(use)-red, white and black. Now, many other colours, such yellow, purple, blue and green, are used for facial painting.
Red is a colour for(brave) and loyalty. Guan Yu, a general from the Three Kingdoms Period(AD 220-280) is a good example of this kind of character. He is famous being very loyal to his emperor, Liu bei.
White means allis bad in human nature. One of the typical white-faced characters is Cao Cao, a (power) and cruel prime minister from the Three Kingdoms Period.
Black face paint is (usual) used for someone who is fierce and violent. One typical example is General Zhang Fei from the classic novel, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
All these different colours are used in Beijing Opera facial painting to show a clear picture of each character.
