Chou The Chou has a white square drawn around the nose. It was said that the Emperor Tang Minghuang enjoyed watching opera tremendously and he would sometimes take on a role himself. One day, he got tired of playing the role of an emperor all the time. So he decided that it would be refreshing to play the role of a clown and painted a white square around his nose. From then on, this form of face mask came to be known as the "Beancurd Face" and was passed down to the generations. As the Emperor had played the Chou role before, this role gained respect among the opera troupes. In fact, before every performance, the actor playing a Chou would have to touch all the make-up colours before anyone can use them. Male Role : Chou  Although both the Chou and Jing characters are normally played by the male actors, they fall into categories separate from the Sheng because of the characteristics peculiar to each other. Picture source: Hokkien Kong Huay XiangOpera Troupe Chou is always the clown of the show. The character speaks in normal range in the most informal speech of all the characters. The white patch of paint around the actor's eyes and nose identifies the chou or comedian. Depending on the type of character, he may have various black markings as well. Most often stupid and amusing, the chou can be quite serious and malevolent. A military chou is a lowly soldier who performs acrobatic stunts. A civilian chou includes the jailer, servant or merchant whom the leading actor has dealings with. Female Role : Chou Unlike the male chou, the female chou does not have the white patch of make-up around the nose. Instead simple make-up exaggerates her features. Picture source: Hokkien Kong Huay XiangOpera Troupe