Wang Zhouzheng, "King of Face-changing", performs in Southwest China's  Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
[file photo]

The secret "Bianlian", or face-changing, Sichuan Opera technique is being sold for only 3,000 yuan (US$385.85) on taobao.com, a major auction website in China, the Beijing Morning Post reported Wednesday.

"Beelzebub Fantasy" claimed he would teach all the tricks involved in the face-changing, but only to Chinese nationals, and only to one person in each city.

The online salesman added that his net store had been launched by three generations of well-known magicians and martial arts practitioners, artists in their 80s, state-level performers and college students who hold many national patents. He even claims that two members of his family have won the Golden Clown Award, the highest prize in international acrobatic and circus competition.

"The biggest secret of face-changing is the mask tools," the salesman surnamed Meng (Beelzebub Fantasy) told the Beijing Morning Post. It costs 3,000 yuan for the secrets, he said. "I promise you can learn it, but you have to practice during celebrations because you can't get to the master's level without a lot of practice."

"I never studied Sichuan Opera, but I have researched face-changing for five years," Meng said. When asked whether he uses the same props as the real Sichuan Opera, he said he didn't know, but that regular people wouldn't know the difference anyway.

There are no related laws prohibiting the trading of these kinds of things online, but "we will pay a close attention to it, and we'll suspend the sale once it violates any regulations," a Taobao.com representative said.

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"I feel hurt. We should better protect the technique," Peng Denghuai, the famous Sichuan Opera maestro, said. "The face-changing is a national treasure, not magic. Selling the secret on the Internet disrespects not only the face-changing itself but our cultural heritage."

"The disclosure of the secrets of face-changing actually spoils the art," Ouyang Ronghua, the first to use face-changing in his performance, said.

At the time of the report, no one had yet purchased the secrets, according to a Taobao.com representative.

The face-changing technique is unique to the Sichuan Opera. Performers change masks in quick succession with a wave of the hand or by turning around.

Professionals can change up to 10 masks in 20 seconds. In China, there are only 200 artists who are able to perform face-changing.