Gold and silver colors are usually used for gods and spirits. The main color in a facial makeup symbolizes the disposition of the character. For example, red color indicate loyalty, white references white-haired hero, yellow face means brutality and insidiousness, green implies bravery, blue symbolizes valor and intractability.

The facial makeups date a long time back to the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties at least. Simple patterns of painted faces are found in tomb murals of that age.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), improvements were made in the skills of drawing and in preparing the paints, leading to the whole set of colorful facial patterns that we see in today's Jingju (Beijing Opera).