I couldn’t help pressing the shutter button of my camera when I saw this Taiwanese drama actor one afternoon in February, 1988. Stepping into Hsinchu Du Cheng-Huang Temple, a temple built in 1748 governing both the “Heaven” and the “Earth”, I was first attracted by a crowd of Taiwanese drama actors rehearsing on a stage to my right. There stood a cosmetically appealing man wearing a drama costume more exquisite than anything I’d ever imagined. His drama gown was glistening silver, with a yellow dragon in the front. Both sides of the dragon embroidery were decorated with shimmering silver and gold beads dangling back and forth as he moved around. I believed the gown had been woven of pure silk and shiny satin. And his costume wasn’t the only extraordinary focus that attracted me.
The mixed ruddy and pale complexion of his face was as appealing to me as his drama costume. His forehead was painted a kind of rich white with some pinkish shades; his eyes stood out on his face because of the black eye shadow put on them. His hair, fashioned into a lobe circled by a strip of russet and golden band, was ornamented with silver strings and red glass beads. As most Taiwanese drama male actors, he wore an artificially grizzled glossy beard hanging from twisted strands of wire around his upper lip. His rosy cheek was a little bit mismatched to his masculine character. Noticing that I was taking a photograph of him, he made a gesture of OK with his right hand, probably implying that he was ready, with his colorful drama costume and shining theater makeup, to perform on the stage.
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