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Nuo Opera

People performing Nuo opera

Nuo Opera or Nuo Drama (simplified Chinese: 傩戏; traditional Chinese: 儺戲; pinyin: nuo2xi4), deemed 特the "living fossil of opera", is one of the most popular folk operas in southwestern China and has a long history. Characterized by its special features - such as the ferocious masks, unique dresses and adornments, the strange language used in the performance, and mysterious scenes - nuo opera has been selected as one of non-material cultural legacies of China. The opera integrates religious and dramatic culture. The most unique symbol of nuo opera, the masks, can be considered as a treasure of Chinese folk ark. The masks of nuo opera are also believed to be the origin of the facial painting used in another famous type of Chinese opera - Beijing opera.

In ancient times during the Zhou Dynasty (11th century-256 BC), nuo opera was very popular in the Yangtze River, Yellow River and Nenjiang River valleys. However, with the development of civilization and society, the opera's popularity waned in those river valley areas. Nowadays, it still remains popular among the rural areas in southwestern China, such as Guizhou, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is especially popular in the regions inhabited by some ethnic minorities, such as Miao, Dong and Yao.

Basic Introduction

Nuo opera is regarded as the most direct and important expressive media of nuo culture. Other forms of representation of the nuo culture include Nuowu (傩舞 儺舞 Nuo dance), Nuoge (傩歌 儺歌 Nuo song) and Nuoyi (傩仪 儺儀 Nuo ceremony) and so on. The purpose of Nuo opera is to drive away devils, disease and evil influences, and also to petition for blessings from the gods.

Etimology

Nuo opera is the English translation of the art form. similar to Beijing opera, nuo opera is totally different from the typical western opera or drama. The Chinese character for "nuo" is "傩" in simplified Chinese or "儺" in traditional Chinese, which is a very uncommon character in modern Chinese language. The meaning of the character "nuo" is a patterned step to drive away the devil during the last month of the Chinese lunar new year. And later, Nuo evolved into a type of opera that composed of singing and dancing.

History

The Nuo opera, commonly referred as the "living fossile of opera", is a kind of folk dramatic arts that was originated from primitative religion. The origin or formation of the Nuo opera has a derivative relationship with its local Chinese historical-cultural contexts, while its development correlates with a set of specific social factors. Being transformed from religious performance to dramatic art, the Nuo opera itself dramatized a culturally and historically based vitality of folk art in the process of its development. In the Chapter "Village" of Analects by Confucius (论语-乡党 論語-鄉黨), "villager nuo" (or village nuo) was mentioned. In the book "Spring and Autumn of Master Lv", there also existed such a saying that whenever there was an celebration, grand Nuo (or royal Nuo) would be a necessity.

Origin

The primitive form of nuo opera is Nuoji (傩祭 儺祭), a special sarificial ceremony. It dates back to antiquity. While performing religious rites, people prayed to ward off disasters and receive good luck. Therefore, Nuoji was formed as an sacrificial activity or ceremony to worship gods and ancestors. The exact date when Nuoji was formed is hard to discover. However, the nuo ceremony was first recorded on bones and tortoise shells during the Shang Dynasty (16th-17th century BC), and flourished in the Zhou Dynasty (11th century-256BC).

In Zhou Dynasty which is the very subsequent dynasty after Shang Dynasty, Nuoji was already very popular within the central parts of the territory of Zhou Dynasty. Nuoji was performed during festivals and holidays at that time with the purpose to drive away devils and plague. Nuoji was a very important social, political and religious event and even a specific government department was established to be in charge of Nuoji. As the number of its participants increased from 100 to 1,000, the ceremony became more and more magnificent. At the time, besides the grand nuo ceremony held by the royal court, the folk nuo ceremony also appeared in the countryside.

Development

The Nuoji gradually developed into a dance drama and became more of a recreation than a ritual during and after the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is a masked drama enacted by a priest performing an exorcism, also known as "theater with a presentational aspect, a festival, and the idea of gatherings to establish ties and norms". The rituals have been incorporated into people's lives and are seen as commentaries on Chinese life.

Around the Song Dynasty (420-479), people started to perform with masks during Nuoji, thus Nuo opera was basically formed. During Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Nuo opera, which had separated from Nuoji, had become a unique performing art. During the 1930s and 1940s, Nuo opera began to be shown in some busy cities and towns.

Today, with the development of science and technology, the Nuo opera gradually declined and it can only be seen during the Spring Festival and some other importance traditional Chinese holidays in remote mountainous areas, such as Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and Anhui provinces, inhabited mostly by minority ethnic groups.

After the Establishment of People's Republic of China

After People's Republic of China was established on the year 1949, the influence and popularity of Nuo opera was suppressed artificially by the Chinese government. This is because the superstitious elements in Nuo opera is totally against the Constitution of the Communist Party of China which advocates atheism. Therefore, Nuo opera has already disappeared in most parts of China. However, in some rural mountainous area in southwestern China that has little interaction with the outside world, Nuo opera still preserves. Recently (after 2000), scholars from both China and abroad started becoming interested in Nuo opera again because of its precious historical value.

Varieties

Nuo opera varies much from place to place and this because that local culture and customs has a great influence on the forms, masks, costumes and conventions of Nuo opera. Generally, Nuo opera can be categorized as follows.

Guizhou Nuo

Guizhou is the center of Nuo Drama in southwestern China dut to its long Nuo opera history and abundant repertoire. In Anshun, a city in Guizhou, Nuo opera is the primary entertainment activity. Musical instruments include one gong and one drum. The drummer is a very important role during a performance. A patch of land serves as a stage. As a result, Guizhou Nuo is also called Dixi (ground opera).

The only two occasions for the performance of Nuo opera are at Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and at the middle of the 7th moon when rice tassels. The religious meaning is obvious. People hope the Nuo opera can drive away bad luck and bring good harvest. Year after year, numerous locals are attracted to this performance. Sometimes a drama can last a dozen days. As is true in most other areas, Nuo Drama in Tunbu is the privilege of men. The moment a dancer puts on his mask, he will not speak or act casually since putting on a mask means the spirit is on him already.

Jiangxi Nuo

Jiangxi Nuo is usually called Gan Nuo as Gan (赣 贛) is the abbreviation of Jiangxi Province. Nuo opera is most popular in the counties of Nanfeng and Shangli in Jiangxi. From late Qing Dynasty to now, there were about 150 Nuo opera performing groups. A temple for Nuo god which was built in Ming Dynasty is still in good function today for people to worship Nuo god. About 80 Nuo opera programs date from past still exist today. The number of Nuo opera masks in Jiangxi is over 2000 and there are approximately 2000 professional Nuo opera performing folk artists. In Shangli county, a popular says that in ancient time, there is a Nuo god every 5 kilometers. Therefore, Shangli county conserves over 20 Nuo god temples.

Nuo dancing, one of the most ancient arts and a necessary element in Nuo opera, has been existing in Jiangxi Nanfeng for over two thousand years. The movements of Nanfeng Nuo dancing are simple but powerful, remaining their ancient characters. Nanfeng Nuo dancing was even regarded as "The Active fossil of Chinese dancing Art". In 1996, Nanfeng county was called "The village of Chinese folk Art-Nuo Art" by National Culture Department of China.

Anhui Nuo

Anhui Nuo is special because it is performed on a clan basis not by a troupe as in other places. Chizhou Nuo is the most well-known Nuo opera of Anhui Nuo. The origins of Nuo culture in Chizhou areas is one of the most ancient and can be traced back over thousands of years to the neolithic period that has been recently included in the Nation’s First Catalogue of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Chizhou Nuo Opera is divided into three performing formats: Nuo Ritual. Nuo Dancing and Nuo Drama. The complete stage performance must be mixed with dramatic plot, performing procedure, role-playing, type of role, and qiemo (settings, scene and props). All of those should bear the theatrical characters. The performing skill can only be learned through oral instruction and the personal teachings passed on to disciples in person from generation to generation. Therefore, the performing art of Nuo opera is normally passed on within a clan from generation to generation.. There may be two sacrificial ceremonies (in which the Nuo opera are performed as a must) a year: the "spring sacrificial ceremony" that is held sometime between the seventh day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the "autumn sacrificial ceremony" that is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Except for these two ceremonies, there is no performance at all throughout the year.

The dance remains in many villages in Guichi County of Chizhou today which has a strong local flavor. Surrounded in the mist of incense and smoke, "Nuo" dancers would dress colorfully, walk on stilts and wear masks while performing, expressing their wishes of sacrifice to their ancestors, praying for blessing and dispelling the evils. While performing in some mountainous villages, dancers have to put masks on their foreheads, letting the audiences who are standing on the surrounding slopes to see them clearly. To accompany the dancing, the music instruments range from drum, bell, earthen bowl, bamboo flute and Suona. There is a popular saying among Chizhou area that a village would not be considered a village without Nuo opera.

When Chizhou Nuo Opera is performed, it normally has three integrative components: Nuo dancing, main Performance, and salutatory & complimentary remarks. Some of the well-known repertoire of Chizhou Nuo are "Liu Wenlong". "Meng Jiangnv". "Fan Silking" and "Zhang Wenxian" and so on.

Yunnan Nuo

In the film Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles directed by Zhang Yimou, you can see the scene of Yunnan Nuo. Leopard Nuo opera in Chuxiong, Yunnan, differentiates itself by the fact that all dancers are painted with a leopard pattern on their nude bodies. The ferocious and agile leopard is regarded as the most qualified to drive away devils. Leopards are played by twelve Yi boys about 10 years old. On the morning of the performance, young dancers will have the leopard pattern painted on their backs, hands, feet, and belly in black, white, red, and yellow colors. A yue-kin, a four-stringed plucked instrument with a full-moon-shaped sound box, is painted on their chests. Their faces are covered with palm leaves, and their heads are decorated with two pheasant tails. When the make-up is finished, dancers enter the role of leopards, prohibiting further talking.

Village rooftops connected by ladders or wood panels form the stage for the "leopards" At the climax of the dance, leopards run after young girls watching the show until the girls take them home where snacks have been prepared. Leopards eat some snacks as well as throw away some while continuing to dance. This devil-dispelling activity is performed in the rooms, kitchens and stalls of one family after another; the leopards dispel devils for all the villagers.

Masks

Masks used when performing Nuo opera

The most distinctive feature of Nuo opera is the performers wear masks. Different roles require different masks to reveal the characters, through their changing facial features and decorations. The masks are highly aesthetic. The plastic arts, select materials, colors and applications of Nuo opera masks vary among the regions, ethnic groups, culture and aesthetic interests. That distinctiveness adds the masks' enchanting beauty. The masks are mainly made of poplar and willow since poplar is light and less prone to cracks, while willow is widely regarded as having the power to ward off evil. Nuo opera involves many acrobic performances, such as getting into a hot pot, holding burned stones, crossing a fiery pit, swallowing and blowing fire, and stepping on a mountain of swords. As most of the performers are specially trained, they are good at giving exciting performances.

The number of masks used in one drama ranges from several dozen to two hundred. There are five kinds of masks used in Nuo Drama, namely: civilian general, military general, old general, young general and woman general with other minor roles like soldiers and Taoist monks. Each nuo mask has a fixed name, represents a certain role and has legendary stories to tell about its origins. In Guizhou, a province with the largest number of nuo drama repertoires, at least 24 masks are required to perform an entire nuo drama piece. The masks can appear valiant and martial, stern and tough, orgentle and kind, and they come in various styles to represent different figures. For instance, since the responsibility of valiant gods is to emit awe and dispel ghosts and devils, their masks usually have horns and buckteeth, with a very ferocious countenance.

The masks are endowed with mysterious religious and customary meanings, both in Nuoji and Nuo opera performances. People in Nuo culture circles, who regard the masks as the symbols and carriers of gods, observe various rules and conventions. For instance, the ceremony of enshrining a Buddha statue is held before making the masks; before using them, the ceremony of opening the case; and storing them, the ceremony of sealing the case. According to rules, women are not allowed to touch or wear the masks, and only men can produce, use and store masks. Once a man wears a mask, he is supposed to be possessed by a god or spirit. And therefore, he must not speak or act freely.

Nuo masks are the result of primitive religion and totem worship. And each simple and unsophisticated nuo mask, whose role has shifted from primitive totem worship to aspiration for kindness and justice, vividly interprets history. The mask has gradually shed the high shrines and entered the hearts of folk people. It is not only the incarnation and a carrier of gods, but also a mirror that reflects the lives of Chinese ancestors.

Studies also show that the facial painting of Beijing opera and and face changing of Sichuan opera are influenced by the Nuo opera masks.

See Also

• Chinese opera
  • Cantonese opera
  • Huangmei opera
  • Kunqu
  • Min Opera
  • Qinqiang
  • Shaoxing opera
  • Beijing opera
  • Sichuan opera
• 中国傩文化网
• 中国傩文化-中国网
• China
  • Jiangxi
  • Anhui
  • Yunnan
  • Guizhou
  • Hunan
  • Hubei
  • Guangxi