Deemed as the “living fossil of opera”, the Chizhou Nuo Opera was originated from the totemistic idea. It is the result of the long-standing culture mingled from Culture of Central Plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe River), Culture of Shu and Culture of Yue. Nuo Opera is actually an age-old Chinese folk-custom; in addition, it is also a kind of fork art that reflects the significance of clan and religion. Nuo Opera, which is prevailing in the one hundred kilometers in circumference of Guichi County, Shitai County and Qingyang County where the Buddhist shrine. Mount Jiuhua towers. It is particularly popular among the dozens of villages, including Liu Street, Mei Street and Maoyuan where certain surnames dominate the local clan names.
In Chapter “Village” of Analects by Confucius, “villager nuo” (or village nuo) was mentioned. In “Spring and Autumn of Master Lv”, there also existed such a saying that whenever there was an celebration, grand Nuo (i.e: royal Nuo) would be a necessity. In ancient China, there is a form of dance called Nuo. The Nuo ritual has been practiced in China for thousands of years from the primitive times when early men performed sacrifices and conducted ceremonial services to pay tribute to ancestors, gods, and goddesses while exorcising demons. A story relates that during the Reign of the Emperor Liangwudi, the Southern Dynasty (502-557), the common people make sacrifice to the death of Xiao Tong, Prince Shaoming, the son of Emperor Liangwudi. In ancient China, there is a form of dance called Nuo.
In Guichi District, people respectfully called Xiao Tong “Mud Lord”, “Master Demon” or “Case Bodhisattva”. Every year, on August 15 (the Lunar Calendar), “Mid-Autumn Welcoming God Fair” would be held to celebrate the birthday of Xiao Tong. In addition, during Lantern Festive (around January 15 lunar calendar), every odd day, in the vast rural areas, the Nuo ritual would be practiced whose customs has lasted for thousands of years from the primitive times when early men performed sacrifices and conducted ceremonial services to pay tribute to ancestors, gods, and goddesses while exorcising demons. Dancers used masks to perform at ritual ceremonies to frighten off the ghosts and evil spirits and to relieve people of epidemics. 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.
The Chinese character Nuo originally meant a patterned step to drive away evil during the last month of the Chinese lunar year. Later. Nuo evolved into a dance. 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 bear the theatrical characters. The performing skill can only be learned through oral instruction and the personal teachings be passed on to disciples in person. So the performing art of Nuo opera is normally passed on within a clan from generation to generation. There may be two sacrificial ceremonies 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. Chizhou City today which has a strong local flavor. Surrounded in the mist of incense and smoke wreathing upward. “Nuo” dancers, men and women dressed 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 gang. drum, bell, earthen bowl, vertical bamboo flute, flute, to Suona. The festive scenery is always so impressive that everywhere people go would find themselves immersed in joyful and triumphant atmosphere. Up to date, residents of all villages proudly assume that without Nuo Opera, a village would not be considered a village.
When Chizhou Nuo Opera is performed, it normally has three integrative components: Nuo Dancing. Main Performance. Salutatory and Complimentary Remarks. Some of the representatives of the programs are “Liu Wenlong”, “Meng Jiangnv”, “Fan Silking”, “Zhang Wenxian”, “A Story about a Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs” (“Fourth Girl of the Zhang's who Arranges Flower”), “Open the Grain Barns and Distribute the Grain when Chenzhou was in hit by Drought”, “Hua Guansuo”, “Xue Rengui Suppresses the Rebellion in Liao State”, “Lord Bao Ploughs back”, “Emperor Song Renzong Recognized his Mother and Reunited with her”.
The ritual procedure includes inviting, welcoming, and thanking spirits. Following the solemn ritual. Nuo drama is performed to entertain the spirits. Masked performers with whips dance to the sound of different mysterious tunes some wearing black, white or red masks with varied expressions from the amiable to the frightening and ferocious. But with the passage of time and increasing popularization of science, the primitive, superstitious ritual has now been transformed into a theatrical performance for entertainment purposes. Formerly, the ritual gave expression to the uncertainty of primitive people towards the unknown world and universe, but nowadays, the most fascinating part is the vivid Nuo drama that follows. Wherever there is a Nuo drama performance in a village, farmers from surrounding villages will hike for dozens of kilometers to watch. Although some elderly people still have awe and reverence for the Nuo dancing “gods”, fewer and fewer are now familiar with the content and expertise of the ritual.
After viewing a performance of Nuo Opera, many people would show interest in the masks. Dancers used masks to perform at ritual ceremonies to frighten off the ghosts and evil spirits and to relieve people of epidemics. Nuo is a form of Chinese masked drama enacted by a priest or specially trained shamans as a means of exorcism: it is also a theatrical performance with a presentational aspect, and festival, with the idea of gathering to establish ties and norms between heaven and earth, life and death, man and gods, the ruler and his subjects, a very prominent Chinese.
It maintains the features of primitive simplicity and of being straightforward It is of great value in research of the development of the China's ancient opera, culture, social fashion and customs, and religion. |
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