MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Nuo Masked Dance

Put on the mask, and the god comes to drive out plague

Introduction

Masked dances of village nuo troupes, danced to gongs and drums in the first month to drive out plague and evil

Nuo dance is the masked dancing of the nuo rite, which drives out plague and evil spirits. Today it is kept mainly by village nuo troupes in Jiangxi, Anhui, Fujian and elsewhere, who perform from the first to the sixteenth day of the first month to gongs and drums, with pieces such as Kaishan the path-opener, Zhong Kui, the dancing judge and the nuo old man and old woman. The main items are the nuo of Nanfeng, Wuyuan and Le'an (III-7), with extensions such as the aishe of Shouyang, Qimen nuo dance and the chigezhou of Wenxian, and the tiao huapeng of Huazhou (III-100). The Analects records 'the villagers' nuo', the Rites of Zhou describes the exorcist fangxiangshi 'covered in a bearskin, with four golden eyes', the great nuo of the Eastern Han court used a hundred and twenty boy exorcists, and in the Northern Song palace more than a thousand masked men played generals and Zhong Kui. Nuo plays with plots and scripts belong to ritual and puppet theatre.

Timeline

Late Spring and Autumn period to present
500 BCE · OriginAt the end of the Spring and Autumn period, the Analects records that when the villagers performed nuo, Confucius stood in court dress on the eastern steps; the Rites of Zhou describes the fangxiangshi, 'covered in a bearskin, with four golden eyes, black jacket and red skirt, holding a halberd and raising a shield', leading his men in seasonal exorcisms to search houses and drive out plague.100 · EvolutionThe Eastern Han court held a great nuo before the La festival: the fangxiangshi with four golden eyes and a bearskin, a hundred and twenty boys aged ten to twelve as exorcists, and twelve beasts in fur and horns drove out the plague demons (Treatise on Rites, Hou Hanshu); Zhang Heng's Eastern Capital rhapsody describes 'the great nuo at the year's end, driving off the host of evil spirits'.1120 · EvolutionOn New Year's Eve in Northern Song Kaifeng, the palace staged the great nuo with the palace guards: more than a thousand men in masks and painted costumes played generals, door gods, judges and Zhong Kui and drove the evil out through the Nanxun gate (Dongjing menghua lu).2006 · ImpactIn 1953 the nuo troupe of Changjing village, Wuyuan, performed at the first National Folk Music and Dance Festival in Beijing; in 2006 the nuo of Nanfeng, Wuyuan and Le'an entered the first national ICH list as III-7, and extensions from 2008 to 2021 added the aishe of Shouyang, the nuo of Qimen, Shaowu and Zhanjiang, the chigezhou of Wenxian, the July tiaohui of Yongjing, Punan ancient nuo, the five-chang dance and the nuo-god play of Pingxiang.
  1. 500 BCEOriginAt the end of the Spring and Autumn period, the Analects records that when the villagers performed nuo, Confucius stood in court dress on the eastern steps; the Rites of Zhou describes the fangxiangshi, 'covered in a bearskin, with four golden eyes, black jacket and red skirt, holding a halberd and raising a shield', leading his men in seasonal exorcisms to search houses and drive out plague.
  2. 100EvolutionThe Eastern Han court held a great nuo before the La festival: the fangxiangshi with four golden eyes and a bearskin, a hundred and twenty boys aged ten to twelve as exorcists, and twelve beasts in fur and horns drove out the plague demons (Treatise on Rites, Hou Hanshu); Zhang Heng's Eastern Capital rhapsody describes 'the great nuo at the year's end, driving off the host of evil spirits'.
  3. 1120EvolutionOn New Year's Eve in Northern Song Kaifeng, the palace staged the great nuo with the palace guards: more than a thousand men in masks and painted costumes played generals, door gods, judges and Zhong Kui and drove the evil out through the Nanxun gate (Dongjing menghua lu).
  4. 2006ImpactIn 1953 the nuo troupe of Changjing village, Wuyuan, performed at the first National Folk Music and Dance Festival in Beijing; in 2006 the nuo of Nanfeng, Wuyuan and Le'an entered the first national ICH list as III-7, and extensions from 2008 to 2021 added the aishe of Shouyang, the nuo of Qimen, Shaowu and Zhanjiang, the chigezhou of Wenxian, the July tiaohui of Yongjing, Punan ancient nuo, the five-chang dance and the nuo-god play of Pingxiang.

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · III-7 Nuo dance [no. 110: Nanfeng tiaonuo · Wuyuan nuo dance · Le'an nuo dance · Nanfeng · Wuyuan and Le'an counties · Jiangxi]
  2. 2008National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage2nd batch · 2008: III-49 Shangyang rain dance [no. 646 · Juancheng · Shandong] · III-53 Helou harvest dance [no. 650 · Yunan · Guangdong]
  3. 2008National ICH extension itemsIII-7 Nuo dance: Shouyang aishe · Qimen nuo dance · Shaowu nuo dance · Zhanjiang nuo dance · Wenxian chigezhou · Yongjing July tiaohui · Shouyang · Shanxi · Qimen · Anhui · Shaowu · Fujian · Mazhang · Zhanjiang · Guangdong · Wenxian and Yongjing · Gansu
  4. 2011National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage3rd batch · 2011: III-97 Tiao mafu [no. 1086 · Rudong · Jiangsu] · III-100 Tiao huapeng [no. 1089 · Huazhou · Guangdong]) · extension item (2011 · III-7 Nuo dance: Punan ancient nuo · Zhangzhou · Fujian
  5. 2014National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage4th batch · III-115 Hongze Lake fish-drum dance · no. 1268 · Hongze and Sihong · Jiangsu) · extension item (2014 · III-7 Nuo dance: tiao wuchang five-chang dance · Langxi · Anhui
  6. 2021National ICH extension itemIII-7 Nuo dance: Pingxiang nuo-god dance · Pingxiang · Jiangxi