MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

Nuo Ritual Drama

Plays before the altar, masks telling human stories

Introduction

Masked plays staged by nuo priests inside rites of thanksgiving and vow-fulfilment

Nuo drama is masked theatre played by nuo priests (duangong, tulaoshi) inside the rites of the nuo altar held to fulfil vows and thank the gods. Also called nuotang or duangong plays and accompanied by gong, drum and cymbals, it has main plays, short plays and full-length plays such as Meng Jiangnü. Found across the southwest, central south and in Shanxi, Hebei and Shaanxi, its main items include the nuotang plays of Dejiang, the Chenzhou nuo of Yuanling and the nuo of Chizhou (IV-89), with yangxi (IV-157), duangong plays (IV-168), the Yi cuotaiji (IV-85) and the northern sai-festival plays saixi and luogu zaxi. The Yuanling gazetteer of 1705 already records shamans 'enacting the story of Meng Jiangnü' as god-plays; nuo dance without plays belongs to Chinese dance.

Timeline

1705 (44th year of Kangxi, Qing) to present
1705 · OriginThe Yuanling county gazetteer of 1705, the 44th year of Kangxi, records: 'shamans of Chenzhou perform god-plays, enacting the story of Meng Jiangnü; according to the fee they play the whole or half, and the whole lasts several days', the first explicit record of plays staged at the nuo altar; the national ICH texts say nuo dance absorbed opera forms in the late Ming and early Qing to become nuotang and duangong plays, which took shape in western Hunan under Kangxi and spread down the Yuan river into the Yangtze.1745 · EvolutionThe Yongshun county gazetteer of 1745, the 10th year of Qianlong, records that to thank the gods the people 'must invite the shamans of Chenzhou to sing and perform nuo plays … at night they play the nuo plays, beating gongs and drums, each wearing a paper mask: one dressed as a woman is Meng Jiangnü, one dressed as a man is Fan Qilang', showing both the name nuo drama and its masked role-playing.1800 · EvolutionBy the mid-Qing the yangxi of the Zhangjiajie area of Hunan, the northern-road yangxi with seventeen named tunes, had taken shape; yangxi is one of the three branches of nuo drama, represented today by the Zhangjiajie yangxi (IV-157).2006 · ImpactIn 2006 the nuo plays of Dejiang, Yuanling, the Dong people, Chizhou and Wu'an, the Yi cuotaiji and the luogu zaxi of Linyi entered the first national ICH list (IV-89, IV-85, IV-88); saixi (IV-95) and Heyang tiaoxi (IV-133) followed in 2008, ten more nuo items were added as extensions from 2008 to 2014, yangxi was listed from 2011 (IV-157), and duangong plays in 2021 (IV-168).
  1. 1705OriginThe Yuanling county gazetteer of 1705, the 44th year of Kangxi, records: 'shamans of Chenzhou perform god-plays, enacting the story of Meng Jiangnü; according to the fee they play the whole or half, and the whole lasts several days', the first explicit record of plays staged at the nuo altar; the national ICH texts say nuo dance absorbed opera forms in the late Ming and early Qing to become nuotang and duangong plays, which took shape in western Hunan under Kangxi and spread down the Yuan river into the Yangtze.
  2. 1745EvolutionThe Yongshun county gazetteer of 1745, the 10th year of Qianlong, records that to thank the gods the people 'must invite the shamans of Chenzhou to sing and perform nuo plays … at night they play the nuo plays, beating gongs and drums, each wearing a paper mask: one dressed as a woman is Meng Jiangnü, one dressed as a man is Fan Qilang', showing both the name nuo drama and its masked role-playing.
  3. 1800EvolutionBy the mid-Qing the yangxi of the Zhangjiajie area of Hunan, the northern-road yangxi with seventeen named tunes, had taken shape; yangxi is one of the three branches of nuo drama, represented today by the Zhangjiajie yangxi (IV-157).
  4. 2006ImpactIn 2006 the nuo plays of Dejiang, Yuanling, the Dong people, Chizhou and Wu'an, the Yi cuotaiji and the luogu zaxi of Linyi entered the first national ICH list (IV-89, IV-85, IV-88); saixi (IV-95) and Heyang tiaoxi (IV-133) followed in 2008, ten more nuo items were added as extensions from 2008 to 2014, yangxi was listed from 2011 (IV-157), and duangong plays in 2021 (IV-168).

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · 2006: IV-85 Yi cuotaiji [no. 229 · Weining · Guizhou] · IV-88 Luogu zaxi gong-and-drum plays [no. 232 · Linyi · Shanxi] · IV-89 Nuo drama [no. 233: Wu'an · Chizhou · Dong · Yuanling Chenzhou and Dejiang nuotang plays · Wu'an · Hebei · Chizhou · Anhui · Xinhuang and Yuanling · Hunan · Dejiang · Guizhou]
  2. 2008National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage2nd batch · 2008: IV-95 Saixi sai-festival plays [no. 696 · Handan · Wu'an and She county · Hebei · Shuozhou · Shanxi] · IV-133 Heyang tiaoxi [no. 734 · Heyang · Shaanxi]
  3. 2008National ICH extension itemsIV-89 Nuo drama: Wanzai open-mouth nuo · Gelao nuo · Hefeng nuo · Enshi nuo · Wanzai · Jiangxi · Daozhen · Guizhou · Hefeng and Enshi · Hubei
  4. 2011National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage3rd batch · IV-157 Zhangjiajie yangxi [no. 1119 · Yongding · Zhangjiajie · Hunan]) · extension items (2011 · IV-89 Nuo drama: Renzhuang fan-drum nuo · Dean Pangong plays · Meishan nuo · Libo Buyi nuo · Quwo · Shanxi · Dean · Jiangxi · Lengshuijiang · Hunan · Libo · Guizhou
  5. 2014National ICH extension items2014: IV-89 Nuo drama [Linwu nuo · qingtan · Linwu · Hunan · Jinsha · Guizhou] · IV-157 Yangxi [Shanghe yangxi · Shejianti yangxi · Hecheng · Huaihua · Hunan · Zhaohua · Guangyuan · Sichuan]
  6. 2021National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage5th batch · IV-168 Duangong plays [no. 1422: Wangcang and Zhaotong duangong plays · Guangyuan · Sichuan · Zhaotong · Yunnan]) · extension items (2021 · IV-157 Yangxi: Youyang Tujia masked yangxi · Guizhou yangxi · Youyang · Chongqing · Guizhou