Meng Jiangnü

Introduction

The climax of the Nuo vow-fulfilment rite, in which Jiangnü and Fan Lang are honoured as the spirits who close the vow

Meng Jiangnü is the most valued play of Nuo ritual drama, telling the story of Meng Jiangnü and her husband Fan Lang. When a Nuo vow is fulfilled in Hunan, the high point of the rite is the performance of this play, and its two leads are regarded as the spirits who close the vow. After the singing ends, the actors, still in costume, go before the host family and the audience to mark the vow as answered, which gave rise to a saying that the vow is not done until Jiangnü arrives. In northern Hunan the rite runs through eight ritual stages, among them the reunion of Jiangnü, with the plays set between them so that rite and drama form one whole. The Chenzhou Nuo drama of Yuanling names Meng Jiangnü first among its plays, beside Pang Shi Nü and Longwang Nü. Nuo drama took shape in western Hunan in the Kangxi reign of the Qing, and the Yuanling tradition entered the first national heritage list in 2006.