The Origin and Development of Nuo Masks
The Origins of Primitive Masks
The masks still active in Nuo activities today undoubtedly represent the inheritance and development of an ancient culture. Masks originated from primitive humans painting their faces, tattooing their bodies, and wearing animal heads and skins, initially for hunting purposes. In ancient times, masks gradually came to be used for exorcism, ghost expulsion, celebrations, warfare, and performances.
The "Bamboo Annals" records that in Emperor Shun's first year, "Shun ascended to the throne, struck stones and caressed stones, sang the Nine Shao, and all beasts danced in unison." The "Shiji" states, "Played the harmonious music of the nine heavens, a hundred beasts danced in unison, and the eight tones were in harmony." While the idea of Shun and others ascending to the throne is likely a later fabrication, it's possible that tribal leaders like Shennong and Shun held some form of "celebration."
In such occasions, the "dance of a hundred beasts" was likely performed by people wearing animal head masks or body paint, imitating the appearance of wild animals. This practice was related to the totem worship of early humans. At these celebratory events, various ethnic groups would participate, each wearing masks representing their clan's totem in dance to express congratulations.
Use of Masks in Warfare
There are traces of mask usage in ancient clan and tribal warfare. These protective, beast-shaped face armor could both intimidate enemies and symbolize prayers for totem protection. Historical records of the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chi You describe Chi You as having "eighty-one brothers, with beast bodies and human speech, copper heads and iron foreheads" (cited in "Taiping Yulan" from "Longyu Hetu"), possibly referring to metal masks shaped like totem animals.
The "Liezi" records: "The Yellow Emperor fought against Yan Di (Chi You) in the field of Banquan, leading bears, tigers, and leopards as vanguards, with hawks and kites as banners." It seems the Yellow Emperor mobilized tribes under his command that used these birds and beasts as totems, and these subordinates also wore their animal-shaped masks.
This tradition continued, as history records that during the Northern Qi dynasty, when Emperor Gao Huan besieged Yubi, the enemy wore iron masks into battle. Similarly, Lanling Wang Changgong of Northern Qi also wore a mask to intimidate the Zhou army. Even until the Song dynasty, masks were still used in warfare. The "History of Song" records: "In battles at Anyuan, when facing the enemy, he would let his hair down, wear a copper mask, and move in and out of the enemy ranks." This shows that metal masks continued to be used to intimidate enemies and for self-protection.
Masks in Nuo Activities
The use of masks in exorcism activities dates back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. According to Guo Moruo's research, the character "qi" in oracle bone inscriptions represents an exorcist wearing a mask. Nuo inherited and adopted primitive song and dance to express people's emotions and desires.
Ancient literature suggests that Nuo was already prevalent during the Zhou dynasty. The "Analects" records: "When villagers performed Nuo, he stood in court dress at the eastern steps." Nuo also entered the realm of state rituals. The "Book of Rites" states: "Order the state Nuo. Exorcise at the nine gates to conclude the spring qi." The "Rites of Zhou" describes: "The Fangxiang official, wearing a bear skin, with four golden eyes, black clothes and red skirt, leads a hundred servants to perform Nuo, searching houses to drive out pestilence."
Zheng Xuan's annotation states: "Wearing a bear skin is to frighten and drive away plague ghosts, like today's wooden mask." This shows that the Fangxiang official wearing a four-eyed golden mask and the later wooden two-eyed mask were central figures in Nuo activities and funeral rites.
From pre-Qin to Ming and Qing dynasties, records of Nuo appear continuously in historical texts. For example, the "Book of Later Han," "Continuation of the Book of Han," and "Tongdian" all have similar records of "the great Nuo one day before the La Festival, called expelling pestilence," where the masked Fangxiang official led servants, children, and twelve divine beasts to sing and dance in the palace, beating drums to drive away plague ghosts. All Nuo activities involved wearing masks.
It should be noted that the use of ancient masks was multifaceted, with Nuo activities being just one aspect. However, as Nuo masks have been passed down to the present day, their content has naturally been enriched through historical development. Starting from simple plague expulsion, they gradually incorporated elements for funeral rites, warding off evil, disaster prevention, seeking good fortune, praying for blessings, longevity, and fertility. Thus, masks did not disappear from this system but were instead inherited and developed.
Application of Masks in Song, Dance, and Drama
As Nuo activities gradually evolved back into song and dance and transitioned into drama, masks also entered these realms. Tang dynasty masked dances and musical dramas used masks, but it cannot be definitively stated that these originated from Nuo masks. The play "Prince of Lanling," for instance, seems to have been directly influenced by war masks. However, the dramatic form of "wooden puppets" may have some connection to Nuo masks.
The "Liezi," written by someone from the Wei-Jin period in the style of ancient texts, mentions wooden puppets. The Han dynasty work "Fengsu Tongyi" by Ying Shao records: "During Emperor Ling's time, at wedding banquets in the capital, puppet shows were performed, followed by funeral songs after the wine. Puppets were for funeral entertainment; funeral songs were sung by those holding the rope in pairs." This shows the development from the Fangxiang official's funeral music to puppet shows at wedding banquets.
Of course, due to the long-term existence of Nuo activities, under certain conditions, the inherent dramatic elements in Nuo were condensed and sublimated. Nuo opera gradually formed within itself. Nuo opera initially took shape in the Tang dynasty, as discussed by Jiang Xingyu in "The Significance of 'Tang Dynasty Goulan Diagram' in Theater History," who believes that Nuo advanced towards Nuo opera in Tang dynasty theaters. By the Song dynasty, Nuo opera had formed, and it further developed in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Interestingly, in the early Qing court, both Shamanic rituals and Nuo activities with masked Nuo operas were performed, as detailed in Volume 1 of "A Panorama of Qing Dynasty Unofficial Histories." From the Song dynasty onwards, the number and variety of Nuo masks became astounding. By the mid-Ming dynasty, facial makeup appeared in theater, which should be seen as one result of the development of ancient masks.
Looking at the whole process, its relationship with masks (including Nuo masks) is very complex, but there is at least a symbiotic and complementary relationship. If we say that the origins of Western theater were once related to masks, such as those worn during Dionysian festivals, then indeed in the early stages of Western theater, the use of masks was closely related to the issue of "actor's contradiction." Looking back at China's Nuo opera, its masks have not disappeared to this day and are still widely inherited among the people, existing as a "living form," which is quite interesting and thought-provoking.
Reasons for the Inheritance of Nuo Masks
There are multiple reasons why Nuo masks have been passed down in provinces like Guizhou. Let's briefly analyze them.
1. The Cultural Environment of Feudal Society
China's long-standing feudal society and the orthodox Confucian ideology resulted in a closed political, economic, and cultural environment. In this context, at least since modern times, Chinese traditional theater has mainly adhered to conservative inheritance in terms of repertoire, performance, and vocal styles. The repertoire primarily consisted of historical dramas and legendary stories, with very few plays directly intervening in or connecting with real life. This created a situation where the repertoire was close to historical facts but distant from contemporary social reality. Even when it had an educational function, it was indirect and allegorical.
Of course, from another perspective, this has become one of the indelible characteristics of Chinese traditional theater. It wasn't until the May Fourth period that Western-style spoken drama was introduced, causing some impact. Due to the deeply ingrained characteristics formed in the historical and cultural development of Chinese traditional theater, a parallel situation of Chinese and Western tracks emerged.
Nuo opera, inherited in remote areas, was even less impacted by other cultures, and its development in this cultural environment was almost stagnant. The cultural environment referred to here is mainly the "popular culture" environment relative to "elite culture," which is shrouded in shamanistic belief consciousness. In this background, Nuo opera and Nuo masks were difficult to change. When many local opera genres had already developed to use facial makeup, Nuo opera still adhered to the extensive use of masks.
Both facial makeup and masks are symbols of dramatic characters such as gods, ghosts, and heroes. However, Nuo opera centers on masks, while in operas like Peking opera, facial makeup is only a supplementary means to highlight characters in the plot performance.
2. The Continued Existence of Primitive Shamanistic Consciousness
Another reason for the inheritance of Nuo masks is the continued existence of remnant consciousness from primitive shamanism, which is determined by the social foundation of China's agricultural civilization and small-scale farming economy. With social development, Nuo formed a "fusion body" primarily based on shamanistic consciousness, mixed with some Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist concepts. It has neither a strict organization nor a written theoretical system.
Thus, Nuo masks concentrate this fused religious consciousness. A mask represents a god, a ghost, or a deified superhuman hero. Nuo masks are an important symbol of Nuo, the strongest force for gathering and cohesion, and also the object of people's inner emotions and generational pursuits.
Nuo masks differ from the divine images in man-made religions (like Buddhism) in that the numerous Nuo believers need these gods (deified masks) to act vividly, concretely, directly, and immediately for this-worldly utilitarian purposes such as exorcism, plague expulsion, and seeking good fortune. This is unlike Buddhists who face divine idols to introspect and comprehend doctrines in pursuit of Buddhist high realms and cultivation for the next life.
Because people whose basic needs are not yet satisfied cannot but rely on Nuo for life and spiritual support, this also reflects the ideological concepts formed under the mechanism of community cultural isolation in the ocean of small-scale farming economy. Nuo opera is a religious drama. This determines that Nuo masks can remain prosperous in these areas for a long time.
Some artistic forms existing in Nuo activities are the alienation of its own development. When Nuo masks will retreat from the Nuo opera stage depends on how the coexisting Nuo concepts and artistic nature in Nuo opera wax and wane. If the artistic form makes great progress and far exceeds Nuo belief, then masks may possibly exit Nuo opera; otherwise, Nuo opera masks will continue to survive in Nuo opera.
3. The Need for Performative Art in Performances
The existence of Nuo masks is related to the need for performative art in performances. A Nuo opera troupe is composed of all members of the Nuo altar, with shamans, witch doctors, and actors as a trinity, forming an amateur performance unit in villages or small towns. The main purpose of Nuo opera performances is still for the wishmaker to "fulfill Nuo vows" and to exorcise ghosts and seek good fortune for families and villages.
With limited personnel, one person needs to play multiple roles, and the use of masks allows for timely role changes, meeting the requirements for the number of characters during performances. On the other hand, the use of Nuo opera masks enables performers to express not through facial expressions but mainly through body movements and gestures to convey the emotions and personalities of the characters.
The combination of masks and performers embodies the complete "life" of the mask, making the mask the axis and core of the entire Nuo activity and Nuo opera. This is very convenient for the performance of non-professional Nuo opera troupes. This need in Nuo opera performance has become a characteristic of Nuo opera and is also an important reason why Nuo opera cannot be separated from masks.
These three aspects represent the existence, inheritance, and evolution of Nuo masks in the ancient cultural system of Nuo. It's like a slow undercurrent, flowing through the long historical epochs and vast territories of China's folk culture.
Conclusion
In summary, Nuo masks have very complex and rich forms and content, concentrating past history and possessing valuable cultural and artistic value. They are a precious ancient cultural heritage, a living cultural phenomenon, a symphony of life, belief, and art spanning ancient and modern times. They have left rich and valuable materials for our study of sociology, religious studies, theater studies, folklore, and other disciplines, while also providing beneficial references for art categories such as painting, sculpture, and crafts. We should scientifically preserve this precious heritage and conduct in-depth research to benefit the development of our national culture.
