Nuo opera, deemed as the "living fossil of opera," is one of the most popular folk operas in southwest China and has a long history. The meaning of the character "Nuo" (å‚©) is a patterned step to drive away the devil during the last month of the Chinese lunar New Year. And later, Nuo evolved into a type of opera that composed of singing and dancing.

Characterized by its special features—such as ferocious masks, unique dresses and adornments, the strange language used in performance, and mysterious scenes—Nuo opera has been selected as one of the non-material cultural legacies of China.

The opera integrates religious and dramatic culture. The purpose of Nuo opera is to drive away devils, disease and evil influences, and also to petition for blessings from the gods. Singing and dancing are included in Nuo opera and performers wear costumes and masks.

History

Nuo opera is a kind of opera formed on the basis of folk sacrificial ceremony and drama. It originates in remote antiquity, when in the pre-Qin period there appeared the exorcising dances and songs entertaining both gods and human beings.

The primitive form of Nuo opera is Nuoji (傩祭), which is a special sacrificial ceremony. And "ji" means sacrifice or sacrificial activities and events. It dates back to antiquity. While performing religious rites, people prayed to ward off disasters and receive good luck.

Therefore, Nuoji was formed as a sacrificial activity or ceremony to worship gods and ancestors. The exact date when Nuoji was formed is hard to discover. However, the Nuo ceremony was first recorded on bones and tortoise shells during the Shang Dynasty (16th-17th century BC), and flourished in the Zhou Dynasty (11th century-256BC).

In the Zhou Dynasty which is the dynasty following the Shang Dynasty, Nuoji was already very popular within the central parts of the territory of Zhou Dynasty. Nuoji was performed during festivals and holidays at that time with the purpose to drive away devils and plague.

Nuoji was a very important social, political, and religious event and even a specific government department was established to be in charge of Nuoji. As the number of its participants increased from 100 to 1,000, the ceremony became more and more magnificent. At the time, besides the grand Nuo ceremony held by the royal court, the folk Nuo ceremony also appeared in the countryside.

The Nuoji gradually developed into a dance drama and became more of a recreation than a ritual during and after the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is a masked drama enacted by a priest performing an exorcism, also known as "theater with a presentational aspect, a festival, and the idea of gatherings to establish ties and norms." The rituals have been incorporated into people's lives and are seen as commentaries on Chinese life.

Around the Song Dynasty (420-479), people started to perform with masks during Nuoji; thus Nuo opera was basically formed. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Nuo opera, which had separated from Nuoji, had become a unique performing art. During the 1930s and 1940s, Nuo opera began to be shown in some busy cities and towns.

Today, with the development of science and technology, the Nuo opera gradually declined and it can only be seen during the Spring Festival and some other important traditional Chinese holidays in remote mountainous areas, such as Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Anhui provinces, inhabited mostly by ethnic minority groups.