Nuo Dance
01 · Historical Records
Among them the Tiao Wu Chang of Meizhu Town, formed on the south bank of the Xu River, is of a certain representativeness; it is already recorded in the Jiaping Cungao of the seventeenth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1752).
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Nuo dance (Tiao Wu Chang) is a traditional dance of a ritual and sacrificial character whose principal content is the commemoration of the flood-control hero Zhang Bo. It circulates mainly among the administrative villages of Zhoujia, Taoyuan, Dingbu and the like in Meizhu Town in the north of Langxi County, Anhui Province, and in the southwestern part of Gaochun County (now Gaochun District), Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, which adjoins them. The stretch of the Xu River that flows past Dingbu Village in Meizhu Town is today the boundary river between Meizhu and Yaxi Town of Gaochun District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. Although the area had the advantage of water transport in history, flood damage there was incessant. Sacrifices to Zhang Bo were frequent throughout the Wu-Yue region; documents record alike the vigour with which Zhang Bo was sacrificed to in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. Tiao Wu Chang comprises thirteen divine figures in all. The five deities of the east, south, west, north and centre are the principal figures, each painted in one of the five colours of the five phases: green, red, white, black and yellow. The Taoist priest, the monk, the local earth god and the underworld judge are the four secondary figures. The music is divided into great gong and drum and small gong and drum. The rite comprises four formations in all. After the five principal figures have entered the altar, each figure is set on a table according to its yin or yang attribute. The central deity occupies due north, and the shrine deity of Cishan occupies due south. The deities of the east and south occupy the eastern position and are yang; those of the west and north occupy the western position and are yin; the judge occupies the northeast (belonging to the Beginning of Spring); the monk occupies the southeast (belonging to the Beginning of Summer) and is yang; the Taoist priest occupies the southwest (belonging to the Beginning of Autumn); the local earth god occupies the northwest (belonging to the Beginning of Winter) and is yin. Every deity has its season assigned through the four seasons of the year. Once the nine figures have taken their positions, the master of ceremonies of the rite, the mensi, waves a bamboo staff in his right hand, clears the horse and runs round the altar, inviting in turn the five principal and four secondary figures to be present at the altar. When the invitations are complete, elders of the Zhou clan of advanced age and standing offer wine to the deities one by one, to show the sincerity with which the gods are invited. The rite comprises four formations: the formation for breaking the god-field to collect disasters and bring down blessings, the double-row formation of five grains in abundance, the single-row double-separated dragon gate formation, and the formation for worshipping the incense positions and paying homage on stage. Among the Five Demons, the central deity is inherited by the Ni clan of this village. The remaining four demons are inherited by the Zhou clan. The Tiao Wu Chang sacrifice to Zhang Bo matches the ancient doctrines of yin and yang and the five phases against one another and applies them in concrete form within the idea of "unity of heaven and humanity"; through the enactment of the entire rite it seeks the stilling of floods, the peace of the nation and the well-being of the people. The "twelve suites of gong and drum" that accompany Tiao Wu Chang have the distinctive regional character of the Xu River area. Tiao Wu Chang integrates multiple values such as sacrifice, philosophy, folk custom and music, making it an important bond of regional cultural identity, popular emotional expression and lineage cohesion.
The thirteen divine bodies: five principals and four adjuncts
The rite has thirteen bodies: five principal gods of the four quarters and centre, and four adjuncts — Daoist, monk, earth god and judge — who take their places on the tables by yin and yang.
The five colours and their elemental attributes
The five principals wear green, red, white, black and yellow by element; the centre god faces north and each of the other bodies occupies a compass point keyed to a season.
The four formations of the rite
The rite's four formations; the central deity is inherited by the Ni surname of the village and the other four by the Zhou, the whole performed to pray for the calming of floods.
The twelve-cycle gong and drum suite
The percussion suite accompanying the dance, characteristic of the Xu river area and divided into large and small gong-and-drum sets that match the four formations.
The gate keeper's staff dance
Once the nine are placed, the officiating gate keeper runs the altar waving a bamboo staff to summon each body, after which the Zhou clan's elders offer wine to each god in turn.
The Ni and Zhou division of inheritance
The rite has been transmitted by family: the central deity passes to the Ni surname and the remaining four to the Zhou, a single-line transmission that also limits it.
Zhang Bo's waterworks and the 1752 Jianping manuscripts
The dance commemorates Zhang Bo, a descendant of Yu the Great who led dredging works for the Taihu basin and died before finishing; the Meizhu version is recorded in the 1752 Jianping manuscripts.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
By the time of the Western Han, so that the people of the Taihu basin might live and work in peace, Zhang Bo, a descendant of Yu the Great, led a multitude in dredging and channelling the waters; regrettably the work was unfinished and Zhang Bo passed away.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance · Nuo Dance.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This heritage item has developed to the present mainly through family transmission, and because it is handed down through a single line of a clan branch it also has certain limitations. Zhou Guoping (recorded in the official archives of associated inheritors): Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1962, native of Langxi County, Anhui Province. He began to learn Tiao Wu Chang from his uncle Zhou Jikui when he was in his teens, became familiar with the various roles in Tiao Wu Chang, and is especially skilled in the rounded and graceful monk dance steps. To date he has taken part in more than three hundred performances, which have been highly praised. He has long devoted himself to the performance of Tiao Wu Chang, to the collecting and organizing of materials, and to the training of successors, and has trained nine inheritors of Tiao Wu Chang to date. He persists in carrying out external exchange activities and in organising his troupe to take part in large-scale folk performances. Representative inheritor of Nuo dance (Tiao Wu Chang) in the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Luo Huiwu 02-0353
- Hu Zhenkun 02-0354
- Chengzhangqing 03-0911
- Peng Yingfang 03-0912
- Yu Yangfu 03-0913
- Fan Tinglu 03-0914
- Han Fulin 04-1557
- Wang Xuanzhi 04-1558
- Gong Maofa 04-1559
- Cheng Jinsheng 04-1560
- Wang Shunqing 05-2210
- Zhou Guoping 05-2211
- Yulinji 05-2212
- Banyongming
- Xiao Yiping
- Peng Qiusheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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