Although the opera mask is endowed with complex and mysterious religious and folklore meanings, it is a treasure in the garden of art in its own right.

It is a plastic art in itself, following its own artistic laws and principles. Its shape often varies depending on the role.

Its expression techniques mainly use the changes and decorations of facial features to complete the image shaping of the characters' fierce, fierce, hideous, mighty, stern, steady, deep, calm, heroic, arrogant, treacherous, funny, loyal, upright, strong, abnormal, kind, gentle, graceful, kind and so on.

From a theatrical point of view, the mask has the function of an artistic spokesperson, and what kind of mask is generally worn by any character.

At the same time, once a variety of mask shapes are displayed, people can obtain infinite artistic beauty.

The beauty of plagiarism, the beauty of ferocity, the beauty of hideousness, the beauty of fierceness, the beauty of heroism...... All of them are displayed.

The various artistic shapes, material selections, color uses, utilitarian purposes, folk imagery, etc., of the opera masks are all different due to the differences in region, ethnicity, culture, aesthetics, etc. It is precisely because of this that the masks of the opera are more ever-changing and colorful.

The following is a brief introduction and discussion of the three typical puppet operas and their masks.

"The Art of Chinese Nu Opera Masks" includes more than 200 pictures of classic Nu opera masks and cultural relics collected by the National Cultural Palace Museum and Guizhou National Cultural Palace Museum, which interprets the cultural connotation, genre classification, technological process, and traditional classic repertoire stories of Nu opera culture and Nu masks from an artistic point of view.

Let readers understand the Chinese Nu opera culture and appreciate the magical charm of the art of the Wu opera and the unique value of these cultural relics in the collection of the museum in the concise text and exquisite images of the Wu noodles.

The Nu mask is an important part of Chinese Nu culture, and it is used in Nu rituals, Nu dances, and Nu operas.

There are many kinds of masks, different shapes, all of which are carved from willow wood and camphor wood, and then painted with color, showing rough simplicity and solemn magnificence.

The Nu mask is a traditional Chinese craft and is known as Noh noodles in Japan.

Xiangdong Nu masks and Luxi Nu masks inherited the carving skills of the Song Dynasty.

In May 2006, Pingxiang Xiangdong mask was listed as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

Lai Mingde, the creator of the 440 Wu masks in the World Heritage Site, is the heir of the "three generations of ancestors, inheriting the carving skills of the Song Dynasty" in the project description, and the 440 Wu masks were later collected by Anyuan Film and Television City in Pingxiang City.

Peng Guolong was selected as the first batch of inheritors of the Wu mask carving in the protection base of the Wu cultural inheritor, and the representative inheritor of the Pingxiang Xiangdong Wu mask, a provincial intangible heritage project.

In 2007, the Dejiang mask was selected into the list of provincial intangible cultural heritage of Guizhou Province, and the inheritor was Wang Guohua.

In 2008, the Luxi Nu mask was included in the second batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage list of Hunan Province. Liang Tie was selected as the "inheritor of the provincial intangible cultural heritage project".

Nu is an ancient traditional folk custom and folk religious belief. Chinese Nu sacrifices and Nu opera have a long history. The opera masks that were produced and developed along with the Nu sacrifice have a long history and are rich and colorful.

Although the artistic style of the mask is strong and rough, the folk craftsmen rely on the traditional carving skills, simple and bright knife skills, soft and smooth lines, and carving.

The Wu culture is divided into the three treasures of the Wu, the Wu Temple, the Wu dance, and the Wu mask. The Nu mask occupies a prominent position in the Nu activities, and the carving of the Nu mask is more important.

The Nu mask is a prop used in Nu dance, Nu sacrifice and Nu opera in Nu culture, and is an important part of Nu culture. There are many types of masks with different shapes.

Although the artistic style of the mask is strong and rough, the folk craftsmen carve out a variety of different modeling masks to portray the characters, character and identity of each mask in the opera with traditional carving skills, simple and bright knife skills, soft and smooth lines, so that people can distinguish whether it is a god or a ghost, a man or a woman, an old or a young, a monk or a Taoist or a harlequin.

The mask is a prop used in the Wu sacrifice and the Wu ritual in the Nu culture, it is a relatively primitive mask shape, a primitive totem reproduction, an auspicious symbol of the auspicious place to dispel disasters, and an important spiritual force of people since ancient times. In Enshi City, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province, local people dance wearing this kind of mask.

The Nu mask is an important part of Chinese Nu culture, and it is used in Nu rituals, Nu dances, and Nu operas. There are many kinds of masks, different shapes, all of which are carved from willow wood and camphor wood, and then painted with color, showing rough simplicity and solemn magnificence.

The mask has undergone a change from primitive god worship to entertaining gods and entertaining people, and has the taste of religious art and the characteristics of folk art. Rooted in the folk, the Wu mask embodies the aesthetic taste of the generations of people, but also reflects a kind of essential power of people, many of the Wu masks can be called artistic masterpieces, the characteristics of the mask or realistic, or abstract, rough and hideous.

It doesn't just exorcise ghosts. Ward off evil spirits, and pray for blessings and blessings, eliminate diseases and disasters, town houses, seek children, prosperity, bring infinite vitality to commerce, etc., the colorful mask art has become the symbol of the Chinese national naturalist, the symbol of culture.

Its expression techniques mainly use the changes and decorations of facial features to complete the image shaping of the characters' fierce, fierce, hideous, mighty, stern, steady, deep, calm, heroic, arrogant, treacherous, funny, loyal, upright, strong, abnormal, kind, gentle, graceful, kind and so on.

Through meticulous carving and paying attention to color, the simple folk modeling techniques give the mask vitality and image depiction of the joy, anger, sorrow, happiness and expression of the gods, ghosts and legends in folk mythology, and the characters are distinct and breathtaking.

The Wu mask is a kind of prop for the performance of the Wu opera, which belongs to the art of painted wood carving, which is divided into two kinds of special Wu masks and general Wu masks: there are more than 30 kinds of special Yang Wu, Yang Si, Holy Father, Our Lady, etc.; The general ones are mainly divided into raw, dan, clean, ugly...

There are dozens of carving knives of all kinds, and on the walls, on the ground, and on the walls are all kinds of semi-finished products of Wu masks...... On the first floor of the Wuyuan Tourism and Cultural Product Center, Lan Eucalyptus saw a carver carefully carving a mask. He didn't need any drawings, the drawings were already printed in his brain.

In Dejiang County, Guizhou Province, the Nu mask is a symbol of the gods and has an important position. As an important part of the Nu culture, the Nu mask is a typical representative of the local traditional folk wood carving process.

"The mask is made of poplar, willow wood, peach wood, etc., and has more than 20 processes in 5 processes, including material taking, billet making, carving, polishing, coloring and lacquering, all of which are handmade. A simple mask can be made in one day, and a complex mask can be made in two days. The engraver said.

"There are 24 characters in the masks of the Tang family, the general of the sharp corner, the emperor of Guan Sheng, the monk of Kyushu, the general of Kaishan, the land of Liangshan, and Qin Tong, and behind each mask, there is a legendary story. The characteristics of the mask are either realistic, or abstract, rough and hideous, not only to exorcise ghosts and ward off evil spirits, but also to pray for blessings and blessings, eliminate diseases and disasters, town houses, seek children, and prosperity. Hua Bo, one of the persons in charge of Dejiang County Wuyuan Tourism and Cultural Product Development Co., Ltd., pointed to the mask and introduced.

"Nu opera is not the same as 'exorcism of ghosts and evil spirits' in the narrow sense, perhaps only when you come to Dejiang, can you really understand the Nu culture of Dejiang, and then you can deeply understand the cultural charm of the hometown of Nu opera. And this is also an example of the development of Dejiang culture. ”

"The inheritance of the Nu culture, the Nu mask is also becoming more and more popular with its ancient appearance and mysterious atmosphere. In recent years, Dejiang County has actively promoted the Nu culture and built various platforms for the promotion of handicrafts, which has greatly promoted the inheritance, production and sales of the Nu mask craft. We hope that more people can understand the Nu culture and love the Nu mask. Hua Bo said.

"While we are promoting Nu culture, we are trying to get more Nu culture enthusiasts to participate in Nu mask making. At the same time, we are the first to try, on the basis of retaining the original essence of the mask, through creative processing, to develop a series of cultural and creative products that meet the appreciation and aesthetic habits of modern people. Take the first step in the production of cultural and creative products. Let more people understand the ethnic and folk culture of Dejiang County, let the outside world know more about the intangible cultural heritage of Guizhou, and let the traditional folk art of ethnic and folk inheritance and development. Ran Yong, manager of Dejiang County Wuyuan Tourism and Cultural Product Development Co., Ltd., said.

At present, the company is assisting the Dejiang County Government to build a nostalgia memorial hall, which will display the Wu culture and the ancient books and antiquities of the ethnic groups represented by the Tujia family in the nostalgia museum. Items on display include: Tujia silver ornaments, headdresses, embroidery; A series of props for Wutang opera, such as cases, robes, skirts, headties, gongs, drums, beryllium, small gongs, bamboo hexagrams, horns, swords, and swords; Traditional Nu masks, Nu opera books, etc.

Xiangdong District still surviving Wu mask carving originated from the Qing Dynasty, by the Hunan Taizhang descendants, has been passed down for three generations, inherited is the Song Dynasty Wu mask carving skills, the technology is mature, the carved mask is simple and delicate, is a rare cultural heritage in the field of Chinese carving.

Lai Mingde's hands have been 43 years since he picked up the carving knife of "embroidering" (carving) the mask when he was 15 years old.

Wu was originally a primitive religious ritual activity in ancient China to drive away ghosts and epidemics, and later evolved into a sacrificial ritual compatible with praying for blessings and eliminating evil spirits. As far back as the Neolithic Age more than 5,000 years ago, there was a group of Sanmiao ancestors who thrived in Pingxiang.

Pingxiang was a territory of the Chu State during the Warring States Period, and the totem worship of the three seedlings and the Chu people were good witches, which made Pingxiang popular since ancient times.

The history and customs of this place have promoted the growth and preservation of the Wuwu culture, and due to the regionality of the mask-making process, the unique and inherent beauty of the land itself has been produced.

Monks who believe in the "priest religion" and have a teacher are called "priests". Lai Mingde, 58 years old this year, told reporters that he is a "virgin" of the 74th generation of Lai's family.

In addition to this folk identity, Lai Mingde is also a member of the China Folk Literature and Art Association, deputy director of the Folk Craft Professional Committee of the Pingxiang Civil Art Association, and a provincial inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage - Wu masks.

Lai Mingde has two sets of genealogies in his family, one family tree and one divine genealogy.

Chinese pay attention to the pursuit of the long term, for the family tree, can be passed on to the torch will do their best to remember, with the deeds and family motto of the family ancestors to remember and carry forward the family spirit, cohesion of family strength.

According to the genealogy of the Lai clan, Lai Mingde's ancestor was Shu Yinggong, the 28th son of King Wen of Zhou, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou, who assisted King Wu of Zhou in destroying the Emperor and was given the "Lai Land" in the Yingshui area of Henan, and later established the Lai State. Later generations will take the country as their surname, and it is Lai's family.

Lai's 32nd Shuogong, the word (Zhongfang) has both ability and political integrity, but resolutely does not enter the office, because he knows the "god and spirit priest spell", was given the title of "priest" by Emperor Jin An, and the collection of monarchs and ministers of the past dynasties is the "god" carved image, by the "priest" to open the light, calm the abdomen, recruit troops and buy horses, and the title of the spirit.

Because there is a pedigree to be examined, Lai Mingde said from the origin of the surname to the ancestor, telling the royal bloodline of the ancestor, the ancestor's ability and political integrity, and the same glory of the "virgin" and the position of the bachelor, so that Lai Mingde, a descendant of the Lai family more than a thousand years later, still feels respected and proud.

Unlike other people who carved the masks, Lai Mingde's craftsmanship comes from his ancestors, and he has a set of ancestral genealogies, totaling more than 80 books. Such as "Wu Mask Divine Spectrum", "Divine Priest Mantra", "Book of Changes", "Medicinal Spectrum" and so on.

One night 43 years ago, Lai's father closed the door and carefully took out a wooden box that had been hidden in a hidden corner of the house.

The wooden box was opened, filled with raw tobacco leaves for insect prevention, and the "Divine Spectrum" was wrapped in layers of homespun cloth and sealed tightly with wax.

Lai Mingde's father cautiously said to his son, "This is what our ancestors have passed down, you study hard, you don't suffer if you learn, a craft, you can earn food!" ”

Lai Mingde has been fond of carving since he was a child, and many of his "works" have been left on the desks in class, which is a family craft that is in line with Lai Mingde's mind. Since then, he has started his career of embroidering masks without distraction.

At that time, in the early 70s of the last century, it was still an era of anti-feudal superstition, and the former status of "virgin" made Lai Mingde's father have to pretend to be crazy and stupid every day to protect himself. But he still passed on the family's mission to his son.

The Wu mask, the Wu temple, and the Wu dance are the three important systems of the Wu culture, and there are 1,240 statues of the Wu mask god on the ancestral "Wu Mask Divine Spectrum" of Lai's ancestor.

The ancestral complete process of making the mask includes: material selection, carving and forming, inviting the gods, opening the blank, plastic surgery, polishing, priming, painting gold, growing beards, opening the light, worshipping and sitting, soothing the abdomen, and recruiting troops.

In the past 43 years, Lai Mingde has embroidered countless masks. "Have you ever innovated?" I asked him.

Lai Mingde shook his head resolutely: "There is no innovation. I just embroidered honestly and in accordance with the rules according to the portraits on the divine spectrum. Three stops and five mountains are auspicious, Kyushu gossip is divided into high and low, and the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth are divided into creation. The size, color, and expression of the mask are all about yin and yang, the five elements, gossip, good and evil, and respect and humility, and I have no need to innovate. For example, why Guan Gong's face is red. Because Guan Gong's eight characters are in the five elements, when the fire year, the fire month, the fire, the day, the fire. If Guan Gong's face is changed to a different color, he will not be Guan Gong anymore. The mask cannot be changed casually. ”

With no emphasis on individuality and no stubborn ego, this priest has a humble and obedient attitude towards ancestral craftsmanship.

Although Lai Mingde is just a country craftsman with a low diploma. But he inherited a system of knowledge from traditional Chinese culture such as the Book of Changes.

The original status of "priest" was equal to that of the Taishu, and he was rich and broad-minded. Not only does he have the carving skills of the mask, but he also knows astronomy, geography, medicine, numerology (eight characters, divination), and geography (feng shui).

Lai Mingde's adherence to ancestral craftsmanship is a respect for the divine genealogy, and the deeper reason is the reverence for traditional Chinese culture and the observance of natural laws and human order. In the Book of Changes, it is said, "The metaphysical is the way, and the metaphysical is the instrument." ”