Behind mystic masks

Zhang Zixuan explores the ancient rites of Nuo Opera as the cultural tradition struggles to survive.

Cheng Hanping spreads an exquisitely embroidered costume upon an iron plate, beneath which Chinese herbal medicines including angelica root are burning to dry any sweat and dampness in the fabric. "The costume draws in the medicine smoke so that it can be folded and stored without attracting worms," says the 46-year-old, standing beside several wood trunks dating from the 1920s. He then hangs several wood-carved and color-painted masks onto the wall, among the hundreds already there. The room, borrowed from a local primary school, is the inheritance base of Wuyuan Nuo Opera.

Cheng is the leader of Wuyuan county's last Nuo Opera troupe. What he and his fellow members perform at Changjing village in Jiangxi province, is a 3,000-year-old primitive religious sacrifice and exorcism ritual.