Behind mystic masks

Photo by Zhang Zixuan/China Daily

However, the opera's former glory can hardly be restored today.

In Jiangxi, Nuo Opera has only survived in three counties. In Nanfeng, the more than 120 troupes of the opera's heyday have shrunk to half that number. Almost all of the antique masks within the county were destroyed in campaigns against superstition since 1949.

"The reason to preserve Nuo Opera is not to advocate superstition, but to preserve a living fossil from a cultural context," stresses Wu of the research institute. "The heritage cannot possibly live for another 200 years if we let it be consumed by modern life and do nothing."

The year before last, Cheng Hanping took three apprentices, all in their early 30s, from the village. He is also teaching primary school students some general knowledge of Nuo Opera.

Wuyuan state-level inheritor Hu Zhenkun-Cheng's teacher-passed away in 2007. At 81, state-level inheritor Cheng Changqing worries about his age.

"I can still dance but I'm too old to sing," he says. "But I still have so much that I haven't taught."