Nuo

Nuo (傩) is one of China's oldest ritual traditions. Performers wear carved wooden masks of gods, demons and heroes and dance to drive away evil spirits, sickness and bad luck, usually around the new year. Over the centuries the rites grew stories and dialogue, and the result is nuo opera (傩戏), sometimes called "the living fossil of Chinese theater."

The masks are the most striking part: painted, fierce, often with bulging eyes and tusks, each tied to a particular deity or character. Nuo is still performed in rural communities in Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi and elsewhere, and several local forms are listed as national intangible cultural heritage.

Dramas use nuo when they want folk religion to feel old and a little frightening. In Mystic Nine, the masks and dances of western Hunan (Xiangxi) turn up in the puzzles of the underground tower, and Chinese reviews mentioned them among the drama's most distinctive touches.