Guizhou Artisan Strikes Gold Making Faces Opera Mask Master Carves Brighter Future for Ancient Craft
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CHINA DAILY Thursday, January 18, 2018 CHINA 7 Guizhou artisan strikes gold making faces Opera mask master carves brighter future for ancient craft Nuo Opera, a ritual largely elderly fans are still in awe of intended to ward off evil spir- the Nuo dancing gods, few its, has transformed people’s today fully understand the rit- fortunes in Guizhou province. ual. In rural Dejiang county, Wang Guohua teaches his apprenti- Serious business ces how to carve ferocious Nuo Guizhou is at the front line masks. of the government’s poverty “I wasn’t respected by other relief campaign, with more villagers, as they didn’t see than 3.7 million people still liv- carving masks as a decent job,” ing below the official poverty the 52-year-old artisan said. line. Many men have left home “Now, it’s big business.” for urban areas to seek work, The Nuo ritual has been leaving the elderly, women practiced for thousands of and children behind. years. Sacrifices and ceremo- When Wang started making nies pay tribute to ancestors, masks, no one understood gods and goddesses while why he did not find a “decent exorcising demons. job”, not even his wife, Qin Zhi- Over the ages it has spread chan. among people of various eth- “Rural people were sup- nic groups along the Yangtze posed to work in the fields and Yellow river valleys and instead of doing business, and southwestern areas. Nuo ritu- when I married into his family als are widely performed dur- from the neighboring village, ing the Lunar New Year we had financial difficulties,” holiday. Qin recalled. “I felt I could not Accompanied by drums and depend on him, and we quar- gongs, whip-bearing Nuo per- reled a lot.” formers dance to mysterious The wheel of fortune did not Residents of Lyujia village in Dejiang county, Guizhou province, rehearse a performance of Nuo Opera. PHOTOS BY QIAO QIMING / FOR CHINA DAILY tunes. turn in an auspicious direc- They wear colored masks — tion for Wang until 2003, black, red and white — bear- when an international semi- 2010, he registered a company orized more than 200 mask easy. There are more than 20 ing varied expressions such as nar on Nuo culture was held in and recruited apprentices. models and can create them steps, and everything is done amiable, ferocious or fearful, the county. Foreigners were The mask business easily on the spot. He has also made by hand. Each stroke of the and the ceremony has become instantly drawn to Wang’s lifted them out of poverty. Lyu his own variations, reinvent- chisel is important.” more theatrical than spiritual masks. Changhong, once a poor vil- ing the masks at will. In Wang’s limited leisure in recent decades. “I made 2,000 yuan ($300) lager, was one of the first “He is always thinking time he enjoys going to a local In Wang’s workshop, wood, with my masks at that time,” apprentices. In Wang’s studio, about new, different masks,” school to teach pupils how to tools and masks of all kinds Wang said. With the money, he he can make 200 yuan by carv- said Zhou Guozai, another of carve masks, to help pass on are strewed everywhere. Wang bought a color TV. Suddenly, ing a mask, 30 yuan for polish- Wang’s apprentices. “Making the practice. He also helped has been carving masks for 36 his wife and the other villagers ing a mask and 15 yuan for masks seems to be more establish a gallery featuring years and has created over started to take his business coloring. Lyu left poverty important to him than eating.” ethnic handicrafts from Gui- 4,000. seriously. behind two years ago. Wang is picky about the zhou. Guizhou is famous for its With his amazing crafts- materials he uses. “We need to find a way to variety of Nuo Opera styles. manship, business soared. In Facing the future “We usually choose poplar attract young talent to the Whenever there is a perform- 2006, he was honored as “mas- Over the past three years, trees from local mountains. craft,” he said. “Only in this ance in an outlying village, ter of Nuo masks in Guizhou” Wang has made more than 2 They are not only delicate, but way can we guarantee the sur- farmers trek dozens of kilo- and took his masks to exhibi- million yuan and bought two are also believed to have a vival of the tradition.” meters along hillside paths to tions in France, the Nether- cars, but he cares about more deterrent effect on evil spirits,” Wang Guohua carves a Nuo Opera mask at his workshop in Lyujia take it all in. Though some lands, Belgium and Japan. In than just money. He has mem- he said. “Making a mask is not XINHUA village. Around China Teacher’s pets prove a hit ANHUI Fake kidnapping Racing time uncovered with college students A man, surnamed Liu, who faked his own kidnapping to By ZHANG XIAOMIN get his wife to pay him a ran- in Dalian, Liaoning som of 100,000 yuan ($15,480) zhangxiaomin@ was recently placed in deten- chinadaily.com.cn tion house for six days as pun- ishment for disturbing public A college teacher has taken order in Chuzhou. Liu hatched the innovative step of bring- the scam in a hotel room with ing animals such as a golden a friend, surnamed Wu, after retriever, an iguana and even he lost money in the stock spiders to his class in Dalian, market. Liu fabricated a fake Liaoning province, to edu- scene and sent photos to his cate his students about rear- wife in which he was bound to ing pets. a chair by the cord of a desk “This type of snake is not a lamp, a towel stuffed into his protected species. It could be mouth, and somewhat bizarre- a good pet,” Zhang Meng told ly he was pantless. Liu’s wife, his students while holding a however, called police and corn snake. Liu’s plan was uncovered by Zhang teaches molecular the hotel’s surveillance foot- biology at the Dalian Mari- age. time University. He decided SIXTHTONE.COM to offer the innovative course Herdsmen take part in a camel race during a winter Nadam fair in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia auton- to raise awareness and HEILONGJIANG omous region, on Tuesday. Nadam, meaning “entertainment” or “recreation” in Mongolian, is a appreciation of pets. Monkey business traditional sports festival. LIAN ZHEN / XINHUA “Increasing numbers of leaves family hungry urban residents are raising A red-eyed tree frog is used as a teaching aid at Zhang Meng’s pets in China. However, few class at the Dalian Maritime University. A monkey that barged into a tened a rope to the car’s tire room in Chengdu to its owner. know how to look after them PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY household was eventually and pulled it back onshore Xia Yuanzhen found the mon- properly,” said Zhang, who caught after it had eaten the with the help of bystanders. ey when she was cleaning a aims to address misconcep- dinner of a family in Jixi. Fam- YANGTZE EVENING NEWS hotel room alone. The maid, tions and improve awareness ily members used a fishing net who earns about 2,000 yuan a about the correct treatment to nab the uninvited primate, ANHUI month, handed the money of pets. which rushed into their house Parents hit brakes over to the hotel manager who Some 380 students applied at supper time. The monkey called police. The owner, a for the course, so 120 were had eaten two steamed buns on baby name project contractor surnamed selected by drawing lots. and other food before it was Parents in Huainan who 100,000 yuan ($15,500) a year Luan, was on the bus to anoth- “It is fun,” said Qi Fengshi, caught. Police arrived at the named their infant daughter from swallowing live snakes in er city when he was told by one of the 120 lucky students scene after receiving reports Ma Shaladi, meaning Masera- Luzhou. His income equals the police he had forgotten his who can get full credit for the and took the monkey to a local ti, are applying to rename their annual salary of white-collar money. He said the money was course while playing with zoo. baby Ma Shala. They previous- workers. Liu Hong, 42, who to be distributed to his work- animals in the class. BTIME.COM ly hoped their daughter would hails from Jiangxi province, ers before the Lunar New Year “I’m always late for other become rich, perhaps growing said the money has helped holiday, which begins on Feb classes, but this one is an JIANGSU up to able to afford a Maserati him raise his son. He said 16. exception,” he said. River mishap drives sports car thanks to the auspi- swallowing live snakes is CHENGDU BUSINESS DAILY Many other students man to heroics cious, though unusual, baby tough work, and his tongue choose to attend the class, Zhang teaches his course about the treatment of pets. name. But now they regret the has been bitten several times. although they will not get A man became a hit among decision and want to rename Nicknamed “the king of any credit. Some even come netizens when he rescued a their daughter The local snakes”, Liu has been perform- from a neighboring universi- “Such innovative courses “We’ll make an effort to woman, surnamed Wang, who authorities have yet to approve ing for more than two decades, ty.