Nuo is a kind of witchcraft ritual for expelling epidemics and evil spirits in ancient folk. When driving away evil spirits, people kept shouting "Nuo" and "Nuo", so this activity was called "Nuo". Because people wore masks and dressed up as various gods that intimidate monsters in Nuo rituals, the "Nuo" ritual actually included a kind of dramatic behavior, so the name "Nuo Opera" was created accordingly. Sichuan Nuo Opera is spread all over Bashan and Shushui, with various forms and names, including "Qingtan", "Yang Opera", "Nuoyuan Opera", "Zitong Opera", "Teacher's Road Opera", "Ghost Face Shell Opera" and so on. Hejiang is called "Zhao Houtan" or "Duangong Opera". Zhaohoutan is a Nuo Opera belonging to the Qingtan category. It uses Zhao Yu, the governor of Jiazhou in the Sui Dynasty, as the altar god. Because Zhao Yu was once a marquis in history, he was honored as Zhaohou. Zhaohoutan has long been popular in Hejiang County. It is said that Zhao Yu was a native of the Sui Dynasty. At that time, he and his brother Zhao Mian studied under Li Jue and practiced Taoism in Qingcheng Mountain, a Taoist holy place in Sichuan. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he was invited by the court to serve as the governor of Jiazhou. During his tenure, the evil dragon in Qianwei was causing trouble, and the flood submerged crops and farmhouses. Zhao Yu led the army and civilians of the whole county to fight against the evil dragon, and personally entered the water with a sword. With the cheers of the army and civilians along the coast, he swung his sword to kill the evil dragon and quelled the flood. "The people of the state worshiped him and regarded him as a god." In order to commemorate his good governance of flood control, a temple was built in Guankou to offer sacrifices. Because he was ranked 0, he was called Zhao Erlang in the world, and later generations worshipped him as the water god of "Guankou God". Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty once named him the brave general. Emperor Minghuang of Tang Dynasty conferred him the title of King of Chicheng in Shu. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, Taoism was worshipped as the state religion. In view of the fact that Zhao Yu was of the same clan, he was given the title of Taoist God, "Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun". Hejiang is an important waterway with rivers all over the territory, so Zhao Yu, who killed the dragon and controlled the water, was highly respected. At the end of each year, people were happy and envied, and used witches to remove evil spirits, ringing gongs, beating drums, blowing horns, men dressing up as women, singing and dancing until dawn, which was called Qingtan. During the Qingtan, a plaque with the words "Zhengyi Xuanhuangshang Zhaohou Shengzhu" was placed in the middle of the altar to solemnly worship him. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)(No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)