Meishan Nuo Opera is mainly spread in the ancient Meishan area. The Nuo Opera inherited by Lengshuijiang today is the most abundant and complete Meishan Nuo Opera. Lengshuijiang City is the residence of Su Dechang (Su Gan, 10401120), the last generation of Mei King of the ancient Meishan Mandong, and is also one of the core areas and birthplaces of Meishan culture. Meishan Nuo Opera, a unique folk opera, has been passed down to this day by 23 Meishan natives with surnames such as Su, Zhang, Li, and Fu. In 2008, Meishan Nuo Opera was identified as a project in the second batch of intangible cultural heritage list of Hunan Province. "Meishan Dong" is the old name of the Xuefeng Mountain area in central Hunan, which "did not communicate with China" during the Tang and Song dynasties. "Meishan Dong Man" is the common name of the ancient Jiuli, Sanmiao, and later Changsha Man, Wuling Man, and Moyao ethnic groups in central Hunan until the period of naturalization in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is one of the origins of the Miao and Yao ethnic groups. "Meishan Nuo Opera" is the remnant of "witch ghosts (Nuo)" and "lewd worship" of the ancient Meishan barbarians who "believed in witches and ghosts and loved lewd worship". It was banned and destroyed by the government during the Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the government "set up Miao defense" and "banned Miao customs" for a long time, and immigrated from other provinces to Meishan many times to change customs. The natives moved out or integrated into the Han nationality. Meishan Nuo began to be passed down alternately among the natives and immigrants through family traditions and teacher traditions. Nuo opera is also mostly assimilated or replaced by Han Nuo. The main carrier of Meishan Nuo opera is Meishan wizard (commonly known as Shigong), and some "Zhengyi School" Huoju Taoist priests also perform witchcraft and Nuo affairs. Meishan Nuo opera is a part of Nuo rituals, Nuo sacrifices, and Nuo arts in Meishan Nuo affairs. It is mainly preserved in large-scale witchcraft and Nuo activities such as "Dagonghehui", "Tou Pai Guoguo" and "Qiangmeishan", and can exist independently in the form of Nuo opera repertoires. The performance (commonly known as moving) time is in the autumn and winter nights. After the spring thunder, it is generally not moved. The location is in the main hall of the folk house and in front of the Nuo altar. After a day of formal witchcraft ceremony, the Nuo opera must be performed with Nuo masks that match the performance role. Only when the Nuo mask is worn can it be called Nuo opera. Nuo masks are commonly known as "faces" and are wood carvings. Common Nuo masks include the little ghost who opened the mountain, the gentleman who repaired the road, the judge, the land god, the land lady, the crooked-mouthed monk, etc. Related to this are the heads of Nuo gods such as the Dongshan Shenggong, the Nanshan Xiaomei (also known as the Nanshan Holy Mother), and the King of Han. They are placed on both sides of the Nuo altar, and there is also a Meishan inverted god placed under the altar. In addition, there are door decorations with swallowing mouths and "Fu" patterns derived from swallowing mouths. Nuo masks are all carved by folk masters and put into use after being publicly displayed by the masters or masters. The content of Meishan Nuo opera performances is mainly about building roads, building bridges, overcoming difficulties, and creating the world. The purpose is to bring wealth, blessings, and eliminate disasters and diseases for the host family. The main characters of Meishan Nuo opera are all played by the master, and the audience is invited to participate. The performance venue is mostly the Nuo altar. Nuo altars are divided into seat altars and mobile altars. The seat altar is the master altar; the mobile altar is the flowerbed used when performing Nuo opera, which is divided into upper altars and lower altars. The upper altar is dedicated to the Nuo god and the owner of the house, and the lower altar is dedicated to the painted inverted statue of "Meishan Patriarch Zhang Wulang". In addition to the Nuo mask, there are also headbands, fish belly towels, master knives, military badges, master sticks, robes, Dharma drums, gongs, ox horns, bamboo divinations and other instruments used by the witch Nuo master; bamboo water cylinders, bamboo hats, straw raincoats, spring stools, hoes, hatchets and other daily utensils of the host family; sometimes the audience also acts as props. The vocals, dialogues and movements of Meishan Nuo Opera are primitive, wild, humorous and full of life interest. The props used in the play are from the common utensils used in the production and life of local farmers. It uses simplicity instead of complexity and virtuality instead of reality. It has the prototype of Chinese freehand opera and has a unique "primitive, earthy, wild and cute" style. Its repertoire is rich, and its performance and singing form a system, which has the basic form of drama. The same play also presents different characteristics in different Nuo performances. The plot of Meishan Nuo Opera is simple, with dialogue as the basic framework, interspersed with folk songs, minor tunes, children's songs and jingles. The audience is invited to participate in the performance. It is deeply loved and welcomed by the masses because of its strong entertainment function. Meishan Nuo Opera is based on the primitive hunting economy and farming economy in southern China. It comprehensively and vividly records the traditional production and living customs of the primitive ethnic groups in the south. It mainly reflects the willingness of the ancient Meishan ethnic group to pursue a better life without fear of hardship, overcome difficulties, and create a new world. At the same time, it preserves the cultural elements of the Central Plains that have been integrated in different periods. It is a "living fossil" for studying the history of ethnic integration, religious evolution, and folklore in the south. It is an irreplaceable source of information for drama genesis and drama morphology, and an irreplaceable database for studying the history and culture of Hunan. Meishan Nuo Opera truly records the life consciousness and living conditions of the Meishan people. It has rich repertoires, colorful performance forms and contents, rough movements, humorous language, playful and witty, and high-pitched, bright, beautiful, and graceful singing. It has its own system and is a wonderful flower in the art of Nuo Opera in my country. In 2008, Meishan Nuo Opera was identified as a project in the second batch of intangible cultural heritage list of Hunan Province. Lengshuijiang Cultural Center is the main body of the protection of this project.