Chapter 100: The Bluebird in Nuo Robes
Lin Xiushui participated in this year's Nuo ceremony, which was at the height of her popularity, attracting much attention.
Opinions were varied and varied. Some said the head of the society was confused and wondered why Lin Xiushui was chosen, as she was not up to the task. Others were prejudiced against Lin Xiushui, believing that she would engage in sensationalism and so on.
Lin Xiushui chuckled after hearing this. She could even treat the slander against her as something to eat, and some people thought she had gone crazy.
As Lin Xiushui bought large quantities of goose feathers, flower branches, and green pigments, exchanged them for copper coins, and went to the temple to seek talismans, the yellow paper she obtained was filled with auspicious words and the promise of no taboos. People's attitude towards her shifted from scrutiny to considerable attention, with love and hate coexisting.
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year in Jiangnan, people beat the drums, perform the Nuo ritual, and worship the Kitchen God, just like in previous years with Zhong Kui, the Judge, and the Five Directions Gods. A woman in the crowd muttered, "What exactly are all things and all living beings?"
"Hmm, maybe it's someone surnamed Wan?" her companion remarked casually as she strolled through the long procession on the street.
On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, sweep the house and dust it. On the 26th, take some time to go to the market to buy all kinds of New Year's gifts and gather to discuss what clothes all living things should wear. On the 27th, wash the house inside and out. On the 28th, wipe the house clean. On the 29th, move all the dirt away.
After bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new, the much-anticipated Lunar New Year's Eve has arrived.
Nuo rituals are usually performed on New Year's Eve because New Year's Eve is the end of the year, a day when yang energy is at its weakest and yin energy is at its strongest, and yin energy needs to be swept away.
Every year at the start of the afternoon, the town mayor would pray to God. As the heavy drumbeats sounded, the head of the community would announce the start of the Nuo ritual. The streets, alleys, upstairs, treetops, and platforms would be filled with people. Children wearing green and black Nuo masks would laugh and run around in the crowd, their dark eyes fixed on the wide avenue in the middle.
When everyone thought that the first to appear would still be the shaman in red robes, dancing to the beat of drums and chanting incantations, they never expected that the first thing to appear when looking at the street corner in the distance would be a pure expanse of green.
"What's that?" someone exclaimed, trying to push down the person blocking their way so they could see better.
A green dragon, its body entirely green, with a long, curved, forked branch on its head, covered in peach blossoms, dances and moves forward. The horns of another dragon on the right are made of bright red winter plum blossoms.
Between two long dragons made of lanterns, as the wheels rolled forward, someone sat on a piece of dead wood. Everyone stared blankly at the corners made of branches that were half a person's height and as thick as an arm above his head, winding upwards and downwards, covered with branches of peach blossoms, plum blossoms, purple peony, jade hydrangea, small peony, crabapple, and other flowers.
Then came a bird with a pointed beak and a green face, with hair that reached his ankles covered in tangled green moss, which followed his armor made of flowers and leaves. Behind him were leaves of varying shades that meandered all the way to his feet, and green moss covered the dead wood.
"It's the Goddess of Spring!"
The spring god, born from the wood element, with its enormous flowering branches, draws everyone's attention. No one dares to look away even for a moment, their hearts brimming with joy, ready to leap out of their chests as they gaze upon the personified spring god.
For many years afterward, this version of the God of Spring continued to circulate widely as a sacrificial image and as various woodblock-printed paper horses.
Amidst heart-wrenching prayers and cheers, the God of Spring rode a dragon and slowly drifted by. Children in green shirts carried baskets and scattered tangled green moss onto the road. When someone picked it up, they discovered that it wasn't real at all, but rather thin threads cut from green gauze and tangled together.
As the Spring God passed and the prayers for a bountiful harvest were finished, a witch appeared amidst the banging of gongs and drums and the shaking of bells.
For many years in the past, it was always male sorcerers who appeared, also known as shamans (xí), while women were called witches, sorcerers, or spirit maidens.
This year was quite different. The shaman's attire was largely the same every year, with simple embroidery and just three colors of blue, green and red on his body. The witch's attire caused a stir among the crowd.
He held a staff with ram's horns at the top two sides, from which hung more than a dozen red threads. Each thread held a copper coin, a bright yellow gourd, and a bell.
She walked slowly over, her wide straw hat topped with a pair of dark blue-green bull horns, with yellow talismans sealed on both sides, revealing only the four characters "Great Fortune and Prosperity." Red threads and copper coins hung down from the horns. The witch wore a dark blue fang mask with sharp lines and piercing eyes.
He wore a light blue round-necked robe with a wide black collar and dark green sleeves tied with a red rope. Two small white round-faced children's masks, each about the size of a palm, hung from his waist. The masks had red dots painted on their cheeks and swayed as they watched the crowd.
Embroidered on the chest is a bright red character for "witch," with images of ghosts and monsters retreating on both sides. Several talismans hang from the waist, with copper coins dangling down and red rope knots swaying back and forth, dazzling the eye and inspiring awe.
Amidst the deafening drumbeats, everyone watched from beginning to end, their eyes glued to the costumes, deeply awestruck. This kind of awe was different from the rapid costume changes of "Butterfly Loves Flowers," which relied on dazzling colors and stage effects to attract attention. This profound, sophisticated yet lively beauty was unique, something to be savored and appreciated.
I admire her and can't help but say with admiration, "Lin Xiushui is truly capable."
The image of the spring god with a bird's face and a human body in those paintings was erased, as was the image of the witch who went mad when she chanted incantations in everyone's mind. In its place, there was a sense of awe and mystery.
Those traditional images were subverted, and Lin Xiushui used clothing to create the character of Sao Qing Niang, who was used by people but only remembered in special circumstances.
It only appears during the plum rain season or when there is continuous flooding. People created it by cutting paper into the shape of a woman in the village. White paper was used for hair, red clothes and green skirts, holding a broom, head to the ground and feet to the sky. The broom swept the rain away, and then it was burned to ashes.
Although people use paper instead of witchcraft, the Goddess of Clear Skies is clearly a female deity, also known as the Goddess of Sweeping.
Of course, such a deity would never appear in the Nuo ritual. Lin Xiushui overruled the objections of others and invited a kind-looking old woman, wearing a white veil and a red and green dress, who appeared with a broom made of willow branches.
She is a spirit born from things, transformed by people's needs.
Of course, given a stage to showcase herself to the public, Lin Xiushui would not limit herself to that. She was very uninhibited, wearing a red knight-errant outfit and a black cloth cloak. On her back hung a pair of scissors, half a person tall, with bamboo bent as the handle and peach wood as the shears. The handle of the scissors was wrapped with red thread.
She walked down the street with needles stuck in her clothes and balls of thread hanging from her waist, exuding the sharpness of scissors and the spirit to tear any fabric. While others roamed the world with swords, she could do the same with scissors, for she had many fellow tailors supporting her.
"My God!" a young woman exclaimed softly, blushing. She was very envious of Lin Xiushui's courage to remain untouched by worldly concerns, even though she was just a seamstress. Her presence in the crowd was truly inspiring.
Some of them didn't even dare to wear Nuo masks; they simply walked through the grand and noisy Nuo rituals, and the congratulatory messages were irrelevant to them.
They went from whispering and murmuring to cheering for Lin Xiushui.
Gazing behind her, it was clear that neither swords, bows and arrows, nor clubs could replace her scissors.
"Thank you. I hope you can all stand here next year," Lin Xiushui said with a sincere smile and tone.
This year's Nuo ritual is quite different. Among the gods and ghosts such as Zhong Kui, the judge, the sheep-faced ghost, the five directional gods, the door gods, the earth god, the household guard, the yaksha, and the pig-faced ghost, it is rare to see female gods or women appearing.
But then came the Moth Girl, dressed as Xiao Chun'e, with prominent pink moth wings on both sides of her head, a colorful green patterned dress with two or three circular patterns, a moth mask on her face, short and thick moth eyebrows, and curved and coiled antennae. At first glance, she was a bit intimidating.
And the Bluebird.
Her appearance is behind a huge, narrow eye with a blue pupil. The corner of the eye is the head of a blue-green bird with a pointed beak. The eyelashes are long and curved upwards, representing the undulating body and feathers of the bluebird. The light blue under the eye is its belly.
After noticing the indifferent blue pupils, the narrow eyes that belonged only to the bluebird, the bluebird slowly emerged from behind the screen. (Eyebrows)
Its eyes are a mountain green, its body is slender, and it wears a blue-green feather cloak with black markings under each feather. The long sleeves reach to its knees, and the inner garment is also covered with bright green feathers of varying lengths, all the way to its feet.
Everyone was amazed and surrounded the bluebird, their admiration overflowing.
Lin Xiushui displayed her brilliance at today's Nuo ceremony. Her flamboyant and unrestrained manner impressed the other tailors present, who were all convinced of her abilities. Youth is no reason to be looked down upon; she conquered everyone with her skills.
She even managed to express the folk custom of counting porridge through clothing and humorous ideas.
In the Song Dynasty, there was a custom of eating "counting porridge" on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. It was also called "personal porridge" and was made by cooking red beans. Everyone in the family had to drink it, including cats and dogs.
Groups of children had their hair combed into round, bulging styles, with long, bursting yellow bean pods tied behind their hair on both sides, from which hung strings of bright red beans.
The upper half of her dress was made of pale yellow round petals, just like the yellow petals of a red bean pod in bloom. The lower half was a red bean-colored cylindrical skirt. She sang and danced around a large pot, followed by a group of cats, dogs and people, all participating in the grand ceremony.
All living things, everything can come from all things; they can be both great and small.
She could be Jumang, who governs the growth of all things; she could be a witch praying to the gods; she could be the weather-clearing goddess hanging on the windowsill; she could be the lace-breaking goddess born to imbue scissors with emotion; she could be a moth maiden; she could be a bluebird.
With the sound of drums and gongs, and the joyous Nuo rituals, the New Year's Eve carnival begins. Everyone wears masks and strolls through the long streets, filled with laughter and music. The year has come to a good end, and the new year has a new beginning.
Lin Xiushui, carrying her large pair of scissors, was quite conspicuous. The young woman, who had been curious and longing for her during the day, finally mustered up the courage to stop her.
A young woman in pink stood in front of Lin Xiushui, and said hesitantly, "The Bluebird is so beautiful, I will never forget it even in my dreams. How did you create it?"
“It’s not just about thinking and looking. We look at all kinds of birds. If we can’t see any birds, we buy all kinds of picture books or find one or two in letters. This is not something I can do by myself. It requires the help of many people,” Lin Xiushui answered patiently. “We need to draw a picture first to determine the bluebird costume we want to make, then find suitable fabric, select feathers from various colors, and sew them onto the fabric.”
She clearly described to them how to create the design, finalize the draft, select various silk and satin fabrics, choose other accessories, trim, decorate, sew, and revise again and again.
A group of young women, neither married nor having left their homes much, looked on with amazement and excitement, their hands clenched together, under the glow of lanterns.
In their hearts, starting today, Lin Xiushui is even more outstanding than the husbands of their fantasies. They somewhat yearn for, or can be very frank, to become like Lin Xiushui.
Lin Xiushui never missed an opportunity to recruit people. Amidst the deafening sound of Nuo drums, she reached out her hand to them, saying, "After today, it will be next year, and anything can be achieved."
"How about becoming a tailor?"
Her wish for next year is to establish a tailoring workshop.
"But all we know is needlework."
Lin Xiushui, however, said that in the tailoring profession, scissors are important, but needles and thread are also indispensable.
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