Qingyang River Tune Soul Guide

On the bank of the Qingyang River, there is a solitary shadow of a black canopy. I fish out corpses with river hooks, draw circles with blood to attract the souls of the dead, sing peaceful tunes, and quell evil spirits with Nuo dances. I hide all the injustices of Qingyang under the water, and the path in the circle exudes the sorrow of the world. I am Li Nian'an, a person who draws corpses and draws circles along the Yangtze River in Qingyang, Chizhou. It is a craft passed down from generation to generation. While fishing for corpses in the river, I attract the souls on the shore. Grandpa said that there are ten taboos in fishing for corpses, and there are three taboos in drawing circles. The river god cannot be bullied, and the dead souls must not be humiliated. Qingyang's tune and Nuo dance are the last barriers to calm the soul and suppress evil. I grew up listening to Qingyang opera and watching Nuo opera to ward off evil spirits. I could sing a few requiem tunes and understand a few Nuo opera formulas. I was accompanied by the old opera master Chen Grandma and the old Nuo master Grandpa Wang. I originally thought that my days would follow the path of my ancestors and pass peacefully. It wasn't until the plum rain that year that a female corpse in red clothes in Qingyang opera costume floated up in Guimao Bay. She couldn't afford it, so she drew a circle to invite the soul. Only then did she learn the truth about her grandfather's disappearance. It was hidden in the Zhenjiang corpse at the bottom of the river, in the unfinished Zhenjiang tune of Qingyang opera, and in the lines of the Nuo opera mask. The river wind whimpered and the reeds swayed. I held the ancestral hook and drew the yin and yang circle. Grandma Chen's accent echoed on the riverside, and Grandpa Wang's Nuo dance rose and fell on the shore—— What you fish out is floating corpses, and you resolve grievances; you attract the souls of the dead, and you keep the rules; you sing tunes, and you suppress evil spirits. The water beside the Qingyang River hides the obsession of the people of southern Anhui, the aftertaste of Qingyang accent, the majesty of Nuo opera, and the destiny of my life.