Benzhai Village is a typical Tunbao village, where buildings of the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties are well preserved, with six watchtowers towering over the village. Seen from afar, the tranquil village seems to be sound asleep. It is said that during the Ming Dynasty , nearly all the residents here were rich people, who made a living in business, and most of the current residents are their descendants.

Like their ancestors, the local people are also good at doing business, especially in "fake-tea business". Here, "fake-tea", rather than having a derogatory meaning, refers to the tea made by mixing tealeaves and other tender tree leaves. This is a kind of healthy tea that can relieve summer heat, and reduce blood pressure and blood fat. Therefore, every year, many business clients come here for orders of such tea, and sometimes, tea supply falls short of demand.

  Earth Play in Benzhai Village

An outstanding feature about Benzhai Village is the "Earth Play", also known as "Tiaoshen (dance to drive out demons on religious festival)", which is a grand and divine religious activity among the Tunbao people. In villages from Tianlong to Anshun, there are over three hundred sets of earth plays. No stage is needed for earth plays, as all the performances are staged on the ground.

Prior to the formal performance, all the people have to pay tributes to the gods (a mask is viewed as a god), a process called "Can Shen". Therefore, on the first day of the lunar year when they retrieve the masks, an "opening the chest" ceremony is held, during which the villagers will burn incenses to worship the gods and deities. When the performances are over, a "closing the chest" ceremony is again held to store the masks, which will be used in the future.

The music instruments for the earth plays are also very simple, including only a drum and a gong. All the performers' faces are covered with a piece of black gauze, and the masks are worn over the forehead. This is because Tunbao people all live on the flat ground surrounded by mountain slopes, where the audience will stand when watching the performances. Therefore, if the performers wear the masks over their faces, the audience would only be able to see the top of their heads.

In earth plays, the performers usually wear a long robe, with small flags worn on the back and skirts around the loin. They used to wear straw sandals, but now wear cloth shoes. They often carry long guns or short swords in their hands. No particular setting is arranged on the playground, with only several commanders' flags used as props at most.

Most earth plays tell stories about loyalty and strength, while stories about love, such as "The Romance of the West Chamber", are never staged. This might be due to the rustic and boorish characters of the military men, the villagers' ancestors.

Author: Jessie

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