Heritage

Puppet shows

Updated: 2006-11-21 14:21

The head is carved from wood. Mechanisms in the hollow head move the eyes and mouth. The main rod, made either of wood or bamboo, runs through the neck to the head, and the length varies. The hand rods are attached to the elbow and wrist, either in or outside the sleeves. Puppets with the hand rods concealed in the sleeves are used in traditional operas. The bulky costumes used for Chinese opera provide ample space for manipulating the rods, resulting in lifelike actions. Puppets with the hand rods outside the sleeves have a bent main rod. It is less tiring for the performer to raise the puppet by holding the bend at the end of the main rod and easier for him to manipulate. In addition, there is a large hollow space for additional mechanisms in the puppet's head that help the puppet enrich its facial expressions.

Instead of wood and plastic, the hands are now shaped with resin and wire has been used to replace wood or bamboo as the material for making hand rods. Rod puppets have no feet, and unattached legs are used for kicks and other leg movements. Due to constant improvements on the making and manipulation of rod puppets, this type of puppetry is still very popular in China.

② String Puppets

About two feet in height, the string puppet consists of a head, torso, limbs and control board.

The head is carved from camphor, Chinese linden or willow wood. Mechanisms contained in the head can make the five sensory organs move as the situation requires. The torso is woven with bamboo filaments. The hands of warriors have flexible fists capable of wielding weapons. The agile hands of a gentleman can hold small props such as awriting brush, a cup or a folding fan. The feet can be fitted with either boots or ladies' slippers, or, if desired, can remain bare.

The strings used to control the puppet are about 3 feet long. With the development of Chinese puppetry, large stages are now used for string puppet performances. The number and length of strings used can be increased to as many as 30 or decreased as the situation demands,

③ Wire Puppets

Wire Puppets that evolved from shadow plays, are very popular in eastern Guangdong and western Fujian. They are calledpapershadow plays in Chaozhou and Shantou.

They measure about 1-1.5 feet in length with painted heads made of clay, bodies carved out of tung wood, paper made hands and wooden feet. They are controlled by three metal rods: one main rod, and two side rods that are all fixed with bamboo handles.

The puppeteer either stands or sits behind the puppet when performing. In recent years the puppet has been improved by increasing its length and adjusting the placement of the control rods.

④ Glove Puppets

Glove Puppets, also called palm puppets, consist of a head, a body and clothing. Glove puppets, about a foot in length, are most popular in Fujian's Zhangzhouand Quanzhou.

Carved out of camphor wood, the head contains mechanisms used to control facial muscles. The hands are either open or clenched. The puppeteer inserts his forefinger into the hollow neck and his thumb and middle finger into each sleeve to control the head and hands. In order to aid the arm movements, a thin bamboo stick is placed in the sleeves and turned.

Skilled puppeteers can make their puppets do highly difficult actions such as opening a folding fan, changing clothes, brandishing a sword, fighting and jumping out of a window, all to the surprise of the audience.

Apart from the aforesaid types of puppets, water-activated and gunpowder-activated puppets can still be found in China but their influence is less significant. Besides, although the human puppets still perform, they are regarded as a rare folk art confined to certain regions such Lingao County,Hainan Provinceon China's southernmost coast. The large rod puppet in Northern Sichuan is also a rare genre of puppetry.

Ⅲ. Main Genres

China has many types of puppets. Puppets from various places have their own unique characteristics. Even when the same types of puppets are used, they differ and feature strong local color in terms of manipulation skills, puppet mechanisms, figure modeling, stage art and vocal performance.

1. Quanzhou String Puppet Shows Declarer：Quanzhou City,Fujian Province

2. Jinjiang Glove Puppet Shows Declarer：Jinjiang City, Fujian Province

3. Zhangzhou Glove Puppet Shows

Declarer：Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province

4. Puppet Shows in West Liaoning

Declarer：Jinzhou City ofLiaoning Province

5. Glove Puppet Shows in Shaoyang

Declarer：Shaoyang County of Hunan Province

6. Puppet Shows in Gaozhou

Declarer：Gaozhou City of Guangdong Province

7. Wire Puppet Shows in Chaozhou

Declarer：Chaozhou City of Guangdong Province