Xu Zhuchu
Lineage & School of Heritage
Xu Zhuchu was born into a family of puppet carvers and is the sixth-generation heir of the family's puppet-head carving tradition; for many years he has been engaged in the research, teaching, and creation of puppet-carving art.
Mastery, Signature Works & Repertoire
Male, of Han ethnicity, born in 1938 in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. National representative bearer of Zhangzhou Puppet Head Carving, a first-batch national intangible cultural heritage project; an expert enjoying the special government allowance of the State Council; and a researcher in folk-art creation at the Chinese National Academy of Arts. Xu Zhuchu's puppet carving is commonly known as the 'Northern school of puppets' (beipai muou); its materials and techniques derive from the stylistic modes of Han opera (Hanju), emphasizing theatrical expressiveness and characterization. While inheriting the excellent carving methods of his forebears, he formed a distinctive style of his own; his puppet designs number more than six hundred, covering all the role types: sheng (male roles), dan (female roles), jing (painted-face roles), mo (older male roles), and chou (clown roles), each vivid in expression and true to life. Representative works include Lao Weng (Old Man) and Lei Wanchun (a Tang-dynasty general), among others. At present, Xu Zhuchu and his son Xu Qiang are preserving and actively passing on the Xu family's puppet-head carving tradition.
References & Archival Sources
Representative Items of This Bearer
Profile
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