Hong Huijun

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Hong Huijun, Male, Han, from Zhangzhou, Fujian, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Puppetry (Ⅳ-92). The tradition is documented in Zhangzhou, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Puppetry in Zhangzhou, Fujian: Since the mid-Qing, professional bag-puppet troupes appeared in large numbers in Zhangzhou and formed a number of different schools. Chinese puppetry arose in the Han dynasty; by the Tang it had made new progress and could perform song-and-dance drama with puppets. With social and economic development, by the Ming puppetry was already popular across the country, flourishing especially in the economically developed southern provinces, hence the saying “the south is good at puppetry”. After the Qing it entered its heyday, not only spreading widely but with ever more vocal styles, producing such branches as Liaoxi puppetry, Zhangzhou bag puppetry, Quanzhou marionette puppetry, Jinjiang bag puppetry, Shaoyang bag puppetry, Gaozhou puppetry, Chaozhou iron-rod puppetry, northern Sichuan grandes marionnettes, Shiqian puppetry, Yang marionette puppetry, Taishun fireworks puppetry and Lin'gao human-puppet opera. It derives from the Qin and Han and passed uninterrupted through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and the Republican period. Zhangzhou bag puppetry has a history of more than a thousand years and is an ancient and rare art of our country; it flourished in Zhangzhou in the Southern Song and by the late Ming had spread to Guangdong, Taiwan and parts of South-East Asia.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Hong Huijun is anchored in the documented technical standards of Puppetry in Zhangzhou, Fujian. Within the documented technical tradition of Puppetry in Zhangzhou, Fujian: Puppetry was anciently called “kuilei opera” and “kuileizi” and is an operatic form in which artists manipulate puppets to tell stories. The Song was an important period in its development, its puppet-making craft and manipulation technique maturing further. In terms of performance form it may be summarised as five kinds: marionette (string), rod, bag, iron-rod and fireworks puppetry. Puppet art is exquisite and breathtaking; besides the artists' fine performance, the perfect modelling art of the puppets and the operating equipment are also an important attraction for audiences. The modelling art lies in the carving and design of the puppets: generally marionettes are taller, mostly about 2.2 chi, with strings attached to key parts, at most more than thirty and at least a dozen, extra auxiliary strings being added as needed for special feats. The level of the puppets' dance poses and martial feats depends entirely on the artist's operating skill, which is the key to the standard of marionette performance. Rod puppets are taller than marionettes, generally about 3 chi tall, fitted with three operating rods, two working the hands and one controlling the head and body. Bag puppets are the smallest, only about seven inches, held up by the artist's two hands, their manipulation special and unlike marionettes and rod puppets. After the founding of the People's Republic of China puppetry performance became ever richer, staging not only traditional operatic items but also spoken drama, song-and-dance drama, serial plays and even advertisements. At the same time puppetry also faces fierce competition from other art forms. Zhangzhou bag puppetry is also called “jing xi”, “zhihua xi” and “zhangzhong xi”, and is one of the kuilei genres. It is a composite art combining puppet performance, repertory, music, puppet-making, costume, props and scenery. Its hallmark is that the fingers and palm directly manipulate the figures in dramatic performance, making them vivid and lifelike: it can express the singing, recitation, acting and combat of human opera and its joy, anger, sorrow and delight, and can also perform movements hard for human opera, with superb skill and exquisite modelling. Bag puppets are manipulated from below, the palm forming the puppet's trunk, the index finger supporting the head and the thumb and the other three fingers the two arms; a highly skilled artist can play two puppets of different character and feeling with two hands at once. Bag puppetry is especially good at martial scenes and at portraying character. There are three main schools—Fuchun, Fuxing and Mudanting—each with its own features. Historically Fujian and Taiwan culture were one, its parent body Min culture and an important part of the Chinese nation; Taiwan's bag puppetry is a transplant and extension of Min culture in Taiwan, and cross-strait exchange has not only promoted puppet art on both sides but deepened the sense of belonging to one Chinese nation, with a beneficial effect on the cause of national reunification. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Daming Prefecture": A classic traditional play, led by the inheritor Zhuang Chenhua and winner of an international puppet performance award. "Selling the Horse and Storming the Mansion": One of the classic traditional plays, starred in by Zhuang Chenhua. "The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea": One of the classic traditional plays, best displaying bag puppetry's martial scenes and modelling. "Three Battles with the White Bone Demon": One of the classic traditional plays, starred in by Zhuang Chenhua.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Hong Huijun was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Puppetry, with Zhangzhou, Fujian as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Puppetry in Zhangzhou, Fujian: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Zhangzhou, Fujian as its declared area, and Zhangzhou Budaimuou Transmission Safeguarding Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Honghuijun (Zhangzhou, Fujian) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Honghuijun · China ICH Official Archive