Chen Junlong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chen Junlong, Male, Han, from Jieyang, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Puppetry (Ⅳ-92). The tradition is documented in Jieyang, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Puppetry in Jieyang, Guangdong: Jieyang iron-rod puppetry belongs to the Chaoyin (Chaozhou opera) system and circulates in Jieyang, Chaoyang, Puning and Huilai in Chaoshan; the troupes mostly perform at temple fairs, festivals and village god-birthdays, transmitted through family troupes and master-disciple teaching. Iron-rod puppetry (paper-shadow opera) has about seven hundred years of history in eastern Guangdong and is a wondrous flower of Chaoshan dramatic art. From the late Qing to the Republican period Jieyang iron-rod puppetry was very widespread, with nearly thirty troupes in the Yuhu area alone; from the 1950s to the 1970s paper-shadow opera was regarded as one of the “four olds” and disappeared, and only after 1978 was it staged again, becoming an important part of our cultural heritage with fairly high research value. Drawing on Chaoshan theatrical surveys, Jieyang paper-shadow troupes mostly attached themselves to Chaoyin opera troupes and village temple fairs and were transmitted through family troupes; in the late Qing and Republican period the famous Jieyang paper-shadow troupes also performed Chaozhou opera and taught child actors, and were one of the important sources of Chaozhou opera's child performers.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Chen Junlong is anchored in the documented technical standards of Puppetry in Jieyang, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Puppetry in Jieyang, Guangdong: Before the late Qing paper-shadow opera was called “bamboo-window paper shadow”: various figure shapes were carved from oxhide and colourfully decorated, and in performance an oil lamp was placed inside the stage with a bamboo frame over the front pasted with translucent white paper as the projecting surface, hence the name. By the end of the Qing the shadow image was changed to a bodily image, that is, the oxhide figure was carved into a puppet form with three iron wires through the back and two hands for manipulation, and an embroidered curtain hung at the front, becoming puppet opera though still commonly called paper-shadow opera, pi-hou opera or round-bodied opera. When Chaoyin troupes practised the child-actor system many famous Jieyang Chaozhou opera artists came from the paper-shadow troupes. Following this the manipulation follows that of Chaozhou iron-rod puppets: three iron rods run from the figure's back and two arms, the operator sitting cross-legged behind the stage, singing Chaoyin and playing percussion; an embroidered curtain hangs at the front and the flat shadow figure has become a round-bodied puppet, hence the local names “round-bodied opera” and “pi-hou opera”. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Bamboo-Window Paper Shadow": The early form of Jieyang paper-shadow opera before the late Qing: figures carved from oxhide and colourfully decorated, an oil lamp inside the stage and a bamboo frame pasted with translucent white paper over the front for projection. "Round-Bodied Paper Shadow (Round-Bodied Opera)": The form after the late Qing change from shadow image to bodily image: oxhide carved into puppet shapes with three iron wires through the back and two hands for manipulation and an embroidered curtain at the front. "The Jieyang Paper-Shadow Troupes (Nearly Thirty)": From the late Qing to the Republican period Jieyang paper-shadow opera was very widespread, with nearly thirty troupes in the Yuhu area alone, many also performing Chaozhou opera and teaching child actors.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Chen Junlong was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Puppetry, with Jieyang, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Puppetry in Jieyang, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Jieyang, Guangdong as its declared area, and Jieyang Mass Art 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. Chenjunlong (Jieyang, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Chenjunlong · China ICH Official Archive