Cai Xiaohua
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Cai Xiaohua, Male, Han, from Taishun, Zhejiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Puppetry (Ⅳ-92). The tradition is documented in Taishun, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Puppetry in Taishun, Zhejiang: Taishun marionette puppetry centres on Taishun county, Zhejiang, and circulates in the counties of the southern Zhejiang mountains; in its long transmission it absorbed the artistic elements of the two great puppet schools of northern Zhejiang and Quanzhou, forming a “Taishun school” distinctive in head carving, figure modelling and costume that coexists with the locality's fireworks puppetry and bag puppetry. Taishun puppetry began in the Southern Song; besides marionette puppetry, fireworks puppetry and bag puppetry also survive there to this day.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Cai Xiaohua is anchored in the documented technical standards of Puppetry in Taishun, Zhejiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Puppetry in Taishun, Zhejiang: In its long transmission marionette puppetry continually absorbed artistic elements from the two great schools of northern Zhejiang and Quanzhou, developing a style of its own in head carving, figure modelling and costume. Taishun puppet heads are carved from camphor wood or fine-grained hardwoods, the carving fine yet concise, the facial rendering gentle and beautiful, the facial designs simple and plain and the pastel colouring detailed and varied. Its new plays include Joy in Heaven and Earth and The Real and Fake Bull Demon King. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Joy in Heaven and Earth": One of the new plays of Taishun marionette puppetry. "The Real and Fake Bull Demon King": One of the new plays of Taishun marionette puppetry. "Taishun Puppet-Head Camphor Carving": The heads are carved from camphor or fine-grained hardwoods, the carving fine yet concise, the facial rendering gentle and beautiful, the designs plain and the pastel colouring detailed and varied.
Selecting Hide and Making the Puppet Body
One stage of the craft: selecting material, carving and colouring the figures of operatic and mythological characters so that they are clearly visible in the flames.
Charging Powder and Binding the Fireworks
The second stage: mixing the puppets into the fireworks and binding the apparatus according to the order of combustion, controlling the rhythm of the figures' rise, spin and tumble.
Raising the Pole and Setting Off the Display
The third stage: raising the pole at temple fairs, sacrificial rites and festivals, the flames and puppets dancing together to form the scene of “a play within the fireworks”.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Cai Xiaohua was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Puppetry, with Taishun, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Puppetry in Taishun, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2011 (batch 3), with Taishun, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Taishun County Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Center (Taishun County Langqiaoshenyihe Protection and Research 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
Historical origin
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. Chinese puppetry “arose in the Han and flourished in the Tang”, with five main kinds—marionette, rod, water, fireworks and flesh puppetry—among which water and fireworks puppetry were once thought long lost in China. According to investigation, Taishun fireworks puppetry has existed in Taishun for more than three hundred years, though the relevant Taishun authorities, after study, hold that the “qionghua puppet” long present among the Taishun people is in fact fireworks puppetry.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen Yinghong | Quanzhou, Fujian | 02-0687 | Other regional school |
| Chen Zhijie | Quanzhou, Fujian | 02-0688 | Other regional school |
| Li Bofen | Jinjiang, Fujian | 02-0689 | Other regional school |
| Zhuang Chenhua | Zhangzhou, Fujian | 02-0690 | Other regional school |
| Chen Jintang | Zhangzhou, Fujian | 02-0691 | Other regional school |
| Wang Na | Jinzhou, Liaoning | 02-0692 | Other regional school |
| Liu Yongan | Shaoyang, Hunan | 02-0693 | Other regional school |
| Liu Yongzhang | Shaoyang, Hunan | 02-0694 | Other regional school |
| He Wenfu | Gaozhou, Guangdong | 02-0695 | Other regional school |
| Cao Zhangling | Gaozhou, Guangdong | 02-0696 | Other regional school |
| Ding Qingbo | Chaozhou, Guangdong | 02-0697 | Other regional school |
| Chen Peisen | Chaozhou, Guangdong | 02-0698 | Other regional school |
| Chen Shaojin | Lingao, Hainan | 02-0699 | Other regional school |
| Wang Chunrong | Lingao, Hainan | 02-0700 | Other regional school |
| Li Siyuan | Sichuan | 02-0701 | Other regional school |
| Rao Shiguang | Shiqian, Guizhou | 02-0702 | Other regional school |
| Fuzhenghua | Shiqian, Guizhou | 02-0703 | Other regional school |
| Wang Hongmin | Shaanxi | 02-0704 | Other regional school |
| Xiao Pengfang | Shaanxi | 02-0705 | Other regional school |
| Zhou Erlu | Taishun, Zhejiang | 02-0706 | Same declared area |
| Lin Congpeng | Quanzhou, Fujian | 03-1084 | Other regional school |
| Wang Jiansheng | Quanzhou, Fujian | 03-1085 | Other regional school |
| Yan Sarong | Jinjiang, Fujian | 03-1086 | Other regional school |
| Chen Yansen | Zhangzhou, Fujian | 03-1087 | Other regional school |
| Wu Xing | Xiaoyi, Shanxi | 03-1088 | Other regional school |
| Yin Daning | Yangzhou, Jiangsu | 03-1089 | Other regional school |
| Hua Meixia | Yangzhou, Jiangsu | 03-1090 | Other regional school |
| Zhuo Naijin | Pingyang, Zhejiang | 03-1091 | Other regional school |
| Wu Mingyue | Cangnan, Zhejiang | 03-1092 | Other regional school |
| Zheng Guofang | Shanghaimuoujutuan | 04-1671 | Other regional school |
| Ji Guifang | Taishun, Zhejiang | 04-1672 | Same declared area |
| Xu Hong | Yanyijituan, Jiangsu | 05-2415 | Other regional school |
| Zhang Lianghua | Taishun, Zhejiang | 05-2416 | Same declared area |
| Jin Zonghuai | Jiangshan, Zhejiang | 05-2417 | Other regional school |
| Li Shengyi | Jinjiang, Fujian | 05-2418 | Other regional school |
| Tan Qishu | Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan | 05-2419 | Other regional school |
| Liang Dongxing | Gaozhou, Guangdong | 05-2420 | Other regional school |
| Li Xinxian | Meizhou, Guangdong | 05-2421 | Other regional school |
| Cui Keqin | Muouyishujuyuanyouxiangongsi, Guangdong | 05-2422 | Other regional school |
| Hu Hai | Zizhong, Sichuan | 05-2423 | Other regional school |
| Hong Huijun | Zhangzhou, Fujian | — | Other regional school |
| Xiong Guoan | Muoupiyingyishujuyuan, Hunan | — | Other regional school |
| Lin Youdun | Wenchang, Hainan | — | Other regional school |
| Chen Weiqun | Shanghaimuoujutuan | — | Other regional school |
| Li Mingqing | Longyan, Fujian | — | Other regional school |
| Ying Aifang | Pingyang, Zhejiang | — | Other regional school |
| Huang Xiaohua | Wuhan, Hubei | — | Other regional school |
| Chen Junlong | Jieyang, Guangdong | — | Other regional school |
| Cai Xiaohua | Taishun, Zhejiang | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。