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Puppetry

Ⅳ-92Traditional OperaZhangzhou, FujianBatch 1 (2006)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

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 · Core Techniques & Process

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.

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.

Marshal Zhong Kui

One of the classic traditional plays, starred in by Zhuang Chenhua.

The Story of the Lackey

A puppet play led by Zhuang Chenhua, winner of a Ministry of Culture national outstanding-actor award and made into a filmed bag-puppet classic.

The Painted Skin

One of the representative works of the inheritor Chen Jintang.

Finger-Joint and Knuckle-Joint Arms

A puppet arm device invented by the inheritor Chen Jintang, making the figures' movements more vivid.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Since the mid-Qing, professional bag-puppet troupes appeared in large numbers in Zhangzhou and formed a number of different schools.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

For nearly two hundred years it has been transmitted down to the present through eight generations. Min and Taiwan bag puppetry share one root and one origin, which gives Zhangzhou bag puppetry high historical-research and modern cultural value in its development, historical transmission and exchange.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Puppetry (Zhangzhou, Fujian) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Zhuang Chenhua · National Representative Bearer Archive
  3. Chen Jintang · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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