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Puppetry

Ⅳ-92Traditional OperaShaanxiBatch 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. Drawing on the Shaanxi volume of the Annals of Chinese Xiqu and studies of Heyang string opera, Heyang marionette puppetry was anciently called “xuansi kuilei” and locally “xianhu xi” or “xian xi”; by the Song and Jin the name of the suspended-string puppet already existed, and in the late Ming and early Qing the Heyang provincial graduate Li Guan (Xiangruo) and others reformed its vocal music, music, repertory and puppet-making so that it matured, performing in Suzhou, Yangzhou and Beijing during the Qianlong, Jiaqing and Tongzhi reigns with great influence.

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. Heyang marionette puppetry (also “Heyang xianhu”) lies on the Yellow River in Weinan, adjoining western Shanxi, and is a unique gem of northern Chinese marionette puppetry. The genre embraces such techniques as lifting, plucking, hooking, carrying, twisting, swinging, flashing and shaking, together with creative special feats of its own, giving the marionette an artistic life and making it lifelike. Its vocal music is desolate and stirring, gentle and fine, mostly with Qin-region character; its instrumental playing uses such special instruments as the zhengzi and jiezi, distinctive and sharply characterised. Its traditional repertory is beautiful in conception and fine in language, with high literary quality. After liberation some plays were adapted for the stage and won repute within and beyond the province.

The Bald Man Teases the Bridal Chamber

One of the representative works of the inheritor Wang Hongmin, a traditional chou-role piece of Heyang string opera.

Selling Sundries

A traditional play of Heyang string opera in which such inheritors as Wang Hongmin and Xiao Pengfang have signature performances.

Pigsy Carries His Bride

One of Wang Hongmin's representative works, noted for such techniques as lifting, hooking, plucking, carrying, flashing and shaking.

Beating the Princess

One of the representative works of the inheritor Xiao Pengfang, displaying the fine performance of the dan and xiaosheng roles.

The Zhengzi, Jiezi and Other Special Instruments

The special instruments used in Heyang string opera's playing, distinctive and sharply characterised.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Heyang marionette puppetry centres on Heyang county, Shaanxi, and circulates through Weinan, Dali and Hancheng and the Shanxi-Shaanxi border area along the Yellow River; because its vocal music is desolate and stirring, gentle and fine and mostly of Qin character, and sharing an origin with Shanxi string opera yet with its own features, the locality calls it “xianhu” or “xian xi”.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The genre now lacks talent and its market is depressed, directly affecting its further development; how to protect this traditional genre is at present an extremely important task.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Puppetry (Shaanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Wang Hongmin · National Representative Bearer Archive
  3. Xiao Pengfang · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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