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Puppetry

Ⅳ-92Traditional OperaJieyang, GuangdongBatch 3 (2011)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

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 · Core Techniques & Process

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”.

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 · Regional Records & Related Items

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.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Jieyang iron-rod puppetry preserves the intermediate form of the transition from shadow to puppet opera and has reference value for studying the relations among Chaoshan shadow puppetry, iron-rod puppetry and Chaozhou opera; its arrangement of operating the puppets before the embroidered curtain while singing and acting behind it, and the change of form from “bamboo-window paper shadow” to “round-bodied paper shadow”, are living specimens of Chaoshan folk theatrical history. The locality sustains this folk art through troupe revivals, recording and collating traditional plays and in-school transmission.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Puppetry (Jieyang, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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