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Puppetry

Ⅳ-92Traditional OperaWuhan, HubeiBatch 5 (2021)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

From 1850 onward, puppeteers performed in Wuhan by fencing off makeshift open-air theatres with gauze curtains around Houhu in Hankou; after going through a period of prosperity and decline between 1925 and 1949, the art was restored after 1953.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province, with the Yangtze River and its largest tributary, the Han River, running across the city. It has always been known as a place of "thoroughfare to the nine provinces", and the flow of people from north and south promoted cultural exchange and prosperity, creating favourable conditions for the development of folk arts such as Wuhan zhangtou (rod-head) puppetry. Wuhan zhangtou puppetry comprises the art of puppet performance, the craft of puppet making and the art of voice accompaniment and singing. A puppet consists of the head, the control rod, the chest cavity, the hands, the hand rods, the inner garments and the outer garments. There are distinctive techniques in the choice of materials, the modelling of characters and the design of mechanisms. The carved wooden puppet constructed with wooden strips and bamboo splints is replaced by a light and nimble paper-and-wood puppet, which is easier to perform with. Shaping, mechanism design and assembly are all completed by one person throughout the whole process. Puppet making pursues a natural unforced vitality to the utmost, fully expressing such artistic qualities as lightness, fineness, agility and vivid characterisation. Costume fabrics are carefully chosen, and the decorative style is based mainly on opera costume, incorporating many features of "hanxiu", the regional embroidery of Wuhan. The performer manipulates one control rod and two hand rods, and the style calls for nimble and graceful movement, delicate and vivid characterisation, and the fusion of puppeteer and puppet into one. The subjects of its plays are mostly adapted from local folk stories, such as Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats), adapted from the eighteen arhats of Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan; Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), adapted from the legend of Yellow Crane Tower; and Mi Juwa (The Tangerine Child) and Jiaren (The Dummy), which tell Hubei folk stories. Its performance style is delicate and vivid, scrupulously true to life; it emphasises the fusion of puppeteer and puppet, and its pioneering Chu dance Changxiu Wu (The Long-Sleeve Dance) was eagerly imitated by peers throughout the country, fully revealing the artistic charm of Wuhan zhangtou puppetry. Its voice accompaniment and singing blend northern and southern elements in a plural, fused manner; the music is based mainly on Chu opera minor tunes, drawing on and absorbing sung passages and vocal styles of Han opera as well as elements of local quyi music. After reform and opening up, the art of Wuhan zhangtou puppetry was revitalised.

Mi Juwa (The Tangerine Child)

The subjects of its plays are mostly adapted from local folk stories, such as Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats), adapted from the eighteen arhats of Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan; Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), adapted from the legend of Yellow Crane Tower; and Mi Juwa (The Tangerine Child) and Jiaren (The Dummy), which tell Hubei folk stories.

Jiaren (The Dummy)

The subjects of its plays are mostly adapted from local folk stories, such as Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats), adapted from the eighteen arhats of Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan; Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), adapted from the legend of Yellow Crane Tower; and Mi Juwa (The Tangerine Child) and Jiaren (The Dummy), which tell Hubei folk stories.

Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane)

The subjects of its plays are mostly adapted from local folk stories, such as Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats), adapted from the eighteen arhats of Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan; Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), adapted from the legend of Yellow Crane Tower; and Mi Juwa (The Tangerine Child) and Jiaren (The Dummy), which tell Hubei folk stories.

Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats)

The subjects of its plays are mostly adapted from local folk stories, such as Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats), adapted from the eighteen arhats of Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan; Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), adapted from the legend of Yellow Crane Tower; and Mi Juwa (The Tangerine Child) and Jiaren (The Dummy), which tell Hubei folk stories.

Shaonian Kongqiu (The Young Confucius)

With strong government support, the relevant protection units and inheritors have persisted with master-to-apprentice teaching and educational inheritance, relying on rehearsal and performance practice to advance the protection, transmission and development of the project. They have introduced a series of representative works, such as plays on subjects distinctive of Jingchu culture — Jiaren (The Dummy), Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats) and Shaonian Kongqiu (The Young Confucius) — revolutionary and historical plays such as Shuangqiang Laolaopo (The Old Woman with Two Guns) and Donghai Xiaoshaobing (The Little Sentry of the East Sea), and serial plays such as Benben Lang (Clumsy Wolf) and Kaka de Ke'ai Chepai (Kaka's Lovely Number Plate).

Shuangqiang Laolaopo (The Old Woman with Two Guns)

With strong government support, the relevant protection units and inheritors have persisted with master-to-apprentice teaching and educational inheritance, relying on rehearsal and performance practice to advance the protection, transmission and development of the project. They have introduced a series of representative works, such as plays on subjects distinctive of Jingchu culture — Jiaren (The Dummy), Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats) and Shaonian Kongqiu (The Young Confucius) — revolutionary and historical plays such as Shuangqiang Laolaopo (The Old Woman with Two Guns) and Donghai Xiaoshaobing (The Little Sentry of the East Sea), and serial plays such as Benben Lang (Clumsy Wolf) and Kaka de Ke'ai Chepai (Kaka's Lovely Number Plate).

Donghai Xiaoshaobing (The Little Sentry of the East Sea)

With strong government support, the relevant protection units and inheritors have persisted with master-to-apprentice teaching and educational inheritance, relying on rehearsal and performance practice to advance the protection, transmission and development of the project. They have introduced a series of representative works, such as plays on subjects distinctive of Jingchu culture — Jiaren (The Dummy), Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats) and Shaonian Kongqiu (The Young Confucius) — revolutionary and historical plays such as Shuangqiang Laolaopo (The Old Woman with Two Guns) and Donghai Xiaoshaobing (The Little Sentry of the East Sea), and serial plays such as Benben Lang (Clumsy Wolf) and Kaka de Ke'ai Chepai (Kaka's Lovely Number Plate).

Benben Lang (Clumsy Wolf)

With strong government support, the relevant protection units and inheritors have persisted with master-to-apprentice teaching and educational inheritance, relying on rehearsal and performance practice to advance the protection, transmission and development of the project. They have introduced a series of representative works, such as plays on subjects distinctive of Jingchu culture — Jiaren (The Dummy), Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats) and Shaonian Kongqiu (The Young Confucius) — revolutionary and historical plays such as Shuangqiang Laolaopo (The Old Woman with Two Guns) and Donghai Xiaoshaobing (The Little Sentry of the East Sea), and serial plays such as Benben Lang (Clumsy Wolf) and Kaka de Ke'ai Chepai (Kaka's Lovely Number Plate).

Kaka de Ke'ai Chepai (Kaka's Lovely Number Plate)

With strong government support, the relevant protection units and inheritors have persisted with master-to-apprentice teaching and educational inheritance, relying on rehearsal and performance practice to advance the protection, transmission and development of the project. They have introduced a series of representative works, such as plays on subjects distinctive of Jingchu culture — Jiaren (The Dummy), Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats) and Shaonian Kongqiu (The Young Confucius) — revolutionary and historical plays such as Shuangqiang Laolaopo (The Old Woman with Two Guns) and Donghai Xiaoshaobing (The Little Sentry of the East Sea), and serial plays such as Benben Lang (Clumsy Wolf) and Kaka de Ke'ai Chepai (Kaka's Lovely Number Plate).

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Wuhan zhangtou puppetry is a traditional dramatic form originating in the folk kuijuxi (string-puppet play) of the Jingchu region. It is distributed mainly across the three cities of Wuhan and the neighbouring urban districts, radiating to surrounding places such as Xiaogan, Huangshi and Jingzhou, and it incorporates the characteristics of puppetry in the Yangtze River basin. Wuhan zhangtou puppetry draws on a wide range of subjects, is strongly marked by local cultural colour, is closely fused with the folk culture, folk crafts, local opera genres and quyi culture of Wuhan, and is closely linked to the pulse of the times, forming distinctive artistic features.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

In 2015 the Wuhan People's Art Theatre set up a dedicated Wuhan Puppet Art Inheritance and Protection Centre. With strong government support, the relevant protection units and inheritors have persisted with master-to-apprentice teaching and educational inheritance, relying on rehearsal and performance practice to advance the protection, transmission and development of the project. They have introduced a series of representative works, such as plays on subjects distinctive of Jingchu culture — Jiaren (The Dummy), Shaonian yu Huanghe (The Boy and the Yellow Crane), Luohan Chuanqi (The Legend of the Arhats) and Shaonian Kongqiu (The Young Confucius) — revolutionary and historical plays such as Shuangqiang Laolaopo (The Old Woman with Two Guns) and Donghai Xiaoshaobing (The Little Sentry of the East Sea), and serial plays such as Benben Lang (Clumsy Wolf) and Kaka de Ke'ai Chepai (Kaka's Lovely Number Plate). Through its storylines that teach through entertainment, it guides the public in carrying on traditional Chinese virtues and in remaining positive, and it has considerable historical, cultural and social value.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Puppetry (Wuhan, Hubei) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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