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Quanzhou Puppet Show
Puppets are inanimate. Operators use their hands to
endow puppets with souls, to express human emotion. Proficient manipulative
skills are a prerequisite for a puppeteer, as are rich life experiences, with
which one can turn a wooden puppet into a real actor.
As one of the eldest and rarest among all puppet shows in China, the Quanzhou
puppet show enjoys a long history of more than 2,000 years. The puppet show is
believed to function as the communication medium between humans and gods, thus
it has been combined with religious activities since its inception. Throughout
the ages, it has become an indispensable part of people's life in Quanzhou, even
in the Minnan dialect speaking area. It has been custom to stage puppet shows to
drive away evil forces at events such as weddings, birthdays, and the openings
of new buildings, as well as after fires, disasters, or funerals. Meanwhile,
boasting its unique skills and splendid performance, Quanzhou puppet show also
enjoys high popularity as a folk drama art.
A Quanzhou puppet show uses a kind of marionette, about 70cm tall, consisting
of head, belly, limbs, lined-up strings, and an operation board to control
strings. The puppet head is engraved out of camphor, linden or willow wood, with
inner machinery, which can lead to a variety of facial expressions. The belly is
made of bamboo. Puppets' hands differ from each other according to whether they
are playing a civil or a military role: the former holding pens, while the
latter grasping swords. Some puppets wear shoes, others go with bare feet Also,
female feet are different from the male's. 16 to 32 strings are attached to
puppet's joints so that people can control the puppets' movements from the
operation board, which is about one meter above. Sometimes the strings extend as
long as two meters, provoding more space for performance, yet requiring for more
complicated skills at the same time.
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