|
Puppets Tell Tales of Old: Unique Man-and-pupppet Show in Lingao
In the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the prosperous economy and culture of the
island made possible the development of the puppet show. During the reign of
Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722), there were more than 30 puppet show workshops in
Lingao. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, Lingao still had 13 workshops
with 20-25 performers for each. But due to years of war and disasters in the
first half of the 20th century, only one or two workshops had been left before
the founding of new China in
1949.
After 1949, disbanded workshops began to resume. From
1953 to 1954, old forms of workshop were transformed and it was performers,
instead of workshop owners, who managed workshops. In 1961, private
workshops merged to form the county puppet show troupe. During the Cultural
Revolution (1966-1976), the puppet show almost went extinct and performers were
forced to leave and return their hometowns. In 1978, the county puppet show
troupe was resumed. Thanks to favorable policies, amateurish troupes flourished
in the 1980s. In the early 1980s, Lingao boasted as many as 38 puppet show
troupes. In 1997, the new production "Deer Looks Back" was staged in Beijing,
which enjoyed unprecedented popularity.
|
|
E-Mail
This Article 
Print
Friendly Format 
