Puppet show (Zhangzhou puppet show)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Puppet Show (Zhangzhou puppet show)

Applicant: Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province

Item No.: 236

Project No.: Ⅳ - 92

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Fujian Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province

Protection unit: Zhangzhou puppet inheritance and Protection Center

Brief introduction of puppet show (Zhangzhou puppet show)

Applicant: Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province

Puppet opera, known as "puppet opera" and "puppet", is a form of opera in which puppets perform stories by artists.

China's puppet opera rose in the Han Dynasty, to the Tang Dynasty has a new development and improvement, can use puppets to perform song and dance drama. Song Dynasty is an important period for the development of puppet show in China, and the puppet production technology and manipulation skills are further mature. With the development of social economy, the puppet show of Ming Dynasty has been popular all over the country, and the puppet show of the economically developed southern provinces and regions is more prosperous, so there is a saying of "good puppet in the South". After the Qing Dynasty, puppet show entered its heyday. It was not only popular in a wide range, but also showed more and more vocal performances. There appeared western Liaoning puppet show, Zhangzhou puppet show, Quanzhou string puppet show, Jinjiang puppet show, Shaoyang puppet show, Gaozhou puppet show, Chaozhou Tiezhi puppet show, North Sichuan puppet show, Shiqian puppet show, yangstring puppet show, Taishun YaoFa puppet show There are many branches such as opera, Lingao puppet show and so on. As far as the form of performance is concerned, it can be summarized as five kinds: string puppet, stick head puppet, bag puppet, iron branch puppet and medicine hair puppet.

The art of puppet is so beautiful that it's amazing. In addition to the wonderful performances of the artists, the perfect puppet plastic arts and operating equipment are also an important aspect to attract the audience. Plastic arts focus on the carving and design of puppets. Generally speaking, the modeling of string puppets is relatively high, mostly about 2.2 feet. Key parts are decorated with lifting lines, up to more than 30, at least more than 10, such as stunt performances also need to add a number of auxiliary lifting lines. The level of puppet performers' various dance movements and martial arts skills completely depends on the artist's operating skills, which is the key to the level of puppet performance art. The head of the staff puppet is higher than the string puppet. Generally, the height of the puppet is about 3 feet. It is equipped with three operating lines, two of which pull hands, and one dominates the head and body. The puppet with the smallest shape, only about 7 inches, relies on the artist's two hands to hold up the performance. The operation skill is special, which is different from the string and stick puppet.

Since the founding of the people's Republic of China, puppet shows have become more colorful. In addition to performing traditional opera programs, they also perform drama, song and dance drama, series, and even advertisements. At the same time, puppet show is also facing fierce competition with other art forms. Traditional puppet shows contain the ideology, morality and aesthetic consciousness of the people of all regions and nationalities, which should be supported and protected.

Zhangzhou puppet show, also known as "Jingxi", "Zhihua Xi" and "Zhangzhong Xi", is one of the puppet plays. Zhangzhou puppet show is a comprehensive art composed of puppet performance, repertoire, music, puppet production, clothing, props and scenery.

Zhangzhou puppet show is characterized by the dramatic performance of idols directly manipulated by the palm of the fingers, which makes it vivid and lifelike. It can not only reflect the feelings of singing, reciting, doing, fighting, joy, anger, sadness and joy, but also perform some actions that are difficult to be reflected in human play. It has a unique style of superb skills and exquisite modeling. The puppet puppet show is manipulated from bottom to top with the hand as the trunk, the index finger supporting the head, the thumb and the other three fingers supporting the left and right arms respectively. Skilled artists can perform two puppets with different personalities and feelings at the same time. Puppet puppet show is especially good at martial arts scenes and characterization.

Zhangzhou puppet show has a history of more than 1000 years. It is an ancient and rare excellent art in China. It flourished in Zhangzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty and spread to Guangdong, Taiwan and some Southeast Asian regions in the late Ming Dynasty. Since the middle of Qing Dynasty, a large number of professional puppet troupes have appeared in Zhangzhou, forming a number of different schools. Among them, there are three schools, Fuchun, Fuxing and Mudan Pavilion, each with its own characteristics. In the past 200 years, it has been handed down to eight generations.

From the perspective of human history, Fujian and Taiwan culture originally belongs to one. Its mother is Fujian culture, which is an important part of the Chinese nation. Taiwan's puppet show is the transplantation and extension of Fujian culture in Taiwan. Through the cultural exchange between Fujian and Taiwan, it not only promotes the development of puppet art on both sides of the Strait, but also deepens the sense of identity that both sides of the Strait are relatives of the Chinese nation. It has played a good role in promoting the cause of the reunification of the motherland. Fujian and Taiwan have the same origin, which has a high historical research and modern cultural value for the development and evolution, historical inheritance and exchange of Zhangzhou puppet art.