Puppet show

The puppet show appeared in Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty. The watching of the puppet by Du You at Jingjiefang in Yangzhou was recorded in The Fine-story of Liu Yuxi by Wei Xuan in Tang Dynasty and Genuine Puppet by Wang Heng in Ming Dynasty.

During Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, string puppet, hop-pocket puppet and stick puppet had all been popular in Yangzhou . Puppet show troupes from Shanxi and Anhui spent over half of the year performing in Yangzhou . After the Festival of Lanterns, they went out of the city and performed on the long dam in the northern suburb where entertainment and delicacies were centered. In his poem On Puppet , Zheng Banqiao satirizes the social reality and, meanwhile, gives a vivid portrait of the art of the string puppet.

Puppet show is conducted by the puppet, manipulator, dubbing actor, and the band. Some use opera note, some conversation or dancing. In the former times, the model of the puppet is rigid. The puppet in ancient costume is made up of only three sticks, with wizened body and no leg. Nowadays, with the careful designing of the technical personnel of Taixing Puppet Factory, the puppets become lively and impressive. In performance, they can make both gaily and sorrowful expression, and soft and firm movements. Their heads, eyes, mouths, hands, and feet are all flexible. When they sing or narrate, their mouth and eyes will move correspondingly. The audience can tell whether the puppet is melancholy, angry, happy, or resentful. The puppets can use their hands to fetch objects, hit the drum, ride a bicycle, row the boat, whip the horse, light a cigar and so on. People sing highly of the puppets: “puppet, puppet, like a real person; puppet show, puppet show, like that with human performers!”