Brief introduction of Guangdong puppet show

2011June was selected as the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Serial number: 236 Project number: IV-92 Reporting area or unit: Guangdong Puppet Art Theatre Co., Ltd.

China's puppet show began in the Han Dynasty and was called "puppet show" in ancient times. Guangdong puppet show was introduced around the Yuan Dynasty. 1956, Guangdong Puppet Troupe was established in Guangzhou. There are many kinds of puppet shows in Guangdong, such as sticks, iron branches, round bodies, hanging wires and cloth bags. Exquisitely carved and lifelike.

Puppet show, commonly known as "ghost play", is the most popular Han drama art in Maoming area, especially in rural areas. Its style is quite local in western Guangdong, and its unique and simple singing and exquisite performance make many audiences linger. According to legend, Gaozhou Muppets were first introduced to Guangdong by a large number of Minnan people in Fujian during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1573 ~ 1620), mostly distributed in Cantonese-speaking local activities.

In the eyes of many elderly people in Gaozhou, "ghost hitting the wall" is a long and warm childhood memory. Twenty or thirty years ago, an artist, a basket, a cloth shelf, a gong and a few puppets became all the "possessions" of a puppet show. Whenever gongs and drums ring, the villagers will surround the puppet theater on three floors outside. The puppet master seems to have three heads and six arms, beating gongs and cymbals here, and using his hands and feet there to make the puppet dance dazzling. At the same time, he has to sing different tones according to different roles in life, Dan, Jie and Ugly. Singing and laughing come and go, and the unique tones of gongs, drums and puppet shows bring a rare boiling to the quiet night sky in the countryside.