Hand puppet, also named as “palm puppet”, prevailing in southern Fujian and Taiwan, has enjoyed a long history of over 1,000 years as a rare drama in treasure house of human. Hand puppet has distinct features of regional culture and detailed division on profession and role. Meanwhile, puppets are unities of spirit and form which could exquisitely perform as vivid and lifelike as possible. Since Jinjiang hand puppet is the representative of hand puppet of southern family, in May 2006, Jinjiang Hand Puppet Troupe was listed on the “First Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Directory”, assuming the heavy tasks of carrying on and protecting hand puppet of southern family.
Performance of hand puppet of southern family is exquisite, rigorous and standard, even its profession and pattern are strictly set. Meanwhile, it has rich and elegant aria and music, clever and humorous language and dialogue as well as delicate and dainty costumes and props, possessing characters of beautiful image, beautiful music and beautiful language as a kind of fancy and unexampled performing skill. The most representative troupe of hand puppet of southern family was founded in Xianfeng the 3rd year in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1853), known as Li Family Troupe, which was a famous family for hand puppet of southern family. Their 4th descendant, master Li Bofen, 80 years old, comprehensively succeeded to style characters and skills of hand puppet of southern family comparatively, and cultivated the 5th descendant for Li Family Troupe.
At the end of Qing Dynasty, puppet artists in Jinjiang had been to countries in Southeastern Asia in group for performance, initiating the trail for undertaking Chinese and foreign culture communications for Chinese puppet drama. In 1953, upon establishment, the troupe has undertaken many special performances for top leaders and gone to America, Germany, France, Australia, the Philippines and other countries in Europe and Asia for performance on invitation. It was praised as “Treasure in Eastern Arts” by international friends and once obtained the gold award in “the 2nd International Puppet Festival Competition” held in Bucharest, Romania.
Newly created dramas Five Miles Changhong, Qingyuan Fairy, Marriage of Human and Puppet have successively achieved “the 9th Wenhua Award” by Ministry of Culture, Silver Award of “the 2nd National Puppet Shadow Play Competition” and Excellent Program Award in “the 3rd National Minority Culture and Art Performance”. On Jun. 9, 2007, Premier Wen Jiabao, on the 2nd serial activities of “Cultural Heritage Day”--“Special Exhibition of Chinese Intangible Culture Heritage”, specially stopped to watch the hand puppet demonstration of Jinjiang Hand Puppet Troupe.
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