The slogan of Gaozhou puppet show is

Listen to you, the places I haven't been to are worth visiting. Originally not in the itinerary, because of the invitation of a friend, I quickly bought a ticket and started a three-day trip to Quanzhou. I know nothing about Quanzhou. I have seen a promotional film and a few travel notes. I vaguely remember Kaiyuan Temple, West Street and a stone head of Laozi. This should be the place I want to see. I planned it like this when I was in the car. Just as soon as I got out of the train station, I felt unfriendly under the rain and suddenly felt a little depressed. It seems to have been moldy for several days. After playing for several days, I have a deep memory of the puppet show I saw here. At that time, I had been taking photos and was impressed by the skill and singing skills of the live performers, although I knew nothing about the singing content of Minnan.

Speaking of puppet shows, I went to see them on purpose. It can be said that there are many kinds of puppet shows, and there are also settlements in the States. Quanzhou puppet show is one of the more representative ones, and there are also puppet shows in Jinjiang, Zhangzhou, western Liaoning, Lingao, Shaoyang, Gaozhou, Chaozhou Tiezhi, northern Sichuan, Shiqian, Heyang and Taishun.

In ancient times, puppet shows were called "puppet shows" and "puppets". Quanzhou puppet show used to be called "Silk Puppet" or "Silk Play". Now it's called Muppet Show, which is also commonly known as Kerry among the people. As one of the ancient traditional puppet shows, traditional drama has a long history and is mainly spread in southern Fujian. The general view is that it originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. From being a religious drama at first, it has gone through a long development process to becoming a drama with both opera and rap.

During the marionette performance, I saw the artist pull the puppet with ten fingers to perform different movements, and accurately control the puppet's body, limbs, head, clothes and props through the thin lines in his hands. If you look carefully, it should not be difficult to find that there are many such thin lines, including 16 basic lines and more than 30 complicated lines, including 2 head nail lines, 1 chest ridge line, 10 back line, 10 hand line and 2 foot lines, so that the puppet can complete pitching and foot line.

The feeling is to remember where each line is controlled for a long time, not to mention skillfully manipulating the puppet to do various actions in a short time. It's really "one minute on stage; Ten years of work under the stage ",if you want to perform this item well, it is really not as simple as talking about it. A seemingly simple one looks up, stomps and turns around. I don't know how many times they practiced behind the scenes.

The performers I saw this time were all young people. According to the deputy head of the Art Troupe, they all like puppet shows very much. They all practice very hard and try their best to inherit this folk art with a history of thousands of years.

Puppet shows are divided into four major businesses: raw, Dan, North (net) and miscellaneous, and the ancient city is "four beauties". Puppet Troupe Club is also called "Simei Class". Now, on the curtain of the puppet stage in ancient Quanzhou, there are couplets of "a thousand miles away in a blink of an eye, the cause of ancient and modern times is overnight" and "four beautiful curtains inside". Of course, we also see such couplets here.

In the early years of Quanzhou, entertainment life was relatively scarce, and whenever a stage was set up in the streets and lanes, a large number of people would always be attracted to watch it. Puppet puppetry is popular with the public because of its humorous style and artist's kung fu.

Now, the neighborhood at home has long been familiar with this art, and the number of tourists coming from afar to see muppets has gradually increased. From the smiling faces, it is not difficult to see the people's love for marionettes in the former site of Zheng Tong Lane Marionette Troupe in Quanzhou, from old people with thick eyebrows and white hair to babbling children.

Starting from July 1 2065438, there will be an one-hour performance at Zheng Tong Lane Puppet Theatre every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Before the performance, the deputy head of Quanzhou Puppet Theatre will introduce the splendid culture of Quanzhou, an ancient city. For example, telling the legend of Kaiyuan Temple will make people who come to Quanzhou have a deeper understanding of Quanzhou's culture. The vocals of puppet shows are all in Minnan, so foreign tourists naturally can't understand them. Fortunately, there are subtitles on the side of the stage, but the dialect still has a taste. If you change to Mandarin, you will feel less. There are several public performances here, such as The Little Monk Going Down the Mountain, Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts and Monkey Training. Although the theater is not very big, its location is basically packed.

In addition, Quanzhou puppet show "Four Will Open Taiwan" appeared on the stage of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, the stage of the United Nations party, the stage of CCTV channel, and many other places are constantly performing such a folk performing art with a long history.

The production of puppets can be said to be very elaborate. It is said that all the puppets of Quanzhou Puppet Troupe are made by a master. Quanzhou puppet generally has such a process: mold opening, shaping, rough carving, fine carving, paper mounting, polishing, gap filling, mud painting, pastel painting, face opening and wax covering. ..................................................................................

It seems that it takes a long time and patience to make a puppet, and the producer's skills are excellent. Coupled with the skilled operation of the performers and the singing skills and music team behind the scenes, a small stage needs all kinds of efforts behind the scenes, although it only lasts for a few minutes. It is also a great cause that has been passed down for more than a thousand years.

Time: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 4 pm to 5 pm.

Venue: Zheng Tong Lane Puppet Theatre (remember to go in advance, or you will stand and watch).