Rod Puppet Item Number: 3347/27 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Lao Sheng (older male), with a separate beard. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Hands painted pink beige. Character has wide nose, moveable eye, large ears and a white painted face. Mouth is bright red, and there is a comma shaped marking underneath it. Eyes are black-rimmed, have black and pink lashes. Puppet has large, diagonal shaped bushy eyebrows done in black. Back of head and area around ears are painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a dark blue cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. The character is wearing a pink robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with ties and metal buttons, and a small right side slit. Opening and neckline bordered with a white band, with wavy green ribbons trimming it. The band has floral motifs done in silver, gold and pink sequins, with white and silver beads. There is a large silver sequin where the opening meets the left side of the robe. Robe has a dragon, phoenix, clouds, flowers and curvilinear designs embroidered throughout. Plaid undergarment beneath robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more are attached to each hand. Back of puppet's head was cut out and re-attached. Beard (part b) consists of long black and grey fibre attached to a wire covered with string. Shaped to fit over ears and below mouth of puppet.
The celebrated rod puppets of the Guangdong Province on the south coast of China have a long history. They became popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Generally referred to as ‘ghost opera’ (qui-a-xi), this form of rod puppetry shares many characteristics with Cantonese Opera. There are the four standard categories of performer: male (sang/sheng), female (daan/dan), clown (cau/chou) and painted faces (zing/jing), often reserved for martial or fighting characters. They wear elaborately embroidered costumes and perform classical Chinese legends and histories, with dramatic and stylized acrobatics, movements, voices and gestures. The likeness of the rod puppets to their human counterparts is enhanced further by the clever mechanisms that move the eyes and mouth. Like all forms of Asian theatre and puppetry, music is also an essential part of the performance: the accompanying orchestra generally consists of gongs, drums, violins and reed instruments. Almost every performance of puppet theatre in Guangdong is part of religious festivities. The stage is built opposite a temple or shrine. A performance usually starts with ritual blessings to bring peace and prosperity to the local community.
Puppet represents an evil character.