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History Of Use

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.

Description

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Mei Po (matchmaker). Head and hands are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a very small nose and large ears. The mouth is painted red, in a frown, eyebrows are feathery and painted black. Eyes are black-rimmed, cheeks are rosy and there are black and red dots across her face. She has black hair along the sides of her head, with a bald patch in the back. There is a wire curving over her head, attached behind the ears. The character is wearing a plain green robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with metal buttons, and a small right side slit. Opening is bordered with a wide white band. Cuffs have red ribbon trim with gold and green floral motifs embroidered on them. The robe is lined with white material, with black square motifs throughout. She is wearing a short black undergarment. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to her head, and two more attached to each hand. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out.

Iconographic Meaning

The matchmaker is the most funny and talkative female character.