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Description

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xiao Chou (clown). Head, hands and torso carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, large ears and moveable eyes and mouth. The mouth is painted dark red with white teeth, eyebrows are painted black and curved, tip of nose is painted white. Eyes are black-rimmed and area around ears and back of head is painted black, imitating hair. He has long black hair down the middle of his head. The character is wearing a white and dark blue robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. Robe has a left side opening, secured with ties, and a small right side slit. Side opening bordered with a plain mint green band, trimmed with small dark blue pompons. Cuffs and bottom edge of robe trimmed with a wavy and glittery pink ribbon. Robe has dark blue grid and cube motifs throughout, with floral and curvilinear motifs done in white. Interior of robe lined in dark grey. Characters, done in black, written on front interior of robe, towards left side. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to torso, and two more attached to each hand. Eyes and mouth are operated by a wooden rod, with metal attachment, inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out.

Iconographic Meaning

Puppet represents a young clown.

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.