Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Dan (lady), with separate headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted pink. The puppet’s body is formed by a reed cage. Character has a long nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The eyebrows are painted black and the eyes are black-rimmed. She has black hair pulled back into a bun with a red string and yellow tulle-like tie. The tie has flower shaped sequins and beads along the edges. She also has a pink headband made of ribbons, fabric flowers and flower shaped buttons. The character is wearing a yellow jacket, with extended sleeves that drape down. The jacket has centre slit on the back, secured with ties, and is belted at the waist. The belt is made of paper with bands of red, silver ribbons and a white and red scalloped ribbon. Hanging from the belt are three panels. The ribbon used on the belt also borders the cuffs and panel edges. There are curvilinear motifs, done in pink and silver sequins, across the entire surface of the jacket and panels. Fringe along the bottom edges of all panels. Overtop, the character is wearing a pink collar with a back opening, secured with ties. The collar has fringe along its bottom edge and is trimmed with a blue, red and yellow ribbon. There are floral motifs, done in large gold beads and gold and silver sequins, across its surface. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to the reed cage, and two more attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod, with a metal attachment, inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out. Headdress (part b) made of cardboard, with a metal frame, covered in yellow and light green fabric. Headdress consists of a cap and backboard. The backboard is square-like and has a scalloped top edge. It is covered in silver sequins on the front, with wavy pink and green borders. The back is light green, with a wavy pink border, and has a crown-like protrusion in the centre. It is yellow and has gold curvilinear motifs across it. There are two pompons atop the centre of the backboard, done in orange and purple. For the cap component, there are curvilinear attachments on either side. The entire surface is covered in sequins and beads. Sequins are silver, blue, pink and red, and the beads are all silver. Numerous protruding, curled wires with large silver and white beads, across the top of the cap. Two red tassels hang down from either side of the cap. Interior of headdress is painted silver. There are two plain ties on the back of the headdress.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xiao Sheng (young male), with separate headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The mouth is painted red, eyebrows are painted black and have sharp spikes in the middle. Back of head and area around ears painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a dark blue cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. Long, dark brown-black strands of hair attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a light green robe, with extended gauze-like 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 trimmed with a wavy pink ribbon. Robe is covered in large floral motifs, done in sequins. Flowers are done in dark pink and silver, the vines and leaves are done in shades of blue. Plain red undergarment beneath the robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out and re-attached. Headdress (part b) is rectangular folded cardboard, covered in green fabric and shaped by a metal frame, with a rounded top piece. The sides of the top piece flare out from the rectangular cap. Edges of top piece trimmed with animal hair(?). All interior edges of headdress, the rounded top and folded rectangle, are bordered with yellow wavy ribbons. Bottom edge of folded rectangle bordered by a dark blue band. Entire surface of headdress covered with curvilinear and floral motifs, done in sequins and beads. Sequins are red and silver, and beads are silver, dark blue and red. Two strips of cloth hang from the back, bottom edge, of the headdress. Strips are blue and decorated with orange geometric motifs and green lizards. Tips of strips made from cardboard, covered in green fabric. Plain ties on back of headdress, for securing it to the puppet’s head.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xu Wen (bearded male), with separate beard. Head, hands and torso of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, large ears and moveable eyes and mouth. The mouth is painted red with white teeth. Eyes are black-rimmed, eyebrows are painted white with spikes in the middle. The back of the head and area around the 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 yellow robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with ties, and a small right side slit. The sides of the robe have pink panels. Curvilinear and linear motifs across robe, done in silver, dark pink and dark green sequins. Cuffs trimmed with a wavy blue ribbon. Dragon design on centre front and centre back of robe, done in dark green and silver sequins with white beaded eyes. Character has a matching collar, that secures at the front, with white animal hair(?) along bottom edge. Collar trimmed with wavy blue and dark green ribbons. Character has an off-white undergarment beneath robe. Characters printed in red across interior of undergarment. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his torso, and two more attached to each hand. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out. Beard (part b) consists of long black fibre attached to a wire covered with string. Shaped to fit over ears and below mouth of puppet.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xiao Chou (clown). Head, and hands are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, large ears and moveable eyes and mouth. Lips and nose painted red, eyes are black rimmed. Ovals with cross-hatching, done in red, under eyes and connected with a thin line across the bridge of the nose. Eyebrows are thin and black, area around ears and back of head 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 a left side opening, bordered in white and secured with ties and metal buttons, and a small right side slit. Cuffs have pink and white ribbon trim, with square cut-outs throughout. Bottom edge of robe is bordered with white band. Robe has white floral motifs embroidered throughout. Plaid undergarment beneath robe. Puppet is operated by two bamboo rods- one large rod attached to head, and one attached to the puppet’s right hand. Rod for left hand is missing. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Dan (lady), with a headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted beige. Character has a small nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The mouth is painted dark red, eyebrows are painted black. Eyes are black-rimmed and have pink eye shadow. She has thick black hair in a ponytail and a black headband tied around her forehead. Band is covered in large pink and silver sequins. The character is wearing a blue robe, with extended gauze-like sleeves that drape down. The robe has a front opening, secured with ties and metal buttons, and two small side slits. Neckline, cuffs and bottom edge of robe are bordered with a wavy pink ribbon. Robe has floral and geometric motifs throughout, done in light green, silver and dark pink-purple sequins. Dark brown undergarment beneath robe, covered in light brown and orange flowers. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to her head, and two more are attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod inside of the central bamboo rod. Headdress (part b) is designed to look like a peacock. It consists of a metal frame filled in with cardboard, covered in black and light green fabric. A peacock head, made of metal and covered in thick green string, protrudes from the top centre of the headdress. Entire surface of headdress is covered in sequins, beads and rhinestones. Sequins are red and clear, beads are silver and clear, rhinestones are blue, red and green. Back of headdress is painted silver. There are two ties on either end of the headdress.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu) representing the character Wu Sheng (martial male). Head, torso and hands are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a small nose, moveable eyes, large ears and rosy cheeks. The mouth is painted bright red and frowning, eyebrows are painted black and have sharp spikes in the middle. Back of head and area around ears are painted light grey, imitating hair. He is wearing a black cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. Long, dark brown strands of hair are attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a yellow robe with one large panel in the front, three back panels and two side panels. The front panel has ties on the left side, above the waist. A stuffed pink pouch is stitched to the chest of the puppet, with fringe along its bottom edge, and a plain fabric patch is stitched in the same spot on the back of the puppet. Robe is covered in red and silver sequins, with floral and geometric motifs embroidered throughout. Motifs done in pink, dark brown and green. A moth(?) is embroidered on the bottom of the front panel of the robe, with a matching moth(?) on the back, underneath the plain patch. Moths(?) are done in pink, dark brown and blue. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his torso, and two more are attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod, with a metal attachment, inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head was cut out and re-attached.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xiao Sheng (young male). Head and hands are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, moveable eyes, large ears and rosy cheeks. The mouth is painted red, eyebrows are painted black and have sharp spikes in the middle. 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. Long, dark brown-black strands of hair are attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a light green 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 white band, trimmed with silver ribbons. Robe has curvilinear motifs around the cuffs and side opening, done in silver and dark purple-pink sequins. There are large floral motifs on the front and back of the robe, done in silver, red and dark purple-pink sequins and beads. Plain undergarment beneath robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Sheng (male), with separate control rod. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, moveable eyes, large ears and painted designs on his face. The mouth is bright red, eyes are black-rimmed with black and red eyelashes. There are three red lines painted across the bridge of the nose. Eyebrows are black and light green, curling at their ends. Curvilinear motifs across forehead and comma shaped marking on the chin. The painted designs are done in black, light green and yellow. Character has a black and light green spiky moustache and the areas around the ears and back of the head 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 trimmed with two ribbons- a red and green ribbon decorated with red and pink flowers, and a white ribbon with pink, light blue and yellow flowers. White ribbon with floral decorations trims cuffs too. Robe has white floral, geometric, phoenix and dragon motifs embroidered throughout with painted and sequins designs overtop. Silver and green sequins across surface done in floral motifs, with black and yellow paint underneath. Puppet is wearing two undergarments. The first is a light blue robe, with linear and curvilinear motifs across it. Motifs done in pink and gold glitter paint. The bottom layer is plain cloth. Puppet is operated by two bamboo rods- one attached to each hand. Back of the puppet’s head has been cut out. Large bamboo rod (part b) would fit in hole along bottom of head and would control the head of the puppet.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Sheng (male). Head and hands are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a small nose, large ears and painted designs on his face. The mouth is bright red, eyes are black-rimmed with black and red eyelashes. Eyebrows are black and red, curling at their ends. Curvilinear motifs across forehead and comma shaped marking on the chin. All painted designs done in red and black. Character has a black spiky moustache and the area around the ears and back of the head are painted black, imitating hair. The character is wearing a sleeveless dark pink robe, overtop of a plaid undergarment. The robe has a front opening, secured with ties, and two small side slits. Metal button attached to collar. Floral motifs embroidered across robe. Wavy turquoise ribbon, with yellow square motif through middle, borders all robe edges. Bottom edge, side slits and centre opening trimmed with additional wavy gold ribbon that has black fibre woven through it. Silver and pink sequins are along the left side of the centre opening. The puppet's head is hollow. Rim of hollow opening is unpainted. 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 has been cut out and re-attached.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Judge Bao, with separate headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Hands painted beige. Character has a wide nose, large ears and a white painted face, with additional decoration. Chin, nose and cheeks are painted black, mouth is bright red. Black inverted triangle on forehead, with wide diagonal lines over eyes. Red and white circle in centre of forehead, on triangle. Eyes are black-rimmed with eyelashes. Back of head is painted black, imitating hair. The puppet's head is hollow. Rim of hollow opening is unpainted. The character is wearing a pink robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, secured with ties, and a small right side slit. Opening and neckline bordered with red on front of robe, opening and side slit bordered with dark yellow on back. Cuffs and opening, on front, also have light pink scalloped ribbon trim with pink, pale blue and light yellow flowers embroidered on them. Robe has white floral and geometric motifs embroidered throughout with painted and sequin designs overtop. Silver sequins across surface done in curvilinear and linear motifs, with black, green and yellow paint underneath. Central motif of a dragon done in silver sequins with black and dark green paint highlights. Eyes are made of large silver sequins, with smaller blue ones in their centres. Golden tube beads around head. Body outlined with red wavy bands. Plaid undergarment beneath robe. Puppet is operated by two bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and one detached rod (part d) that would attach to a hand. One rod is missing. Back of puppet’s head was cut out and re-attached. Headdress (part b) is made of cardboard and metal mesh, and covered in black fabric. Headdress is cylindrical, with a rounded front and two wing-like attachments at the back. One wing (part c) is detached. Central design on headdress of one large silver sequin, surrounded by smaller ones, with white beads. The front edge of the headdress is trimmed in a glittery pink ribbon. Both wings are black and bordered with the same pink ribbon. In their centres, on both the top and bottom, are white characters. Interior of headdress is painted red. There are two plain ties on either side of the headdress.