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 are painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a plaid 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, bordered in pale pink and secured with ties, and a small right side slit. Cuffs have black and red ribbon trim with pink, green, gold and silver flowers embroidered on them. Robe has floral motifs throughout, done in light blue-green, yellow, and dark and light pink. Phoenix(?) design on back left shoulder, done in same colours as floral motifs. Plaid undergarment, matching cap, beneath robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to head, and two more attached to each hand.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Hua Lian (painted face), with separate beard. 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 bright red with white teeth, and the eyes are lined with black and yellow. The nose is painted green with red highlights. There is a yellow comma shaped marking on the chin and a red circle in the centre of the forehead, with another yellow character in it. The cheeks and forehead are painted green, the area around the ears and back of the head are light blue. He is wearing a plaid cap with a metal attachment, covered in red fabric, on the front centre. The character is wearing a red robe, with one large panel in the front, three back panels and two side panels. The front panel has ties along the left side, above the waist. Character is wearing a matching collar and there are added panels overtop of the shoulders and on the front panel, below the waist. All panels and the collar are trimmed with both or either gold and green wavy bands. Curvilinear motifs are done across entire surface of robe and collar in silver, green and gold sequins. Front panel has a central design of a dragon(?), done in yellow fabric and green sequins, with white plastic eyes, a red stuffed nose and white fabric fangs. The bottom edge of the dragon’s face has green fringe, and the top edge has a white mane. There is a plain yellow fabric patch on the back centre of the robe. Character is wearing a plaid undergarment, matching the cap. Puppet is controlled 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. The back of the puppet's head has been cut out. Beard (part b) consists of three long black fibres 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 Dan (lady), with separate headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Head painted pink beige. The puppet’s body is formed by a reed cage. Character has a wide nose, moveable eyes and large ears. Mouth is painted red, cheeks are rosy. Eyes are black-rimmed, eyebrows are painted black and thin. Long sideburns painted on either side of her face. She has black hair pulled into a top bun and low ponytail. The ponytail is secured with a red tie. Between the bun and the ponytail is a dark blue ribbon, with a gold zigzag through the centre, with pink sequins. A matching headband is across her forehead. She has silver and pink beaded earrings and flowers tucked behind her ears. The character is wearing a pink jacket, with extended gauze-like sleeves that drape down. Floral motifs around cuffs and on front centre of jacket, done in light blue, dark pink and white sequins. Overtop jacket, character is wearing a bright green collar with a front opening, secured with ties. It has an elaborate beaded fringe along the bottom edge, with tiers of diamonds and two strands hanging from each diamond point. Diamonds are done in lilac, beads connecting diamonds are pink, and the strands are silver, red and light green. Neckline of collar trimmed with a wavy dark green ribbon, the bottom edge is trimmed with wavy dark green and red ribbons. Linear and floral motifs across collar, done in silver, light blue and dark pink. The jacket is belted at the waist, securing at the back with velcro. Edges of pink belt are trimmed with a wavy dark green ribbon. Belt is covered with floral motifs, made with stiff, glittery thread and sequins. Done in silver, gold, dark brown, red, yellow, orange, green, blue and purple. Hanging from the belt are three panels. All are pink, trimmed with wavy dark green ribbons, and covered in floral and curvilinear motifs. Floral motifs are done in white, light blue and dark pink sequins, curvilinear motifs are done in red. The bottom edges of all the panels have white, blue and dark pink fringe. Puppet is wearing an additional panel on her back that hangs below the jacket. It is secured with a tie around the waist, underneath the belt. Central floral motif done in dark pink, silver and light blue sequins. Fringe along all edges, done in dark green, yellow, pink and red. Puppet is operated by three rods- one large bamboo rod attached to the reed cage, and two more, made of bamboo and metal, attached to each hand. Eyes are operated by a wooden rod inside of the central bamboo rod. Headdress (part b) is semi-circular and rests on top of the puppet’s head. It is made of cardboard, with a metal frame, and covered in light green fabric. Edges of headdress are trimmed with flower shaped sequins. Along the top and sides are groupings of protruding wires, covered in green fabric and circular and flower shaped sequins. Sequins are pink, gold, silver and light blue. In between the wire groupings, and overtop of the central wire grouping, are three large, pink tulle-like flowers. Back of headdress is undecorated and covered in light blue fabric. There are two plain ties on either end of the headdress.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Lao Dan (old lady), with separate headband and headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted pink beige. Character has a long nose and large ears. The mouth is painted bright red, eyes are black-rimmed and eyebrows are white. There is white paint around the back of her head and along the sides of her face, imitating hair. She has long grey-blonde hair in a low ponytail. The character is wearing a black robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a front opening, secured with ties, and two small side slits. Neckline, cuffs and front opening of robe are bordered with a gold wavy band. Robe has floral motifs throughout, done in pink and silver sequins and green paint. Curvilinear motifs, done in gold and red wavy bands, around neck opening. Character has a plain white undergarment underneath the robe. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to her head, and two more are attached to each hand. Hole cut out in back of puppet’s head. Headband (part b) is brown with white floral embroidery across it. Band secured at the back with long, neon orange-pink ties. Headdress (part c) is made of cardboard, with a metal frame, covered in yellow fabric. There are two tiers of curved triangular protrusions all along the headdress and curvilinear attachments on either side. Two tassels hang from the curvilinear attachments, coloured red and yellow. The entire surface of the headdress is covered in sequins and beads. Sequins are silver, blue, pink and red, and beads are silver and green. Each triangular protrusion, in both tiers, has a curled wire with a large bead on top. The top tier has silver beads, the lower tier has white beads. Back of headdress is painted silver. There two plain ties on the back of the headdress.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Hua Lian (painted face). Head, torso and hands are carved from wood. Hands painted pink beige, face and torso painted white. Character has a wide nose, large ears and moveable eyes and mouth. Mouth is painted red with white teeth, and there is comma shaped marking underneath it. Eyes are black rimmed with two circles surrounding them. There are three lines painted across the bridge of the nose and dots above the nostrils. Curvilinear motifs on the cheeks and forehead. Character has a small moustache. All designs across the face are done in black. Area around the ears and the 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 sleeveless red robe, overtop of an off-white undergarment. Red robe has a front centre opening, secured with ties and metal buttons. Wavy pink ribbon, with white square motif through middle, trims the cuffs. Front opening and bottom edge of robe bordered with wide off-white band. Curvilinear motifs, in same off-white material, protrude from border band throughout. Interior of undergarment has characters printed across it in red. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his torso, and two more attached to each hand. Eyes and mouth 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 and re-attached.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xu Wen (bearded male), with separate beard. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Components painted beige. Character has a sharp nose, moveable eyes and large ears. Mouth is dark red, eyebrows are painted black with sharp spikes in the middle. Eyes have a thick black lining, cheeks are rosy. Back of head and area around ears painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a plaid cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. Short strands of dark brown-black hair attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a red 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. The sides of the robe have pink panels. Cuffs bordered with a wavy blue ribbon. Curvilinear and linear motifs across robe, done in silver and dark green sequins. Dragon(?) design, done in dark green, silver and gold sequins, on centre front and back of robe. Dragon is hovering over a cloud(?), done in dark green sequins. Character has a matching collar, that secures at the front, with white animal hair(?) along bottom edge. Collar trimmed with wavy blue and yellow ribbons. There are curvilinear and linear motifs across it done in dark green and silver sequins. 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. 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. 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 carved from wood. Head painted pink beige. Character has a long nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The mouth is painted dark red and frowning, eyebrows are painted black and furrowed. Black dots painted across chin, and around mouth, imitating a beard. Eyes are black-rimmed and 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 light brown-yellow plaid robe. It has a small opening at the neck, loosely stitched shut, and two small side slits. There are metal buttons at the centre front and centre back of the neckline. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more attached to each hand. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Sheng (male), with separate headdress. Head and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Head and right hand painted pink beige. Character has a long nose, large ears, moveable eyes and painted designs on his face. The mouth is bright red, eyes are black-rimmed with red eyelashes. There are curvilinear motifs across his forehead and a comma shaped marking on the chin. His cheeks are covered by large semi-circles, that stretch from his nostrils to the sides of his face. All painted designs are done in red. The area around the ears and back of the head are painted black, imitating hair. Character is wearing a plaid cap, with metal buttons along the bottom edge, and secured at the back with a tie. Character is wearing a yellow robe, with extended sleeves that drape down. The robe has a left side opening, bordered in white and secured with ties, with a small right side slit. Collar bordered with a wavy green ribbon. Cuffs have a white ribbon trim, bordered in dark green, with red curvilinear motifs embroidered on them. Curvilinear and linear motifs across robe, done in dark green sequins and sparkly silver and pink ribbons. There is a light pink ribbon, with dark pink and green floral designs embroidered on it, two thirds of the way down the front and back of the robe. Large dragon design on centre front of robe, embroidered in stiff silver, pink, red and yellow thread. Character has a front opening red robe underneath the outer yellow robe. All edges are bordered with pale pink bands. Below that, character is wearing a plaid undergarment. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to his head, and two more attached to each hand. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out. Headdress (part b) made of cardboard, with a metal frame, covered in black fabric. Headdress consists of a square cap, that fits over the head, and a rectangle that attaches to the back. All edges of the square and rectangle are trimmed with a wavy green ribbon. Square cap has silver curvilinear attachments along the top and sides. The surfaces are entirely covered in sequins and beads. Sequins are silver, light blue, dark green, dark pink and light pink, and the beads are all silver. Numerous protruding, curled wires, with large silver, white and pink beads and pompoms, are along the top of the curvilinear attachments. Two yellow tassels hang down from either side of the cap. Rectangle at back of headdress has two wing-like attachments along the bottom edge. Wings are thin and trimmed with wavy green ribbon. 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 Wu Sheng (marital male), with separate headdress. Head, torso and hands of puppet (part a) are carved from wood. Head and torso painted pink beige. Character has a wide nose, large ears and moveable eyes and mouth. The mouth is painted bright red with white teeth. Eyes are black-rimmed, eyebrows are painted black with sharp spikes in the middle. Back of head and area around ears painted black, imitating hair. He is wearing a plaid cap with metal buttons along the bottom edge. Long, black strands of hair are attached to the top of the cap. The character is wearing a sleeveless blue robe, with a front centre opening, secured with metal buttons, and two side slits. Yellow wavy ribbon trims arm holes and bottom edge, pink wavy ribbon trims collar. Curvilinear and geometric motifs around collar, arm holes and centre opening are done in silver and pink sequins. There are circular characters on either side of the front opening, and one on the centre back, done in gold sequins. The character is wearing a full sleeved plaid undergarment, matching the cap, beneath the robe. 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 inside of the central bamboo rod. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out and re-attached. Headdress (part b) is made of cardboard, with a metal frame, and is covered in painted fabric. Headdress consists of a tiara-like headband and cap. The tiara-like section has two tiers. The back tier is covered in green painted fabric, has a gently scalloped top edge trimmed with a wavy pink ribbon, and curvilinear attachments on either side. One yellow tassel hangs from the left curvilinear attachment. Paper, covered in written characters, attached to tassel. The front tier is covered in pink painted fabric and has triangular protrusions along the top edge, trimmed with a wavy dark pink ribbon. Both tiers are covered in sequins, beads and metal attachments. Sequins are coloured silver, dark blue, green, gold and red. Beads are coloured white and silver. Numerous protruding, curled wires with large light and dark pink pompons, are across the top of the front and back tiers. Cap portion of headdress is covered in light blue fabric with triangular protrusions all along the top edge. Painted green paper trims edges of protrusions. Same wire and pompom decorations are attached to the tips of the triangular protrusions. Back of cap has a green painted fabric covered section, trimmed with a wavy gold ribbon. Below it is a semi-circular attachment, covered in green fabric. It has a wavy black ribbon trim, red sequins and large silver buttons. The inner rim of the headdress is covered in red fabric, there are two plain ties on either end.

Rod puppet (zhàng tóu mù ǒu), representing the character Xiao Chou (clown). Head and hands are carved from wood. Head is painted beige. Character has a thin nose, moveable eyes and large ears. The mouth is painted bright red, with circles on either side, and cheeks are rosy. Eyebrows are painted black and have curved spikes in the middle, eyes are black-rimmed. Area around ears and back of head is painted black, imitating hair. He has short black hair on top of his head. The character is wearing a plain dark blue robe, with two small side slits. Neckline is trimmed with a red band, which extends into small robe opening, secured with a tie, along left side of neck. The robe is secured at the wrists with wire. Puppet is operated by three bamboo rods- one large rod attached to head, and two more attached to each hand. Back of puppet’s head has been cut out and filled with red fabric.