Written by: Pan Junqiang
Posted on: December 27, 2018 | 
| 中文
Laixi Puppet Art Troupe and Laixi Puppet Art Museum, a platform for inheriting and promoting puppet arts
Jiang Yutao, head of Laixi Puppet Art Troupe, showed me around the first time we met. Pointing at a large puppet in the glass frame, he said, “Unearthed in 1978 at Daiye Village?Laixi County?this puppet is 1.93 meters long and its joints are all movable. It is recognized as No. 1, as it has been the largest and oldest well-preserved puppet in the world. The large puppets in the art troupe are all replicas,” he said, “It triggered the puppet show and Laixi has hence been known as one of the original homes of puppetry.”
The 2,000 odd years have seen Laixi puppet become prosperous and then nearly become extinct. Nowadays, Jiang Yutao, the fifth generation inheritor of this national intangible cultural heritage, considers how to make Laixi puppet survive and thrive.
In China, puppets fall into three categories, namely rod puppet, pocket puppet and string puppet. Laixi puppet belongs to the first category. It is about 0.6 to 1 meter tall. Its head is carved from wood, inside which lies the trick that enables its mouth and eyes to move. However, it is clumsy, with limited tricks and movements, which is one of the disadvantages that hinders its development.
“The puppet show is a peculiar category in drama. Holding the main rod in his left hand for the puppet's head and facial expression, the puppeteer manages the control and various movements of the two arms with his right hand. Watching the puppet show is in fact watching the puppeteers perform,” said Jiang Yutao when he presented the show.
Ni Fengxian, the fourth generation inheritor of Laixi puppet, is Jiang Yutao’s tutor, who started to engage in puppet shows when he was 16. When he was around 20 years old, he started to perform puppet show with more than 10 others. With the decline of puppet shows in the 1980s, Ni Fengxian locked up his puppets, which were not shown again until in 2008 when Laixi puppet show was rediscovered and then preserved and inherited.
In May 2010, Lv Xudong, now director of Laixi Puppet Art Troupe, invited Jiang Yutao, who was involved in a computer accessory business back then, to the puppet show, saying “I know you're interested in the traditional culture. Let's watch a show.” The vivid puppet and academic singing appealed to Jiang instantly. “Master Ni knew I was active and wanted to pass his mastery of art onto me,” said Jiang Yutao. Therefore, Jiang took over and became the fifth generation inheritor of Laixi puppet.
In 2012 Jiang Yutao reorganized and founded Laixi Puppet Art Troupe and Laixi Puppet Art Museum to showcase the historical evolution, puppet making skills and puppet performing art. So far, he has invested nearly 2 million yuan RMB. The preservation and development of the puppet show calls for attention. There are more than 10 performers in the troupe. “We are all versatile,” said Jiang Yutao, “The director is good at both directing and making clay sculpture. Girls make clothes for the puppets. I learnt carpentry from my father when I was a kid, so I have been working on wood carving.”
“We are good at puppet making, script writing and play arrangement,” said Zhan Manman, a performer who is proud of being versatile. “Platform building and drapery cloth lifting are done by ourselves.” This suggests that the troupe is short of people.
Laixi Puppet Art Troupe is shifting from traditional opera to children's play, to fully tackle the children's market. “Puppets appeal to children,” said Jiang Yutao. While adapting old plays, they also produce seven to eight new plays.
Puppet shows need drapery, as performers operate the puppets behind it. The audiences feel curious as to how the puppets are operated and peep at what’s going on behind the curtain. “As long as the audience’s curiosity is aroused, our puppet show is half done,” said Jiang Yutao. According to him, performers now come to the stage. For example, Laixi Art Troupe merges into the puppet show the face changing art of Sichuan opera when both performers and puppets' faces change. “This uncommon ability drew shouts of marvel from the audience in New Zealand,” said Jiang. They borrow novel elements from other plays, to prolong the charm of the puppet show. The troupe has performed in the United States and Japan.
Jiang Yutao said, “We all agree that the puppet show should go to the market as far as the traditional performing art is concerned.” The focal point is how to survive in the market. Just coming back from New Zealand, he said, “We performed for nine times. What a satisfying experience!” What amazed him is that as the puppets' body language deconstructed much of the language barrier, foreigners understood the puppet shows and warmly received them.
Laixi Puppet Art Troupe and Laixi Puppet Art Museum are located at the same site where performers practice and puppets are shown, including Xuanzang and his four disciples (of the classic novel “Journey to the West”), Snow White and Barbie dolls. “These are mini puppets, which are convenient for children to play with or to be sold,” said Jiang Yutao.
Jiang was inspired by a children’s play when many parents asked him whether they could buy a puppet for their children. “Our puppets are a bit heavy and large for children,” said Jiang Yutao. To reduce the puppet's size and cost, Jiang contacted the toy factory to produce small size puppets, over RMB 100 yuan each. Now, small puppets are sold, and have become a major source of income for the art troupe.
Jiang Yutao hopes that in the future they will have a stable small theatre. He plans to attract more people to visit the puppet show, with the support of the puppet art museum, art exhibition and hand-making experience, focusing on researching and selling byproducts. “I want to establish a wood puppet animation base, to present animation on TV and network,” said Jiang Yutao.
Translated by Shan Xuemei
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