Rod Puppet Item Number: 3347/2 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
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.
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.
Puppet represents a young student.