Acclaimed Quanzhou string puppetry to grace Chinese Culture Festival 2025 in September with ageless appeal of ancient art (with pictures)
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The Quanzhou Marionette Show Inheritance and Protection Center will go back to Hong Kong this September with its well-known program “Ancient Chinese Puppetry with Timeless Charm”including 7 traditional brief plays at the Chinese Culture Festival 2025, arranged by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). Led by Chen Yinghong, a representative inheritor of the nationwide intangible cultural heritage, experienced and emerging puppeteers will display millennia-old Minnan (southern Fujian) folk customs through splendid puppet modelling, improved string adjustment and the category’s special musical design.
Quanzhou string puppetry, traditionally called “hanging silk puppet”has a long custom that dates to the Qin and Han dynasties. It was presented to Fujian by migrants originating from the main plain in between the Jin and Tang durations. It has had a repertory of over 700 standard plays and a distinct musical category called “kuilei diao” (or puppet tune, used ancient instruments such as foot-pressed drums, bell-shaped gongs with matching efficiency strategies), consisting of more than 300 set tunes. The art kind has actually established advanced string control abilities and special puppet-head sculpting, figure modelling and production methods. Its collection keeps many Minnan folk customizeds and the dialect. It was consisted of on the very first list of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the National Level in 2006, followed by its engraving on UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2012.
“Ancient Chinese Puppetry with Timeless Charm”which won the prominent 10th Wenhua Award in 2002, has actually mesmerized audiences throughout over 80 nations and areas on 5 continents. This varied collection brings to life the abundant heritage of Quanzhou string puppetry through a choice of classic classics: “Lantern Festival Delight” recreates the lively Minnan folk custom of “Cai Jie” (street parades) throughout Quanzhou’s Lantern Festival, including vibrant folk dance aspects such as “chest slapping,” “jumping drums” and the lion dance, making it a seasonal favourite; “The Drunken Royal Concubine” ingeniously mixes Peking opera vocals with “kuilei diao”showcasing the remarkable exchange in between northern and southern theatrical arts; “Ruolan’s Journey”an excerpt from the ancient play “The Palindromic Poems on the Brocade”poignantly illustrates the tough journey of Su Ruolan throughout 1,000 miles searching for her partner.
In addition, the puppeteers breathe life and soul into the marionettes through accurate and fragile string control. In “The Little Monk’s Descent into the Mountain”the little monk puppet shows a collection of detailed stumbling gaits, clearly catching his flustered rush through wind and rain; the Zhong Kui puppet in “The Drunkenness of Zhong Kui” carries out nuanced actions such as raising a white wine pot, drinking, and even hiccupping; the “Lion Dance” combines string and palm puppetry methods to represent a caring mother-and-cub lion duo at play; the monkey puppet in “Taming the Monkey” surprises by playing a guitar, riding a bike and grooving to disco beats, showcasing Quanzhou string puppetry’s ingenious spirit while honouring custom. The program likewise includes an interactive section throughout each efficiency, using audiences an uncommon possibility to engage up close with the intangible cultural heritage artistry.
Established in 1952, the Quanzhou Marionette Show Inheritance and Protection Center is a primary guardian of Quanzhou string puppetry. The performers has actually carried out throughout various nations and areas, and has actually been included in many national-level arts occasions, consisting of China Central Television’s Spring Festival Gala. Significantly, the performers took part in the 2019 New Year Traditional Opera Gala.
“Ancient Chinese Puppetry with Timeless Charm”by the Quanzhou Marionette Show Inheritance and Protection Center will be held at 7.30 pm on September 12 and 13 (Friday and Saturday) at the Theatre of the Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre. Lyrics and discussions are with Chinese and English surtitles. Tickets priced at $280 and $320 are readily available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone reservations, please call 3166 1288. Group scheduling discount rates and plan reservation discount rates are readily available for acquiring picked CCF phase programs, the “Chinese Opera Film Shows” of the Chinese Opera Festival (COF) 2025 and the “Legacy and Vision: Conversations with Chinese Cultural Masters” lecture. For program queries and concessionary plans, please call 2268 7323 or go to www.ccf.gov.hk/en/programme/ancient-chinese-puppetry-with-timeless-charm.
The CCF, provided by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and arranged by the Chinese Culture Promotion Office under the LCSD, intends to promote Chinese culture and boost the general public’s nationwide identity and cultural self-confidence. It likewise intends to draw in first-class artists and arts groups from the Mainland and other parts of the world for exchanges in Chinese arts and culture. The CCF 2025 is held from June to September. Through various carrying out arts programs in different types and associated extension activities, consisting of picked programs of the COF, “Tan Dun WE-Festival”movie screenings, exhibits, along with neighborhood and school activities and more, the celebration supplies members of the general public and visitors with more chances to delight in distinct programs that display fine conventional Chinese culture, thus helping with patriotic education and adding to the inheritance, change and advancement of conventional Chinese culture in Hong Kong. To find out more about programs and activities of the CCF 2025, please see www.ccf.gov.hk.