The Quanzhou Marionette Troupe has thrilled audiences in over 30 countries and regions, including performances in London’s Royal Festival Hall. Over 30 puppeteers manipulate the puppets while singing to the background of a full Chinese orchestra.
Chinese puppetry dates back at least 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), though legend has it the art began 3,000 years ago with Emperor Wuwang of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC).
The art has changed a lot over the past two to three thousand years, and reached its epitome in Quanzhou. In this coastal city, the puppets boast their own musical repertoire performed on unique musical instruments - with over 300 songs and tunes written for the 700 plus traditional shows.
These miraculous marionettes have a lot of strings attached. When deftly wielded by a master puppeteer, 14 to 36 strings bring the wooden folk to life as they strut and fret with abandon across intricate Chinese stages.
Unlike Western puppeteers, who work mainly with the control, Chinese puppeteers also manipulate groups of strings with their fingers. The longer the strings (up to 2 metres), the more difficult to operate, but the more expressive the puppets can become as they portray men and women of all ages and professions - or even spirits or wild animals.
Puppets make love and war, bicker and barter, dance, jog and somersault. Their deft hands even retrieve objects from the stage floor.
Puppeteers, who often begin training as children, may take five years to learn the basics, and over 20 years to completely master the 30 strings.
The sheer complexity of marionettes is amazing. They have a torso, limbs, strings and a hollow wooden head (usually made from camphor or willow) with internal mechanisms to move the lips and eyes. They have civilian hands to hold pens and cups or swing fans, and military hands to brandish swords, spears, and other weapons. There are even three types of feet: bare, booted, and womanly.
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