Chinese puppet theater
The Chinese puppet theater (傀儡 戲 kuǐlěixì; also 木偶 戲 mù'ǒuxì) is an important part of Chinese folk art and at the same time a national expression of the art form of puppet theater .
To the subject
The Chinese term for doll kuǐlěi could be reliably proven for the first time for the Tang period . It is made up of kuǐ (傀; "huge, monstrous") and lěi (儡; "spoil, destroy"). The etymological derivation is unclear, according to one opinion it goes back to the fact that the first dolls in the Xia dynasty were used as devil exorcists (fangxiang), especially in funeral procession. Since the end of the Han dynasty , they have also been used on festive occasions.
history
The origin of the Chinese puppet theater cannot be reliably dated. One reason for this is the lack of literary sources, which is related to the traditional disdain for this rather popular art form by the scholar class.
It is not even clear whether it is an autochthonous or an imported art form. Numerous legends and anecdotes are often used as evidence of the Chinese origins of puppet theater. A certain Chen Ping , advisor to the Han emperor Gaozu , is said to have managed the withdrawal of the Huns besieging a city by using a life-size female doll: It was designed so beautifully and lifelike that the wife of the Hun chief Mao Dun for the loyalty of hers Man was afraid he should take the fortress. The historian Sima Qian also locates the emergence of the shadow theater at this time, with the help of which the magician Shaoweng is said to have brought the deceased wife of the Han emperor Wudi to life. Finally, Liezi tells of a skilled carpenter by the name of Yen Shih , who was able to create dolls so lifelike that when they toying with the watching empress at a performance they aroused her husband's jealousy.
The oldest forms of Chinese puppet theater are playing with marionettes (xuánsī; 悬 丝) and stick puppets (zhàngtóu; 杖头), both of which can be traced back to the Tang dynasty . The art form reached a high point in the Song era , when puppet shows were performed not only in palaces and households of wealthy citizens, but also in markets and even in brothels. During this period, other forms developed, namely the so-called powder puppets (yàofā; 药 发), the water puppets (shuǐ; 水), the living puppets (ròu; 肉) and finally the Chinese shadow theater (píyǐngxì; 皮影戲). While the first three soon disappeared due to a lack of practicality, shadow theater is still very popular today. During the Ming dynasty , the hand puppet theater (zhǐtóu; 指头) and the iron wire puppet theater (tiěxiàn; 铁线), both of which have survived to this day.
species
Puppets
Playing with marionettes is the oldest form of Chinese puppet theater. Tang Emperor Tang Xuanzong dedicated a poem to him as early as 760 :
- "Carved wood, drawn threads,
- This is how an old man is born
- Chicken skin and crane hair,
- both look real.
- In no time the game is over
- over like a dreamed life. "
The structure of the 45 to 75 cm tall figures is similar to the stick puppets described below. However, they are not moved from below using bars, but from above using threads or wires - which is why the marionettes also have feet. The number of threads is usually 16 to 24, sometimes up to fifty. This is a multiple of the value customary in the West and naturally allows a considerably richer variety and naturalness of movements. The control part, however, does not have the usual cross shape in the west, but is simply rectangular.
Stick puppets
The stick dolls can also be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. The figures are usually around 50–70 cm tall. The 10–13 cm long head, neck and shoulder girdle are carved from a single piece of wood, with great emphasis on details such as eye sockets, eyelids, wrinkles and dimples. The head is then primed, carefully painted and varnished in several layers. Particular attention is paid to the even distribution of paint and varnish, as irregularities can significantly disturb the overall impression. The painting is mostly based on the iconography of the Peking Opera . Overall, the production of a single head takes 2-3 months.
The figure's hands are made in a similar manner. The rest of the doll, however, consists of a long, mostly artfully crafted textile garment. The figure is guided from below over three approx. 30 cm long wooden or bamboo sticks. The puppeteer holds the main stick stuck in the head in his left hand while he moves the secondary sticks in the puppet's hands with his right. Stick dolls are considered to be relatively difficult to handle; the apprenticeship period for the players is therefore usually 3–4 years.
Shadow theater
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Main article: Chinese shadow theater
The Chinese shadow theater can be documented for the first time in the Song period , where it is mentioned by Wang Zimu and Gao Cheng . In contrast to other forms of puppet theater, the figures here are not three, but two-dimensional. While their contours are made of opaque material such as wood, metal, cardboard or leather, the surfaces are made of transparent materials. The dolls consist of several freely movable limbs connected to each other with thread joints, whereby the heads can usually be exchanged.
Using bamboo sticks, the figures are moved in front of a light source - originally candles, oil or kerosene lamps, today mostly electrically - and thus projected onto a semitransparent paper, parchment, fabric or glass screen.
In the course of time, numerous regional styles have emerged, which differ among other things in the size of the figures, the animal skin used, the cutting tools (knives or punches) as well as the instrumentation of the accompanying music. A rough distinction is to be made between the western and eastern groups, the latter in turn falling into the Beijing western city style (xīchéngpài; 西城 派) and the Beijing eastern city style (dōngchéngpài; 东城 派).
Hand puppets
Hand puppet theater is said to have been invented during the Ming Dynasty in Fuzhou Province by the unsuccessful student Liang. Since the marionettes and stick puppets that had been used up until then were too stiff and difficult to maneuver for him, he simply pulled the sticks out of the stick puppets, enlarged the holes and inserted his fingers.
Traditionally, Chinese hand puppets are usually around 25 cm long, the head measures around 10 cm. Otherwise they are similar in structure to the stick dolls, but have different feet. The puppeteer's index finger is in the head, his thumb is in his left hand, and his middle finger is in the puppet's right hand.
Iron wire dolls
Playing with iron wire dolls developed from shadow theater in the Ming period .
Fabrics
Thematically, the puppet theater picks up on folk material from the Chinese tradition, which, however, are mostly reproduced here very freely and improvising. Historical novels such as The Story of the Three Kingdoms , The Robbers of Liang Schan Moor , the Jin Ping Mei or The Journey to the West are popular . There are also legends, myths, love and ghost stories and magic dramas, often with Buddhist or Daoist references, such as “The white snake” (白蛇传; bái shézhuàn), “The Lantern Festival” (逛 灯; guàngdēng), “Hu Di reviles the Hell King ”(胡 迪 谤 阎; Húdí bàngyán) and many others.
music
Traditionally, the action of the Chinese puppet theater is accompanied by music. Rhythmic functions are for example the clatter of wood (板; bǎn), drums (鼓; gǔ), the gong (锣; luó) and the cymbal (钹; bó), while the oboe (唢呐; suǒnà), bamboo flute (笛子; dízi) and zither (胡琴; húqín) are responsible for leading the melody.
For a long time shadow theater was subject to special instrumentation: while at the very beginning the wooden fish , which belonged more to the area of sacred music, dominated, flutes and violins replaced it during the Qing dynasty . Today, however, the instruments known from other forms of puppet theater have largely established themselves here as well.
Museums
Chinese dolls are u. a. can be seen in the following museums:
- Museum of Asian Art , Berlin
- German Leather Museum , Offenbach am Main
- Puppet Theater Museum in the Münchner Stadtmuseum , Munich
- Theater Figure Museum Lübeck
literature
- Shun-chi Wu, information sheets of the Museum for East Asian Art, Berlin-Dahlem, No. 417a-b, 422a-c
- Michael Gissenwehrer, Gerd Kaminski (ed.): "In the hands of the prince of hell we are all puppets. Limits and possibilities of contemporary Chinese puppet theater", 2008, ISBN 3-8316-0773-7
- Simon, Rainald: The white and the black dragon. Three Chinese Shadow Play, 1989, ISBN 978-3-922220-72-5
- TheaterFigurenMuseum Lübeck / UNIMA Germany (ed.): In the realm of shadows - Chinese shadow theater meets Peking opera, puppets & masks, 2012, ISBN 978-3-935011-86-0