Marionette Plays from Northern China

Fan Pen Li Chen

Description

Marionette puppet theater has a rich and ancient history in China, extending back to the Han dynasty and reaching its heyday in the Qing dynasty. While this art form is nearly extinct in northern China today, a handful of troupes in Heyang County in Shaanxi Province, which claims to be the birthplace of marionette theater, continue to perform skits and scenes from Heyang's earlier, broader marionette theater repertoire. In this book, Fan Pen Li Chen has collected and translated rare transcriptions of some of the most popular of these plays. Her insightful translations include a rich variety of genres and highlight memorable characters that range from manipulative aristocrats, poor Confucian scholars, and a woman warrior to Baldy Guo, the iconic clown of puppet theater. As the only work in English about the puppet theater of northern China, these translations provide valuable information about the history, religion, social roles, and popular culture of that region. Detailed introductions and annotations for each play, as well as an extensive bibliography, are also included.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction

Part I. Post-Midnight Skits

Lai Baozi 赖包子

Baldy’s Wedding Night 禿子鬧房

Peddling Notions 卖杂货

Part II. Historical Fiction

Empress Lü Usurps the Throne 吕后篡位

Yang Wenguang 杨文广

Short Version of River Yang 小阳河

Part III. Romance

The White Undershirt 白汗衫

Pavilion of the Immortals in Exile 谪仙楼

Works Cited and Bibliography of Chinese Puppet Theatre

Sujets

• Puppetry

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 07 avril 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438464855
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 15 Mo

Extrait

MARIONETTE PLAYS
FROM NORTHERN CHINA
MARIONETTE PLAYS
FROM NORTHERN CHINA
TRANSLATED, EDITED, AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
FAN PEN LI CHEN
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
On the cover: A young male (Wei Tiancai’s 魏天才 puppet).
Photo by Fan Pen Li Chen.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2017 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Dana Foote
Marketing, Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Chen, Fan-Pen Li, 1953– author.
Title: Marionette plays from northern China / translated, edited, and with an introduction by Fan Pen Li Chen.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016031493 (print) | LCCN 2016048536 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438464831 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438464855 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Puppet plays, Chinese—China—Shaanxi Sheng—Translations into English.
Classification: LCC PN1978.C5 C43 2017 (print) | LCC PN1978.C5 (ebook) | DDC 895.12/008—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016031493
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Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
P ART I. P OST -M IDNIGHT S KITS
Lai Baozi 赖包子
“Baldy’s Wedding Night” 禿子鬧房
“Peddling Notions” 卖杂货
P ART II. H ISTORICAL F ICTION
Empress Lü Usurps the Throne 吕后篡位
Yang Wenguang 杨文广
Short Version of River Yang 小阳河
P ART III. R OMANCE
The White Undershirt 白汗衫
Pavilion of the Immortals in Exile 谪仙楼
Works Cited and Bibliography of Chinese Puppet Theater
Illustrations
1 Dang Fengju 党凤菊 (Heyang Xinyi Oujutuan 合阳新艺偶剧团 ) performing at Gaojiayuan 高家院 in Xi’an, Shaanxi, with a young female 小旦 puppet.
2 A young male 小生 puppet performing at Gaojiayuan 高家院 in Xi’an, Shaanxi.
3 Orchestra directed by Wei Tiancai 魏天才 (1914–?) at a village in Heyang.
4 Old woman role 老旦 of Heyang Xinyi Oujutuan.
5 Performance by Wei Tiancai.
6 Wei Tiancai’s trunk of headdresses.
7 Beards for Wei Tiancai’s puppets.
8 Flat headdresses for Wei Tiancai’s puppets.
9 Wei Tiancai’s trunk with heads.
10 Wei Tiancai’s son-in-law with some fully dressed puppets.
11 Monkey King (Sun Wukong 孙悟空 ) from the Heyang County Marionette Troupe.
12 Emperor without headgear. Heyang County Marionette Troupe.
13 Members of the Heyang County Marionette Troupe performing at the Maiden Spring theme park using long strings.
14 Photo by Mingsheng Ye 叶明生 during 2009 at Nanshun Village 南顺村 of Xinchi Town 新池镇 .
15 A female role puppet from the Guojia Troupe 郭家班 at the Fuke 福客 Restaurant on the North Plaza of the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an.
16 Clown role with movable mouth and eyes (Wei Tiancai’s puppet). This puppet can be used for all the male protagonists in this section.
17 Village girl (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
18 Heyang County Marionette Troupe performing “Peddler” using short strings.
19 Empress Lü and two princes (Wei Tiancai’s puppets).
20 Middle-aged man of integrity (Wei Tiancai’s puppet). This puppet can be used for Minister Wang Ling.
21 Photo by Mingsheng Ye 叶明生 during 2009 at Nanshun Village 南顺村 of Xinchi Town 新池镇 . Liu Ying and Consort Yan in Empress Lü Usurps the Throne .
22 Warrior without headgear (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
23 Weapons (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
24 Emperor without headdress with an evil minister (Wei Tiancai’s puppets). This puppet can be used for the emperor and Xu Long.
25 Guan Gong (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
26 A maid (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
27 An old female (Wei Tiancai’s puppet). This puppet can be used for Huangfu’s mother.
28 Matchmaker (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
29 An evil scholar ( jing 浄 role; Wei Tiancai’s puppet). This puppet can be used for Han Shizhong.
30 Official presiding over a court (Wei Tiancai’s puppet). This puppet can be used for Li Ruoshui.
31 A young male. Fully dressed with the headgear of a prize candidate (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
32 A young mistress (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
33 A young man (Wei Tiancai’s puppet).
Acknowledgments
I could never have considered undertaking research about the marionette theater genre in the remote reaches of northeastern Shaanxi if it were not for Yang Fei 杨飞 and his wife, Li Shuwen 李淑文 . A famous collector of shadow puppet figures, Yang Fei accompanied me to many otherwise inaccessible villages in Shaanxi when I conducted fieldwork on Chinese shadow theater from 1997 to 1999. Li Shuwen’s natal home was in Heyang 合阳 , the only location where marionette theater has survived in northern China. Conveniently, Li Shuwen’s brother was the deputy county mayor of Heyang during a time when it would not have been easy, or even possible, for foreigners to visit remote regions of China. Yang and Li accompanied me to Heyang, and arranged for me to stay at the home of Li’s brother, watch a performance by the official Heyang Marionette Art Troupe 合阳提线木偶艺术团 at a private funeral, and meet with performers such as Dang Wenhui 党文辉 and Wang Hongmin 王红民 , and the local researcher Shi Yaozeng 史耀增 . Dang Wenhui and Shi Yaozeng were particularly knowledgeable and helpful. Dang provided me with copies of the plays translated in this book, and Shi’s articles have been copiously referenced in the introduction.
Thanks to a Faculty Research Assistance Program B grant from SUNY Albany, I was able to return to Heyang to conduct further research in 2004. Aside from Yang Fei and Li Shuwen, I was accompanied by Dang Fengju 党凤菊 , a performer hired by a tourist agency in Xi’an, and Ingrid Chen, my younger daughter, who helped with taking photos while I videotaped performances. Dang Fengju took us to Xizhonglei Village 西中雷村 to visit her teacher, Wei Tiancai 魏天才 (1913–?). Convinced that marionette theater originated at their very village, the villagers most graciously put on a show for us after their day of farm work. We also saw members of the former official marionette troupe perform at Maiden Spring 处女泉 , a local theme park. I am very grateful for the warmth and generosity shown to me in Heyang.
Translation of most of the plays in this book was accomplished over an extended period of time. I am truly grateful for the generous residence and grant provided by the Institut International de la Marionnette at Charlesville-Mezieres, France, which enabled me to finally complete this manuscript during my fall 2014 sabbatical semester.
I was deeply saddened by the news of Yang Fei’s sudden death almost four years ago. He was the only person who thought nothing of accompanying me to remote villages on local buses in the 1990s, and having us stay at the homes of performers and carvers of shadow figures. I also thank him for introducing me to the genre of “post-midnight skits” and the marionette theater of Heyang.
Kimberley Chen and Ingrid Chen have been the most wonderful daughters anyone might want to have. My siblings Sen Pen Pu, Kao Li and Shipen Li have also been very encouraging about my work. I would also like to thank my many friends and colleagues who have been supportive—you know who you are. Donna Albright, my college roommate and lifelong friend, deserves special thanks for editing this manuscript tirelessly and expertly. My gratitude to both her and her husband, Steven Strauss.

1. Dang Fengju 党凤菊 (Heyang Xinyi Oujutuan 合阳新艺偶剧团 ) performing at Gaojiayuan 高家院 in Xi’an, Shaanxi, with a young female 小旦 puppet. Photo by Fan Pen Li Chen.

2. A young male 小生 puppet performing at Gaojiayuan 高家院 in Xi’an, Shaanxi. Photo by Fan Pen Li Chen.

3. Orchestra directed by Wei Tiancai 魏天才 (1914–?) at a village in Heyang. Photo by Ingrid Chen.