Marionette Plays from Northern China
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English-language translations of traditional plays from the marionette puppet theater of Northern China.
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.
Fan Pen Li Chen is Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She is the author of Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religion, and Women Warriors and Visions for the Masses: Chinese Shadow Plays from Shaanxi and Shanxi.
Reviews
"…containing a number of beautiful and colorful photographs of puppets, the book is well written. The author makes a significant contribution to the study of traditional puppetry in China. " — Journal of Folklore Research
"…an extremely well researched, sophisticated examination of the tradition, and the only study of the Heyang puppetry in English … The book is especially valuable to the student of Chinese literature, theater studies, folklore, or popular culture. Marionette Plays from Northern China provides an excellent contribution to our understanding of an important, yet endangered cultural expression. " — CHINOPERL
"…a thoughtful investigation into the ancient but nearly extinct art of the marionette puppet theater of northern China. " — CHOICE