The East-West Center Arts Program presents

Guest Curator: Dr. Robin Ruizendaal, Lin Liu-Hsin Museum, Taipei, TaiwanInstallation: Lynne Najita & Dr. Michael SchusterArtists-in-residence: Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company

Exhibition: January 25–May 11, 2014East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, Hawai‘i

A World of Chinese PuppetsFROM THE LIN LIU-HSIN MUSEUM,TAIWAN

heroes, its villains and beauties, itsdevils and demons.

Since its first appearance over2,000 years ago, Chinese puppettheatre has developed into manygenres: rod puppets, string puppets,glove puppets, shadow puppets,water puppets and gunpowder puppets(although the latter two are no longerperformed).All these genres developedto a high level in the urban centersand countryside of China in the 11th

TAIWANESE GLOVE PUPPETS – TAIYUAN PUPPETTHEATRE COMPANY

century. The descriptions of the nightlife at the time were almost as livelyas that of anymodern daymetropolis,with puppet shows as one of themain forms of entertainment.

After 1949, puppet theatrecompanies in the People’s Republicof China became nationalized andperformances were no longer part ofthe then-banned religious celebrations.After the Open Door policy in the late1970s, puppet theatre was again

Chinese puppet performancestraditionally take place in countrysidetemple festivals. In the midst ofexploding firecrackers, burningincense, and stalls filled with wonder-ful food, the puppets of the godsappear on stage with the deafeningsound of gongs and drums. Theybless the community and exorciseevil, and follow with a puppet theatreperformance that is like a tableauvivant of Chinese culture with all its

String Puppet Theatreor Marionette TheatreIn China, the oldest forms of puppetswere used to exorcize evil and to protectpeople from death and disease.Suspended from strings, marionettesrepresenting deities were used toperform these tasks. Later, marionettetheatre developed into a more theatricalgenre with secular stories. The Chineseword for marionette, kuilei, appears insources almost 2,000 years ago. “Manin the hands of fate, like a puppet on astring” is a metaphor that often occursin literature, as in the beautiful 8thcentury poem attributed to the Chineseemperor Tan Minghuang: “An old mancarved out of wood,moved by strings /like in real life, with chicken skin and hairwhite as a crane / one moment and theplay is over, what remains is loneliness /resembling human life as in a dream.”

At present, there are still numerousstring puppet companies in China. Theperformance is often still part of religiousritual, and is included in festivities suchas celebrating birth, the building of anew house, and weddings.

Rod Puppet TheatreRod puppet theatre is mentioned in early10th century sources and has beenpopular all over China, from the far northto the south. There are many differentstyles of rod puppetry, depending on the

Shadow TheatreThe roots of this original form of artremain lost in time, but sources indicatethat shadow theatre started near thebeginning of the first millennium in bothIndia and China. From the 10th centurythere are ample historical sources onnumerous shadow theatre companies,their plays, and performers in China.

No matter where shadow theatrewas performed, its way of performancewas always the same:

a white cloth, lamp, and set ofpuppets would bring to life thehistories of kings, gods, andcommon people.The puppets used inshadow plays are made of

leather. The process of shadowpuppet making is quite oner-ous, from selecting thehides, to drawing thefigure, carving, andthen coloring it.

performed as part of religious celebra-tions across the countryside. However,the arrival of the era of mass mediaproved to be detrimental to the livepuppet theatre performances, andcompanies slowly started to disbandin the 1990s. Yet, there are still severalthousand puppet theatre companiesperforming in China and governmentsupport of this heritage is on the rise.The Chinese Shadow and PuppetTheatre Museum is planned to openin Chengdu in 2014.

In Taiwan, puppet theatre developedmore or less freely during the 20thcentury, and a distinct Taiwanesepuppet style developed, namedGolden Rays Puppet Theatre. Evenmore spectacular is the developmentof television puppet theatre. Taiwan nowhas a 24-hour puppet theatre channel,and the largest puppet film studio in theworld can be found in southern Taiwan.The government actively supportspuppet theatre companies and thereare still over 300 companies active onthe island. In a public opinion poll by theMinistry of Information in 2006, puppettheatre was selected as the mostrepresentative symbol of Taiwan.

This exhibition brings together forthe first time representative objectsfrom the different puppet theatretraditions of China and Taiwan.Focusing on the traditionalpuppet theatre, the exhibitionincludes over one hundred uniquepuppets, stages, scripts andinstruments, covering a period of over300 years.As such, this is themostcomplete exhibition of Chinesepuppet theatre everpresented in theU.S. All objectswere provided bythe Lin Liu-HsinPuppet Theatre Museumin Taipei, which currently has themost complete collection ofAsian theatre puppets in theworld. Founded by Dr. PaulLin, this private museumhouses a puppettheatre and theTaiyuan PuppetTheatre Company.

CLOWN STRING PUPPET FROM FUJIAN, LATE 1970s

19th CENTURYSHADOWPUPPETOFTHEGOD OFTHUNDER, SICHUAN PROVINCE

RODPUPPETCHARACTERFROMGUANGDONGPROVINCE,EARLY1980s

Glove Puppet TheatreGlove puppet theatre sources are scarceand it is assumed that the genre developedin the 16th century in Fujian provincein southern China.What glove puppettheatre lacks in ancient history, it makesup for in its elaborate performance styleand beautifully carved stage. Althoughthey are the smallest of the Chinesepuppets, glove puppets can makeintricate movements and performacrobatics. The puppets themselvesare little sculptures, dressed in exquisitecostumes made of silk.

Two puppeteers perform the glovepuppet theatre: onemaster and oneassistant.All the voices are performed bythemaster.The performance is accom-panied by an orchestra of fourmusicians.This style of puppet theatre became oneof themost popular forms of theatre inTaiwan after the 17th century.

GLOVE PUPPET THEATRE IN TAIWAN:Tradition and ModernityIn the late 17th century Taiwan becamepart of the Chinese empire. From thisperiod onward, glove puppet, shadowpuppet, and marionette companiesestablished themselves in Taiwan, asartists frommainland China migratedto the island. Glove puppet theatrebecame the most prevalent form, withhundreds of companies performing.

In 1895, Taiwan officially became aJapanese colony. Taiwanese puppeteers

region. In one hand, the puppeteerholds a rod connected to the puppet’shead, while the other hand holds twothinner rods that are linked to thepuppet’s arms. Like all other forms ofChinese puppet theatre, rod puppetsalso had a role in religious festivitiesby performing propitious scenes thatblessed the gods and the community.

THE MOST UNIQUE FORMOF CHINESE PUPPET THEATRE:Iron-stick puppetsIron-stick puppet theatre (tiezhi kuilei)is a style from the Guangdong and Fujianprovinces of China. Iron-stick puppettheatre companies can also be found inthe areas where practitioners migratedto: Hong Kong, Singapore and Penang.

The puppet is manipulated withone steel stick fixed to the back of thepuppet, while two smaller sticks areattached to the hands. Of the puppettheatre genres in China, these are theonly puppets with heads made of clay.These unique clay heads are quite fragile.

The traditional stage is made ofpieces of beautifully embroidered cloththat hide two or three performers.The performance is accompanied bya number of musicians and singers.The whole show is a smaller form of theChaozhou opera performed by actors.In the past, audiences would sometimesalso sit behind the stage, just to hearthe music and the singing.

could still perform freely until the endof the 1930s, when Japanese colonialgovernment policy forbade the perform-ance of Taiwanese puppet theatre. Afteroccupation ended in 1945, traditionalglove puppet performances were allowedonce again, and continue into thepresent day.

PUPPET THEATRE GOING WILD:Golden Rays Puppet TheatreThe Golden Rays glove puppet theatrewas formerly considered a vulgar formof art that did not follow tradition, whilein fact it is one of themost representativeforms of the Taiwanese performing arts.Its music, stories, stage and puppets areall original Taiwanese creations. In thelate 1940s, the Taiwanese entertainmentmarket rapidly changed with the influxof movies, cartoons, comic strips, etc.These new forms of entertainment werehappily embraced by the people, andpuppet theatre companies were quickto react with new creations. This newpuppet style soon caught on, and wasbrought to television, where it becameamazingly popular. Golden Rays puppettheatre is the ultimate post-modern formof theatre, incorporating anything thatmight possibly be entertaining to anaudience, including live explosions, lasershows, striptease, and any type of musicthat might fit themood of the play.

EARLY 20th CENTURYGLOVE PUPPET, FUJIAN PROVINCEIRON STICK PUPPET FROM CHAOZHOU, 1970s

GOLDEN RAYGLOVE PUPPET CHARACTER FROMTAIWAN, 1980s

Printed with soy based inks on recycled paper

East-West Center Gallery | Honolulu, Hawai‘iJohn A. Burns Hall, 1601 East-West Road (corner Dole St. & East-West Rd.)

Gallery hours: Weekdays: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Sundays: Noon–4:00 p.m.Closed Saturdays and holidays, including Easter (April 20)Gallery admission is free

For further information: 944.7177arts@EastWestCenter.org | http://arts.EastWestCenter.org

Free school & group tours available

Gallery visitors interested in joining the EWC Arts ‘Ohana can obtain the appropriate flyer in the gallery,by telephoning the EWC Foundation at 944.7105, or online: http://arts.EastWestCenter.org

Sunday, March 2, 2:00-3:00 p.m.Illustrated talk: “Presenting ‘Journeyto the East’: A Multi-Cultural PuppetPerformance” by Layla Schuster,education specialist and Dr. MichaelSchuster, EWC Gallery curator.

Sunday, March 16, 2:00-3:00 p.m.Illustrated talk: “The Creation of aNational Theatre Form: A Historyof Jingju” by Yining Lin, UHMTheatredoctoral student. (Jingju is popularlyknown as “Chinese Opera.”)

Sunday, April 27, 2:00-3:00 p.m.Illustrated talk: “Sticks, String andU-Tube: Contemporary Applicationsfor Multi-Cultural Puppetry atHonolulu Theatre for Youth” byHonolulu Theatre for Youth artisticdirector Eric Johnson and residentdesigner Chesley Cannon.

Sunday, May 11, 2:00-3:00 p.m.Illustrated talk: “Popular Theatre inthe Wilds of China: A CommunityOutreach Program to the Nosu Yiin Central China” by Mark Branner,Assistant Professor, UHM Dept. ofTheatre and Dance.

Saturday, January 25, 2:00-3:00 p.m.;second show 4:00-5:00 p.m.Performance: “A Sea of Puppets”traditional Taiwanese puppets andlive music at EWC Imin Center.Admission: $5-10Note: The EWC Gallery is open from12:00-4:00 p.m. this day

Sunday, January 26, 2:00-3:30 p.m.Exhibition Gala Opening includingreception and tours with visitingcurator Dr. Robin Ruizendaal from theLin Liu–Hsin Museum,Taipei, Taiwan.

Sunday, January 26, 4:00-5:00 p.m.Performance: “A Sea of Puppets”traditional Taiwanese puppets andlive music at EWC Imin Center.Admission: $5-10

Sunday, February 2, 2:00-2:45 p.m.Performance demonstration:“Introducing Jingju Music” byvisiting Chinese theatre mastersLu Genzhang, Zhang Ling, andZhang Xigui, with explanation byProf. ElizabethWichmann-Walczak,UHM Dept. of Theatre and Dance.

TheEast-West Center promotes better relationsand understanding among the people and nationsof the United States,Asia, and the Pacific throughcooperative study, research,anddialogue.Establishedby the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves asa resource for information and analysis on criticalissues of common concern, bringing people togetherto exchange views, build expertise, and developpolicy options.The Center is an independent, public,nonprofit organization with funding from theU.S. government, and additional support providedby private agencies, individuals, foundations,corporations, and governments in the region.

The East-West Center Arts Programhas for 35 years enriched the community throughconcerts, lectures, symposia, and exhibitionsfocusing on traditional arts of the region, andthrough cultural and educational tours by artistswho are skilled in bridging cultures.

EWC Arts Team: Karen Knudsen, director,External Affairs; William Feltz, arts programmanager; Michael Schuster, Ph.D., curator;Eric Chang, arts program coordinator; JosephCassidy, arts student assistant.

Mahalo: Kim Siebert, Shih-An Lai, Shih-NengChang,Yen-Chih Lin, Shan-ShanWu, Ching-WeiHuang, Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum,Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company, Bruce J.D.Linghu, Benjamin Chi, V.C. Chu, John Lee, JessicaLee, Taipei Economic & Cultural Office—Honolulu &Los Angeles, Fred Lau, UHM Center for ChineseStudies, ElizabethWichmann-Walczak, UHM Dept.of Theatre & Dance, Kennedy & Preiss GraphicDesign, Leilani Ng, Colorprints Inc, Lynne Najita,Derek Ferrar, Shayne Hasegawa, Phyllis Tabusa,Lucy Kamealoha, Deanna O’Brien, Michelle Ngo,Noreen Tanouye, Timothy Neely, Yining Lin, JasonLi, Tina Tom, Roxanne Tunoa,Marie Ebesu, Ella Lum,Linda Kawasaki, Jo-Ann Kok, Reynold Balintec, EWCFacilities Management, Marshal Kingsbury, CathyHirano, Kathleen Clarke, EWC Imin Center.

This project is generously sponsored bythe Taiwan Ministry of Culture, TaiwanAcademy—Los Angeles, Taipei Economic& Cultural Office—Honolulu & Los Angeles,and Aston Hotels and Resorts.

All photos courtesy of Lin Liu-Hsin Museum.

EWC Arts Programs are supported by the Hawai‘i PacificRim Society, Jhamandas Watumull Fund, Sidney SternMemorial Trust, Friends of Hawai‘i Charities, JackieChan Foundation USA, Sumi Makey, Richard H. Cox,EWC Arts ‘Ohana members, and other generous donors.

http://arts.EastWestCenter.org

TAIWANESE GLOVE PUPPETS – TAIYUAN PUPPETTHEATRE COMPANY

Special EventsIn the EWCGallery with free admission, unless otherwise noted.