The Origin of China Puppet Show

Qin Xueren

China Puppet Show (called as Puppetry Show) of long history, diversified varieties, elaborate manufacturing and wonderful acting skills, is not only a wonderful flower loved by countless folks in China, especially children, but also is loved by the world. Since the foundation of new China, puppet show once has been presented all over the world. However, researches on the development history of puppet shadow, in comparison with its performing activities, are rather inferior.

To uphold the national culture, deepen research on the history of China puppet show, the article is an expression of the writer’s humble opinions on the formation era of China puppet show for the purpose of arousing contending to accelerate the earlier birth of the History of China Puppet Show.

Since it is difficult to find some articles and ancient books with exact records on the formation era of China puppet show for reference, and there are kinds of records from which we can find some traces, scholars’ opinions on this question are different.

Someone holds the idea that: “the puppet show was born over 800 B.C. in China as the stage arts”.^① This opinion is based on the records in Tangwen of Liezi：

King Mu of Zhou went hunting westward and climbed over the Mt. kunlun, but returned before he reached China crossing Mt. Nanshan. On the way, someone recommended him a famous worker named as Yanshi. Thus, King Mu of Zhou granted him with an interview and asked him: “What can you do?” Yan Shi answered: “I can try my best as long as Your Majesty gives the order. But I have created one and hope to present in front of Your Majesty.” “Ok, bring it to me tomorrow and I will see it with you.” On the next day, Yan Shi paid a visit to the King again and the King asked him: “What you have brought for me?” “What I have created could sing and dance.” King Mu was shocked and went forward to have a close look of it. It was a man. So long as the skilled man guided its neck, the man sang; moved its hands, the man danced to the music. Gestures kept on changing according to the skilled man’s mind. Considering it as a true person, the King looked it with his beloved imperial concubines and guards. At the end of the show, the man moved its eyes to tease the concubines around him. The King was very angry and ordered to kill Yan Shi immediately. Frightened greatly, Yan Shi immediately disassembled the man and showed the King that the man was made of grass, wood, glue, paint, white, black, red and green colors. The King observed it in great details and found that the man’s liver, gallbladder, heart, lung, spleen, kidney, intestine, stomach, bones and muscles, limbs, skin, teeth were all false and once assembled, it looked as it was. The King tried to remove its heart, then it couldn’t talk; remove its liver, then its eyes couldn’t see; remove its kidney, then it couldn’t walk. Finally, the King was delighted and sighed: “Your skills beat the nature!” and then called 2 carnages to take all back^②.

The “machine-operated wood man” created by Yan Shi could sing to rhythm and dance to song, change freely as you want and tease “the concubines of the King”. The King of Mu tried to remove its heart, then it couldn’t talk; remove its liver, then its eyes couldn’t see; remove its kidney, then it couldn’t walk. All conducts of the puppet are controlled by “nerves”, quite unbelievable. According to investigation, Mr. Chen Zhutong pointed out that what was recorded in Tangwen of Liezi went similar with Chapter 24 in Jataka, a classical in Sanskrit prepared by Buddhist monks to propaganda that life is but a dream. Liezi was noted by Zhang Kan after the translation of Jataka. Liezi Tangwen was just a “product” of various new foreign legends reedited or mixed into books of China. ^③Mr. Ji Xianlin confirmed through investigation that: “India was the birthplace of the story, so undoubtedly, Liezi plagiarized some Buddhist sutra and books”.^④

Scholars have reached an agreement that Liezi is a pseudograph, thus what is recorded in Tangwen of Leizi is not qualified to prove the formation of China puppet show.

Someone believes that puppet show was born in Han Dynasty, which is supported by many scholars with basis as follows:

As recorded in Volume 4, Jia Yi’s New Book:

Beating the drum and dancing his puppet.

The following sentence in Record of Five Business of History of the Later Han Dynasty is a quotation from Customs by Ying Shao:

On the wedding ceremony in the capital, we appreciated a puppet show.

So far, in articles from Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), there are records about the performance nature of puppetry, but only showed in above-mentioned Jia Yi’s New Book and Record of Five Business of History of the Later Han Dynasty. Does “dancing the puppet” and “puppet show” in Han Dynasty refer to puppet singing and dancing or playing certain roles to tell us stories? The answer is uncertain. So it is to be discussed that whether we should confirm that puppet show occurred in Han Dynasty in a “formal way” just based on the 2 pieces of evidences.

It is indicated under the item of “puppetry” in Miscellaneous Notes on Songs from the Music Bureau:

There is a saying like that: “the story started with Emperor Gaozu of Han who was encircled by Mao Dun in Pingcheng. One side was invaded by the wife of Mao Dun, Mrs. Que who was much more powerful than the other three sides. Soon, all grains in the city were eaten up. Through chatting with others, Chen Ping got to know that Mrs. Que was born with jealousy, thus he ordered some soldiers to make some puppets dancing on the streets under the control of mechanism. On seeing that, Mrs. Que believed them as real persons and thought that once the city was conquered, surely Mao Dun got some concubines. Thus, she gave the order of withdrawal.

The saying of Chen Ping “making puppets” recorded in Miscellaneous Notes on Songs from the Music Bureau by the people from Tang Dynasty (618-907), Duan Anjie was quite popular. In the traditional marionette play of Da Chu Su in Quanzhou, Fujian, there was a piece of dialogue: “Who is the creator of puppetry?” “Mr. Chen Ping.”

The year that Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty was encircled in Pingcheng (northeast of Datong, Shanxi) was A. D. 200. However, Shi Ji, bom about 80 years after the Encirclement of Pingcheng, never mentioned that Chen Ping “created puppets” when recording the event.

   And in the Book of Former Han compiled 280 years after the Encirclement of Pingcheng only mentioned that Chen Ping had used some “secret stratagem”. Records about Emperor Gaodi of Book of Former Han recorded as follows: Thus he went to Pingcheng, but was encircled by Xiongnu for 7 days and finally was saved by Chen Ping by secret stratagem.

It is recorded in Biography of Chen Ping of Book of Former Han:

His stratagem is so secret that no one knows.

Later generations guess that Chen Ping offered some beauties or “Chen Ping ordered some painters to draw some beauties” to present in front of Mrs. Que.

Except for the Miscellaneous Notes on Songs from the Music Bureau compiled more than 1,000 years later, in which there is some clear information related with Chen Ping’s “secret stratagem” of “creating puppets”, up to now, no evidence is found in ancient books before Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD). The reliability of the “saying” in Miscellaneous Notes on Songs from the Music Bureau requires further investigation.

Since it is a tough job to find some accurate materials, someone inferred that the formal birth of China puppetry was about from Han Dynasty to Sui Dynasty^⑥, a period of over 800years, during which puppetry arts went through many different performance stages, including “funeral music”, “dancing the puppet” and “puppetry”. Though it was not wrong to limit the “historical stage” of the “formal birth” of puppet play from Han Dynasty “(206BC-220AD) to Sui Dynasty(581 AD-618AD)”, it was too sweeping.

Before the discussion of the formation era of China puppet show, we shall firstly confirm the puppet show and “machine-operated wood man”, different natures of preliminary puppet dancing as well as the relationship between puppet show and plays presented by people.

Though there are some similarities and mutual influence existing between puppet shows presented by puppets controlled by human beings directly, in which the puppet plays a role as a man to present stories for us and “machine-operated wood man” controlled turning to force from flow water or mechanical force to hold cup in hand, make up and sing & dance as well as some programs such as singing and dancing, acrobatics presented by puppets under the control of human beings at the beginning, the natures of their actions are different. Puppet show is classified as drama; “machine-operated wood man”, from a broad sense, is related with science and technology, preliminary singing and dancing as well as acrobatics presented by puppets are called “acrobatics” together. We should never treat the actions of “machine-operated wood man” and “acrobatics” presented by puppets at the beginning as puppet show.

For the relationship between puppet show and plays presented by people, foreign scholars believe that puppet show in India came before shows presented by human beings^⑦. Mr. Sun Kaidi, a scholar in China, also believes that puppet shows (including shadow play) were born before shows presented by human beings. “Dramas in Song Dynasty (960-1279) and Zaju in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) were the products of transformation of puppetry show and shadow play”.^⑧

India is one of the earliest cradles of puppet show, but the relationship between shadow play and shows presented by human beings is still unknown to the writer. In China, as recorded in DuKui Biography of Weizhi, in the Period of the Three Kingdoms (220-265A.D.), puppets could beat a drum, paly a flute...throw balls and swords, stand upside down, which is just a simulation of “acrobatics” presented by human beings in Western Han Dynasty (206B.C.-8A.D.). From this we can see that shadow plays, at the very beginning, simulate actions of human beings. Though a large amount of traces of shadow play have been well preserved, from the history of the development of shadow play in  China, one thing is confirmed that puppet show (including shadow play) occurs after shows presented by human beings and is perfected day by day along with the maturity of the later one. This opinion is not only proved by experts Mr. Zhou Yibai and Mr. Ren Zhongmin in articles in great details^⑨, but also the expert in puppetry arts in the Soviet Union, Obraztsov in a humorous way.

Though it is quite pleasant for me as a worker in puppet play theater to say that the founder of drama is puppet show, I still suspect the reliability of such a saying. Could we only believe that puppets derive from human beings since they are created by human beings rather than on the contrary, cram an egg into a little chicken^⑩.

For preliminary plays presented by human beings at the very beginning,, most scholars they were offspring of “acrobatics” in Han Dynasty which, thus，became an important stage for the production of drama arts in China. What deserves our attention is Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), though being quite short after Han Dynasty, was still an important stage for the further development of drama arts in China. According to the Collection of Excellent Words by Mr. Ren Zhongmin, we learned that the Government’s Expropriation on Folks by the man from Northern Qi Dynasty, Shi Dongtong (石懂桶)(or Shi Dongtong: 石动筒) was the harbinger of army drama in Tang Dynasty. Those singing & dancing dramas, including Da Mian, Ta Yao Niang, which were popular in Tang Dynasty and recorded in Tong Dian, were born in Northern Qi Dynasty.

According to records in Volume 225, Extensive Records of Taiping Era:

The Buddhist monk from Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), Ling Zhao was quite ingenious, thus the Emperor of Wucheng ordered him to create a “cup-shaped flowing pool” amongst rockworks and pavilions. Whenever the ship stopped in front of the emperor, the emperor could just stretch out his hands to take a cup and then the ship floated away. There were several woodmen navigating the boat. Thus, as long as the cup was empty, the wood men took it back. The boat would never leave until the emperor had enough.

In Records of Visiting the Historical Sites of Heshuo, it is recorded that in the era of Emperor Wucheng in Northern Song Dynasty. “Hualin Garden” was once expanded to “Xiandu Garden”, in which there were 4 seas. The contents are as follows:

The Hall of Mizuo in Beihai is established on 24 boats with water as the power and consists of 3 floors. The bottom floor is engraved with 7 wood men who are playing guzheng, pipa, kongbou, Hu’s drum, copper flapper, clappers, dishes, dressing in silks and brocades and could move forward and backward, upward and downward with assistance from joints. In the middle floor are 7 wood monks: one monk standing at the southeast corner with a container for incense; one standing at the northeast corner with a incensory and the other five could turn left move forward to get some joss sticks in the incensory. Whenever they reach the container for incense, the monk will give them some joss sticks, then they will go to the incensory and place their joss sticks into it so as to show their respects to the Buddha. After that, they would tidy their dresses and do it again. Everyday they roll on in cycles as if they were human beings. The upper floor is a Buddhist prayer room with Buddhas, servants and guards. There are fairies flying rightward, auspicious clouding moving leftward, interlacing and intercrossing with each other all the day long ceaselessly^⑪.

It was indeed rare for making masters of “machine operated wood man” in Northern Qi Dynasty to make use of the flowing water and making skills of wood man.

In Northern Qi Dynasty, drama arts achieved significant development while the making level of “machine-operated wood man” reached a relatively higher level and meanwhile, puppet shows with “puppetry” to express the   story of “Guo Tu” took place as well.

It was recorded in Documentary Evidence of Admonitions for the Yan Clan:

Someone once asked: “Is there any evidence to tell me why puppetry is called as Guo Tu in the folk? Someone answered: as said in Comprehensive Meaning of Customs: “Calvities is a taboo of all families with surname as Guo”. It was said that in ancient times，there was a Mr. Guo who was bald due to disease, looking funning and interesting, thus the later generations called him Guo Tu in accordance with his appearance just like Yu Liang in Wenkang Dance.

Despite of its fewer contents, we have found important traces to explore the formation era of China puppetry. Someone cited the record, but made false use of punctuation，resulting to misunderstanding on its meaning.

From the tone and literary content of the cited record, to expound the origin of “Guo Tu”, the writer only cited that “Calvities is a taboo of all families with surname as Guo” from Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and then inferred that in ancient times, there must be a Mr. Guo who was bald due to disease and good at telling jokes and making funny of people, later all puppets simulating the bald-headed Mr. Guo as “Guo Tu”. To prove the relationship between “puppetry”, in Northern Qi Dynasty and “Guo Tu”, the writer cited another instance of “Yu Liang in Wenkang Dance”.

“Wenkang” refers to “Wenkangle”; “Yu Liang” represents a supreme government official in charge of military affairs in East Jin Dynasty (317-420) (a biography about him is available in JinShu) with posthumous title of Wenkang. As recorded in Records of Music of Book of Sui Dynasty:

After the death of Yu Liang, to memorize him, his dancers masked and danced. Since it looked much more like him, the dancer was named as Wenkangle according to his posthumous title.

From this we got to know that “Yu Liang in Wenkang Dance” was exactly the “Wenkangle” in which “dancers were disguised into Yu Liang” to tell stories about him. The relationship between “puppetry” in Northern Qi Dynasty and “Guo Tu” was just like “Yu Liang in Wenkang Dance”. It means that in Northern Qi Dynasty, “puppetries” made according to “Guo Tu” told many stories of “Guo Tu” thus, people from Northern Qi Dynasty called puppetry as Guo Tu.

The writer of Admonitions for the Yan Clan is Yan Zhitui from Northern Qi Dynasty (biographies about him are available in Historical Records of Northern Qi Dynasty and Historical Records of Northern Qi Dynasty. Records about Northern Qi Dynasty done by people in that period were much more convincible than what have made by later generations.

It is hard to find any historical records to prove whether “puppetry” in which “puppets” were used to tell the stories of “Guo Tu” before Northern Qi Dynasty. After Northern Qi Dynasty, records like that are available.

It was recorded in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang written by Duan Chengshi;

Just the same as Mr.Guo in puppetry.

It was indicated under the item of “puppetry” in Miscellaneous Notes on Songs from the Music Bureau:

Once there was a bald-headed Mr. Guo loving to dance to music and making funny, thus all neighbors called him “Guo Lang”. On every show he would make fun of his bald head.

Both “Mr. Guo” and “Guo Lang” refer to “Guo Tu”. From this it was knowable that in Song Dynasty, stories of “Guo Tu” were still performed in puppet shows. According to investigation done by Mr. Ren Zhongmin, it was proved that “Guo Lang in puppet show in Tang Dynasty originated from Guo Tu in Northern Qi Dynasty”^⑫.

Song Dynasty (960-1279) was a record-breaking prosperous period of puppet show m China and the vivid puppet shows inspired many scholars in that period, who created many poems about puppet shows.

Puppetry Poem of Yang Danian goes like that: Pao Lao laughed at Guo Lang on the stage for his oversized dress which made him stupid; if Pao Lao danced on the stage, his sleeves would be turned to be much longer than Guo Lang’s.^⑬ Rain in Autumn Night · A Song to Puppetry according to Drama goes like that: Suddenly Pao Lao laughed on the side, looking much more silly and stupider than Guo Lang^⑭. Two Poems without Title of Deng Kezhuang: Guo Lang without wires could do nothing but takes off its clothes and shows its ostentation^⑮. Though most of poems about puppet shows are made to express emotion in Song Dynasty, from such poems we can still figure out that “Guo Tu” was still an important role in puppet show in Song Dynasty.

There was a special role remained in marionette play (marionette) from Heyang, Shaanxi at the substitution of Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) Dynasties, which was called as “Laibaozi (来报子)(or Laibaozi: 癞包子). As the writer, I once went to Heyang County in August 1989 for an investigation on marionette play and found a image of “Laibaozi” which was used for several generations in a seclude village. Exactly, its hair lost and face was close to clown in drama. As introduced by the aged artist: “Laobaizi” could play many roles and was good at funning plays with many laughingstocks. Local masses knew it greatly and whether what role it played, once it came on the stage, they knew it. According to an introduction from an aged artist with surname of Wang from Dali County, we learned that “Laobaozi” was surnamed as Guo in the past. Though we can’t make sure that “Laibaozi” is “Guo Tu” according lo the memory of the aged artist, from its postures and performance features, we can see that the unique role from Heyang marionette play has remained some traces of “Guo Tu” from Northern Qi Dynasty

Due to limited articles and documents, we can’t figure out whether puppet show was born before Northern Qi Dynasty. According to the comparatively convincible records in Additions for the Yan Clan Documentary Evidence and the relationship between “Mr. Guo”, “Guo Lang”, “Laibaozi” and “Puppetry” from Northern Qi Dynasty - “Guo Tu”, as the writer, I have made a conclusion that at latest, in Qi Dynasty from A.D.550 to A.D.577, puppet show with puppets play specific roles under the control of human beings to present simple stories in front the audiences were formed in China.

Notes:

①Zhuang Yancheng, Xu Zaiquan, Zhang Jingzun: Origin of China Puppetry Arts. Quanzhou Puppetry Arts Lujiang Publishing House. 1986. p3.

② Tangwen of Liezi. Cited from China Puppet Show (A) New Drama Volume II, Periodic 1, 1951. p21.

③ Chen Zhutong Evolution of Puppet Play. Development History of Drama Volume 2, Periodic 3 in 1942, p53.

④ Ji Xianlin: Liezi & Buddhism Classical of Collection of Papers on Sino-lndia Cultural Relationship History, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1982. p319.

⑤ Chen Zhiliang: China Puppet Show (A) New Drama Volume II. Periodic 1, 1951. p22.

⑥ Ding Yanzhao: China Puppet Show History. Xuelin Publishing House, 1991, p17.

⑦ Ancient Puppet Showsj ointly translated by Tong Fumin and Wang Shouhe, and Monthly Periodic of Drama, Volume 2, Periodic 3 in 1932, p4.

⑧ Sun Kaidi: An Investigation on Puppet Shows. Shangza Publishing House, 1952, p78.

⑨ Zhou Yibai: Drama, Puppet Show and Shadow Play in China, Study on Drama, Periodic 2, 1957. Ren Erbei: Denouncement on the Saying of Drama Born from Shadow Play, Drama Symposium, Periodic 1 in 1958.

⑩ Obraztsov: Drama of the Chinese People. China Theater Publishing House, 1961, p139.

⑪ Sun Kaidi: An Investigation on Puppet Shows Shangza Publishing House, 1952, p38.

⑫ Ren Erbei. Denouncement on the Saying of Drama Born from Shadow Play, Drama Symposium, Periodic 1 in 1958. p183.

⑬ Chen Shidao: Hou Shan Shi Hua cited from Discussion on Drama from Dong Meikan, People’s Literature Publishing House. 1983, p57.

⑭ Collection of Poems in Song Dynasty, Zhonghua Book Company, 1965, p2768.

⑮Liu Kezhuang: Collections of Mr. Houshan recited from Records of Drama in Fujian, People’s Publishing House, p24.

● Qin Xueren

Graduated from Department of Literature of the Central Academy of Drama in 1964, engaged in education of Chinese history of drama as a professor and supervisor of master, a member from China Theatre Association, director of China Puppetry and Shadow Arts Association and subeditor of China Puppetry & Shadow. His works include: Repertoire of China Classical Drama Preparation Theoretical Data (in cooperation). Collection of Zhang Fengyi’s Operas (in cooperation), China Puppetry Art (subeditor); Misunderstanding on “Wedge” in Volume 2 of The Romance of West Chamber, Expounding of Liu Huiji’s Female Play, Concise Summary of Classical Editing Aesthetics-Apparent Analysis of Words in Xiaotai Ouzhu. Collection and Explanations of Ancient Poems about Puppet Show, Re-discussion of Discussion on “Guotu” and so on.

The article reproduced from  The 21st UNIMA Congress & World Puppetry Festival Thesis Compilation