With the advent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó, 1949), government support of the theatrical arts began in a consistent manner by forming government troupes out of select private companies and modernization of the repertoire followed government policies in towns. From its recorded history at the beginning of the Common Era, the art of puppetry – string, glove, or rod – remained linked to ritual and propitious events but, by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it had also developed important entertainment functions and became closely associated with local ( xiqu) forms. Such tales intercede to the divine to enlist help for humans. In China, performances traditionally would address Heaven, in the form of personages like the Daoist (Taoist) deities and heroes of Baxian guohai (Eight Immortals Crossing the Ocean) and Fengshen yanyi (Investiture of the Gods) or the dutiful son of the Buddhist narrative of filial piety Mulian jiumu (Mulian Saves his Mother) in which Mulian fetches his sinful mother back from hell. Perhaps the greatest diaspora of Chinese culture was to Taiwan, which has moved from China to Japan (1895-1945) to Nationalist (1949) control and in combination with the indigenous Austronesian-speaking inhabitants has many Chinese speakers and traditions, including some of the Chinese traditions of temple performances that continue in Taiwan to the present. Iron rod puppetry and rod puppetry is found in Thailand among the Chinese population. Shadow puppetry of Taiwan follows traditional Chinese models. Glove puppetry in Fujian and Quanzhou styles can still be performed at Chinese Buddhist temples in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, or Taiwan and may have spawned newer traditions as well. For example, we find Chinese shadow puppets and glove puppets in California where Chinese went to work on the Transcontinental Railway in the 19th century. This article will also include selected diasporic Chinese performance since, wherever Chinese went, they took their culture. While changes come with globalization altering the rural farming culture, which largely sustained traditional puppetry, the art maintains, albeit in new contexts.
While some Chinese genres no longer exist (for example, ),, , iron rod puppets (operated by an iron rod in the figure’s back), (marionettes) and survive. Puppetry not only educates and entertains, but also materializes philosophy and religious viewpoints, providing viewers with psychological and mental resources. Puppetry, like the human actor’s theatre in China, is a total event encompassing all the arts – including music, song, dialogue, mime, dance, storytelling, martial arts, ritual, visual design, and craft. Today, China – officially the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国, Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) governed by the Communist Party of China – is located in East and is comprised of twenty-two provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau).
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