Chinese Puppet
Background
Chinese puppet shows which originated in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, have a history of over 1,000 years. The art form is categorized into four types, based on the shapes of the puppets and the operative skills: figure puppets, marionettes, stick puppet sand wire-supported puppets. Each has its own artistic characteristics. At present, puppet shows are usually accompanied by the tunes of local operas and some adopt the form of dialogue or singing and dancing. The finure puppets of Longxi county, marionettes of Quanzhou (both in Fujian Province), stick puppets of Hainan Province and the other puppet shows of Hunan and Shaanxi Provinces and the Beijing region are well-known for their wide range of repertoire, wonderful performance and beautiful music. Some puppet troupes have performed abroad many times and have been warmly welcomed by the audience.
Problem Identification
Many forms of art in the modern world today are going digital. In 21th Century, traditional drama like Chinese puppet is being forgotten by youths and there have been replacing by cinema especially in 3D area. No matter it is in created objects or real graphics. Aside that, youth love to follow the flow of time, they feel traditional culture is so outdated and of course they won’t bother this. The other reason is their parents not exposing this to their children. But however we still have to emphasize on the importance of traditional culture.
Aim and Objectives
- To make people recognize, understand and feel the traditional Chinese puppet
- To alert people not to forget the culture
- To let people more familiar with the Chinese puppet
- To associate new media with old story and improve the interaction between people and culture
Motivation
Interactivity between people and device to arouse their interest and at the same time they can get more understanding on tradition aspect.
Ideation and Concept
That will be flash based application, as they can get to know or even more familiar with the Chinese puppet from the application provided (information). On the other hand, they can play the games to remember what puppet is.
Review, Analysis and Precedence Studies
Chinese Puppet is one of the most interesting, educational and innovative titles that I have the pleasure to review. Everything about it is engaging, from the bold and colorful graphics and indigenous music to the process of putting together an original puppet theater play.
The Chinese Puppet Show (kuileixi) is known as mu ou xi (play of wooden dolls), in the country, which has its roots in remote time. Traditionally, Puppet Show comes in three forms: the rod-top puppet, the marionette or string puppet and the glove or hand puppet. In China, the rod-top puppet is the most popular show.
The puppet, less than a meter tall, is made with true-to-life features. It is raised overhead at the top of a stick by the puppeteer with one hand and manipulated its action (moving a pair of wire rods) with the other hand.
One of the basic skills required of the puppeteer is to be able to hold high the puppet, which weighs 2 to 3 kilograms, with one arm and to keep it either motionless or moving steadily on the same level as dictated by the scenario.
The Marionette or String Puppet
The marionette appears on stage in full view of the audience. it is of a more complicated structure, with the head, shoulders, waist, hands and feet all jointed, movable and controlled by separate wires. During performance, it is operated from a concealed operating bridge high above the puppet.
The Glove or Hand Puppet
The glove or hand puppet is also called "bag puppet" in China. About 20 cm long, it is the smallest of the three types. The puppeteer's hand is placed directly inside the puppet, giving the direct control and manipulation of movement. It may be made from solid materials such as wood, plastic wood, paper mache or from pliable ones such as fabric, foam rubber, latex. The hand puppet is usually legless or with stuffed legs, which merely hang limply.
Shadow Play of China which is usually called "the home of shadow play", with the longest history, the most charming images and the most marvelous techniques in performance, has exerted great influences on the world culture.
A puppet, usually two-dimensional, is placed against a screen so as to interrupt the light from the rear or above. Shadows may be in silhouette (opaque) or colored. A shadow puppet may be a single shape or sectional, and articulated by means of hinged, overlapping segments. It may be made from leather, metal, cardboard, plastics and theatrical gels.
The Chinese shadow play, has three branches: hand shadow play, paper shadow play and leather shadow play.
Today, the stage has been expanded and modified. The glove puppets have been enlarged. More three dimensional props are used, and a wider variety of plays are presented with diverse themes and greater dramatic appeal.
Traditional Techniques
Shadow puppetry is technically a very simple kind of performance to make. It requires just three things: a light source, to cast a shadow; a blank white screen, to catch the shadow; and a shadow figure to create an interesting shadow that can be moved with rods.
The light source is very important in shaping the kind of shadow that we see. Originally an open flame or oil lamp was used and the motion of the flames gave the shadow a lively, quivering motion that must have contributed to the magical effect of the shadow image. Today electric lights, or an overhead projector, make a much brighter steadier and more focused image.
In traditional shadow performance, the shadow screen is any piece of white paper, silk, linen or cotton cloth, stretched tight over a sturdy vertical frame. The light source and the puppet are placed behind the screen and the audience sits in front, seeing only the pattern of light and dark that plays across the white surface. The most important quality for the screen is that it be “translucent,” that is, it allows for the light and the colors to pass though it with little dimming. On the bottom edge of the screen is a narrow shelf called a “playboard” on which the shadow figures can stand and walk on. Often times, modern shadow screens are made out of plastic shower curtains or rear projection material.
The shadow figure that stands between the light source and the screen is the most complicated part of the whole process. The shape of the figure blocks some light and lets other light through where it is cut away. They can be made with many moving parts so that they can be move in very lifelike manner. Rods are attached to the figures so that they could be made to move without the puppeteer's shadow being seen. Traditional Chinese shadow figures are made out of translucent animal skin. A typical human figure will be jointed out of eleven different pieces, held together with strong silk thread, and manipulated by three stiff wire control rods. One rod is sewn to the neck of the figure, so that it can change the direction it is facing with just a flip of the control rod. The other two rods are attached to either hand. A well constructed shadow puppet is well balanced and capable of all types of movement, both delicate and strong- they can sip tea, or they can fight fierce battles with swords and spears. A master puppeteer can work one figure in each of his hands.
Media Innovations
Today, even with film, television and computers, and all kinds of sophisticated animation techniques, the ancient forms of shadow puppetry have not totally disappeared. It has adapted modern materials and methods, but the essence of the art form is unchanged since the day that the Han Emperor sat down in astonishment at seeing the ghost of his beloved wife.
During the 20th Century, many technical innovations have revolutionized the art of shadow puppetry. New materials have been developed, including unbreakable plastics (polycarbonate or “Lexan”) which have made it possible to build much larger shadow figures than traditional animal skin figures, and new synthetic dyes and translucent paints can make shadow figures even more brilliantly colorful.
Perhaps the most significant development has been in lighting. In most traditional shadow forms, the light source that creates the shadow image is an oil lamp or standard light bulb. But modern shadow artists have a wide selection of light sources are available: slide projectors, overhead projectors, even video or computer projections specialty bulbs that can create crisp, sharp shadow images twenty feet tall. Controlling multiple light sources is made possible with computerized lighting boards.
Mixing and merging all these elements together have given the shadow artist the freedom to create large-scale moving image spectacles that are closer to animated film than to traditional shadow performance. Using an overhead projector as a light source, instead of a light bulb can magnify an object or puppet figure placed on its flat, glass table-top of the projector to create an image large enough to fill a huge movie screen. A very small figure only a few inches tall can be transformed into a gigantic image. Larger scale shadow images, such as those created on an overhead projector, can be easily integrated into other forms of live theater performance.
Many artists, both those rooted in traditional shadow forms and those with knowledge of the newest cutting edge technology, have given contemporary shadow theater a new vibrancy and have contributed to a renaissance of this, the oldest form of motion picture media.
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