EE00000233

Fujian Puppetry is an outstanding representative of Chinese performing arts. It consists mainly of string-pulled puppetry and hand puppetry. This performing art started to spread in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and the surrounding areas in the 10th Century. In the course of its history, it has not only accumulated a considerable amount of traditional plays and changqiang (i.e. arias, vocal music in Chinese opera), but also developed rich and exquisite performing techniques, a unique performing system, as well as marvellous craftsmanship in the modelling of puppets. As a result, Fujian Puppetry has become an art cherished by the people of local communities where it is an integral part of cultural life. Since 1980s, changes in economic production and life style; economic globalisation and a diversified cultural dissemination and, on the other hand, the highly sophisticated performing techniques that require long and painstaking practice are the reasons behind young people’s reluctance to learn and inherit Fujian Puppetry. Given the above-mentioned situation, from 2006 communities, groups and representative bearers concerned formulated the 2008-2020 Strategy for the Training of Coming Generations of Fujian Puppetry Practitioners in order to promote the safeguarding of Fujian Puppetry transmission by focusing on the training of younger practitioners. The key objective of this strategy is to safeguard the transmission of Fujian Puppetry: - through systematic professional training, bringing up a new generation of puppetry practitioners and raising the self-sustainability of Fujian puppetry; - through overall safeguarding, educating coming generations of puppetry practitioners and appreciators, and improving the habitat of Fujian Puppetry.