【英文版】
Puppets always bring people joy. Despite the cold weather, a group of Shenzhen children watched an outdoor marionette show for a full hour, showing Shenzhen people's enthusiasm for the marionettes.
It is a bunch of young people in Shenzhen who form the Lizhi Youth Troupe that brings joy to these children. The event includes an exhibition, a lecture, a workshop and performances. The troupe shows beautifully crafted and creative marionettes. Some of them are wearing Shenzhen school uniforms, and some have a western look. There are even some old ones that can date back to ancient times.
The long threads can do much more than just stretching the carved wooden figures. With the performer's skills, the marionettes can even write calligraphy, do face magic, play guitar, and blow balloons.
The troupe's marionette performers' head is teacher Hong Jindiao, from the Quanzhou Marionette Troupe, who brought this art to Shenzhen in2018. Quanzhou marionette is a rare model and indisputable representative of the art of marionette in China, and was selected as one of the first"China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection List." Quanzhou marionette show combines four traditional skills: the Jin Cang embroidery, wood carving, singing derived from Nan Yin, and marionette manipulation. In this way, one show can bring people multiple experiences.
A few minutes of marionette performance requires years of dedication and training of the actors. The Lizhi Youth Troupe plays the show for children, so they combined traditional and international elements to perform creatively. These marionettes, some of which are the size of two or three-year-old children, quickly won the kids' hearts.
According to the director Liu Ziyuan, the troupe will occasionally perform in various public spaces for free. He and his partners are also exploring a way to help children with mental illness by using puppets.
The thousand-year-old skill has reborn in Shenzhen, giving people laughter and warmth in different forms. Even in such a rapidly developing city, traditional culture still has the power to grow and deserves more attention.
Come join us and experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture!
木偶戲《祥獅獻(xiàn)瑞》。
木偶戲《夢回青春》。