Marionette Plays from Northern China, livre ebook

Marionette puppet theater has a rich and ancient history in China, extending back to the Han dynasty and reaching its heyday in the Qing dynasty. While this art form is nearly extinct in northern China today, a handful of troupes in Heyang County in Shaanxi Province, which claims to be the birthplace of marionette theater, continue to perform skits and scenes from Heyang's earlier, broader marionette theater repertoire. In this book, Fan Pen Li Chen has collected and translated rare transcriptions of some of the most popular of these plays. Her insightful translations include a rich variety of genres and highlight memorable characters that range from manipulative aristocrats, poor Confucian scholars, and a woman warrior to Baldy Guo, the iconic clown of puppet theater. As the only work in English about the puppet theater of northern China, these translations provide valuable information about the history, religion, social roles, and popular culture of that region. Detailed introductions and annotations for each play, as well as an extensive bibliography, are also included.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I. Post-Midnight Skits
Lai Baozi 赖包子
Baldy’s Wedding Night 禿子鬧房
Peddling Notions 卖杂货
Part II. Historical Fiction
Empress Lü Usurps the Throne 吕后篡位
Yang Wenguang 杨文广
Short Version of River Yang 小阳河
Part III. Romance
The White Undershirt 白汗衫
Pavilion of the Immortals in Exile 谪仙楼
Works Cited and Bibliography of Chinese Puppet Theatre