Fujian puppetry(木偶戏) has a thousand-year history. It is one of the1of Chinese performing art to the world's culture and has2a set of characteristic techniques of performance and puppet making, as well as a repertoire (全部剧目) of plays and music.
No3has yet been reached on the4and development of Chinese puppetry. 5the Shang dynasty (16th-11th century B.C.), pottery figurines (陶俑) used as burial objects (随葬品) have been discovered at the Yin Ruins. Wooden figurines6during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods (770-221 B.C.). In a Western Han tomb at Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan province, an army of wooden figurines of singers, dancers and musicians have been discovered. These were a great7on those from previous dynasties 8craftsmanship, variety and modeling, which represent the9_Chinese puppets. Over time, figurines as burial objects10into puppets for entertainment during holiday11. 12, just like many other traditional forms of art, Fujian puppetry has fallen out of favour with the younger generations. The number of young people learning puppetry has 13due to socioeconomic changes 14their lifestyles and the long period of training15to master the sophisticated (复杂的) performing techniques.
In response,16communities, groups and bearers (传授者) worked out the 2008-2020 Strategy for the Training of Coming Generations of Fujian Puppetry Practitioners. The key 17are to safeguard the spread of Fujian Puppetry and provide professional 18to raise a new generation of puppetry practitioners.
In 2012, the strategy was selected by the UNESCO to be part of the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices. With the wide 19of practitioners, local people and education institutions, Fujian Puppetry can20a brighter future.
