In most parts of the world, as far back as anyone can remember , there has been a puppet (木偶) tradition. Although some of us think of puppets as children's entertainment, they were—-and often still are used to tell serious stories to adult audiences. Even in these days of special effects, the puppet the atre still has a special place in many cultures.
The best known puppet characters in Britain are Punch and Judy, glove puppets with woodenheads. In summer, one basic play of about half an hour is performed on beaches all around Britain .Mr. Punch, who has an enormous nose and wears a curved hat, gets into trouble and has arguments with his wife, Judy. A policeman, a crocodile, and a hangman, and all of them run after Mr. Punch. He, of course, invariably manages to survive to fight another day.
In Belgium wooden puppets first appeared in the 1820s in cities like liege. The liege puppets are in fact string puppets without strings！They have a single rod (棒) attached to their heads, which means the puppeteers aren't able to raise the arms and legs, but can move the body up and down and the head from side to side. Many of the stories used to be historical or religious but it is Tchantches, a comic character with patched trousers and a big black hat, who is the best loved character today. Like Mr. Punch, he is a simple man who is also greedy, quarrelsome and lazy. He makes fun of everyone, but is often warm--hearted and tender.
