chinese puppet show @ geylang

i was at geylang lorong 13 when i chanced upon this puppet performance on one side of the lorong (road). as usual, it was played before an empty audience. the chinese puppet shows had their origin in china.

the puppet show (kuileixi) is better known as mu'ouxi (play of wooden dolls), in the country china), which has its roots in remote times.

as in most other countries, three types of puppet shows are presented in china: the rod-top puppet, the marionette and the glove puppet. of course, the first type is most popular in china.

the puppet, generally less than a metre tall, is made with true-to-life features. it is raised overhead at the top of a stick by the puppeteer with one hand and manipulated by him with the other hand moving a pair of wire rods. this type of puppets generally do not show their feet.

one of the basic skills required of the operator is to be able to hold high the puppet, which weighs 2 to 3 kilograms, with one arm and to keep it either motionless or moving steadily on the same level as dictated by the scenario. only on this basis may the puppet be convincing in its other dramatic actions.

the marionette appears on stage in full view of the audience. it is of a more complicated structure, with the head, shoulders, waist, hands and feet all jointed, movable and controlled by separate wires. during performance, it is operated from a concealed operating bridge high above the puppet.

the glove or hand puppet, rather like those in a punch and judy show, is also called "bag puppet" (budai mu'ou) in china. about 20 cm long, it is the smallest of the three types. its dress is in the form of a small bag, from inside which the puppeteer's hand manipulates its postures and movements.

i am fortunate to have watched all the three types of puppet shows in my younger days. when i was in my early teens, i would watch puppet shows, especially during the seventh lunar month, when i visited my grandma at campbell lane or my distant relatives at dunlop street.

however, i preferred wayangs to puppet shows. i used to watch teochew wayangs at lorong sinaran and some other venues, hainanese wayang at lincoln road and hokkien wayang at cambridge road.