Manipulated with strings, poles and fingers, the millennium-old marionette will become new spotlight on screen in March in a new TV serial Golden Monkeys in the Snow Land (Jin Hou Xue Yu), believed to be the first in the country.

"It has been the most enjoyable experience ever," said Xu Tongjun, the director. "They are total rookies, but not the least camera shy. They are first-rate comedians."

The 13-episode features a Tibetan girl named Drolma, who fights against poachers to protect wild animals. Golden monkey, the national treasure and traditionally beloved character among Chinese children, is believed to exert eye-catching appeal among young audiences.

"The play will be a success. Quality children programs are in great demand," said Wang Jingxian, director of Quanzhou Puppet Troupe in east China's Fujian Province, who initiated the project.

The play is considered a small step before a giant leap in promoting the traditional puppetry folk art, which is endangered in this pop culture dominated era.

"To preserve this unique folk art form, we do not want to make it a fossil to be admired in museums, but instead, we want to present it on stage as it is best to be viewed live," said Wang, who has followed this guideline since he headed the troupe in 1992.

Long history

Chinese puppetry dates back at least 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), though legend has it the art began 3,000 years ago with Emperor Wuwang of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC).

Returning from hunting in the Kunlun Mountains, the emperor saw a carpenter named Yanshi giving a song and dance performance with wooden dolls.

The art has changed a lot over the past two to three thousand years, and reached its epitome in Quanzhou. In this coastal city, the puppets boast their own musical repertoire performed on unique musical instruments -- with over 300 songs and tunes written for the 700 plus traditional shows.

These miraculous marionettes have a lot of strings attached. When deftly wielded by a master puppeteer, 14 to 36 strings bring the wooden folk to life as they strut and fret with abandon across intricate Chinese stages.

Unlike Western puppeteers, who work mainly with the control, Chinese puppeteers also manipulate groups of strings with their fingers. The longer the strings (up to 2 meters), the more difficult to operate, but the more expressive the puppets can become as they portray men and women of all ages and professions -- or even spirits or wild animals.

Puppets make love and war, bicker and barter, dance, jog and somersault. Their deft hands even retrieve objects from the stage floor.

Puppeteers, who often begin training as children, may take five years to learn the basics, and over 20 years to completely master the 30 strings.

The sheer complexity of marionettes is amazing. They have a torso, limbs, strings and a hollow wooden head (usually made from camphor or willow) with internal mechanisms to move the lips and eyes. They have civilian hands to hold pens and cups or swing fans, and military hands to brandish swords, spears, and other weapons. There are even three types of feet: bare, booted, and womanly.

But today's generation of puppeteers are as good, or better. And they are continuing to perfect their craft to create utterly breathtaking puppets and performances.

Modern stages are deeper, allowing the puppets greater freedom of movement, and allowing the use of different types of puppets simultaneously.

Road to world stage

However, the Quanzhou Puppet Art Troupe has gone through its difficulties in past decades.

Being the playwright of a number of awarding winning puppet plays, Wang has undertaken reforms, cutting one fifth of the troupe members to around 50. "Every member here is highly professional in puppetry," Wang said.

But what makes the troupe survive, he explained, is the increasing overseas and commercial performances.

The big turn came in October 1993, when the troupe was invited to Taiwan for its first commercial show. "We made 300,000 yuan (US$36,000) or so," says Wang holding up three fingers in this right hand to emphasize the large sum.

But the one time success did not ensure a more lucrative market. International commercial performances were not on the agenda as standards and the art community was still below par in China in the early 1990s. With no agents to count on, Wang tried to contact overseas Chinese unions, foreign institutions to China or any relations available. Sending pamphlets, publications and making phone calls were the only way to do it.

But Wang was determined. And his work started to pay off. More invitations came in the following years.

The lightened face and the cheering applause from the audience shed light on the seemingly bleak folk art, and on the same disheartened puppet performers.

The Quanzhou Puppet Troupe gained financial independence gradually. It has won awards home and abroad, presenting this traditional Chinese folk art to overseas audience in more than 60 countries and regions. In March 2004, during the China-France Year, their marionette shows fascinated people in Paris, Cannes and Lille. Dozens of puppeteers manipulated the puppets while singing to the accompaniment of a full Chinese orchestra.

"There is no better way of promoting this folk art and our troupe than giving stage performance," Wang said. "We get on to show, and to learn at the same time."

He believes that puppetry tends to lose vitality if it does not change with the times. "There are some classical plays with lasting appeal but new and diverse themes adapted to modern taste are always needed."

In 2002, Wang's play Ancient Art, New Feature, with integrated plots from classical plays, won the 10th national level Wenhua Prize for its performance.

Always on the go

"With its market and artistic value, puppet show deserves a larger audience," said Wang.

Last August, the local government and media decided to invest in the first marionette TV play.

Producer Chen Jianyu, a Quanzhou-native filmmaker and movie critic, pledged to have a super production team, with prestigious playwright, director, art designer and cameramen joining in.

Wang co-authored with the famous cartoon playwright Xiang Hua, author of Lotus Lantern (Baolian Deng). The new play reflects relationship between mankind themselves as well as mankind and nature. Eternal theme, surprising plots and character image with modern art taste, the little puppets will have all.

"A marionette TV play does not simply screen stage performance as what it is, but a new creation using movie and television tactics. It is complemented with additional folk features, computer animation and other special effects," said director Xu Tongjun.

"But in a whole, the play looks classical, we do not go so far as to give in to cheesy colors and large props," he said. "Strings and threads of the puppet remain seen."

However, Wang believes it is a breakthrough to present marionette show on television, but screen can never take the place of stage.

With more people getting to know this art, more audiences will be drawn to the puppet theatre and even take it up as a hobby or career," he said.

Wang is now planning to build a multi-functional puppet museum that holds an exhibition hall, a theatre and an international puppet-training center.

(China Daily February 23, 2005)