Hainan’s intangible Cultural Heritage, Li Bark Cloth and Lingao Puppet Shows

The Lin’gao Man-and-Puppet Show is a form of entertainment unique to Hainan Province. It is popular mainly in Lin’gao County in the northwest of Hainan Province, and nearby townships and villages of Haikou City, Chengmai County, and Danzhou City with residents who speak the Lin’gao dialect.

According to elderly performers, the Lin’gao Man-and-Puppet Show originated during the latter Southern Song Dynasty. Early residents of Lin’gao all used crabstick puppets in the shape of a person when worshipping gods and Buddhas and driving away ghosts and evil spirits. Later on, the puppet was redeveloped by performers and taken onto the stage. These shows began during Emperor Kangxi’s reign in the Qing Dynasty. In 1979 the senior performer, Chen Hecheng, who was over eighty years, submitted to the government his ten puppets which had beed kept for seven generations in his family. The heads of four of the puppets were carved with the era name “Kangxi”.

In Chinese puppet shows usually the stage is usually by a screen, behind which stand the performers. The audience can only see the puppets. However, the puppet shows in Lin’gao County are an exception. In the show, the performer and the puppet play the same role and there is no screen on the stage. The performer uses his or her different emotions to complement the deficiency of the puppet’s expression. The performer and the puppet interact with each other, making the show unique.