[Commentary] Li Xiuping is the inheritor of Jinan puppet show. After the "80s", she integrated modern technology into the traditional puppet show and is gradually bringing this old craft to life. On July 10th, the reporter saw in Li Xiuping's work room that different shapes of puppets, such as long-mouthed big-eared pig Bajie and smart and wise Sima Guang, were neatly arranged on the display stand. Li Xiuping is making a puppet head for the newly developed puppet robot in the puppet making room. Li Xiuping told reporters that his indissoluble bond with the puppet show originated in childhood.
[Same period] Li Xiuping, inheritor of Jinan puppet show
When I was a child, I watched puppet shows (plays). At that time, there was no theater or anything like that. Every time a troupe comes to perform, I am the first to go there because the village and the village are connected. They will also go to the reincarnation show, and I will also follow the show. In fact, I have always liked it since I was a child. Later, I paid my respects to the master and learned this traditional puppet in a serious manner.
【Explanation】From childhood, I followed the village troupe to learn from the teacher and became the sixth generation of the puppet show in Jinan. Li Xiuping has accumulated a lot of experience along the way, and also found that traditional puppets have many disadvantages in the performance process, such as the relatively simple movement of wooden puppets, the consumption of manpower and material resources in the performance. Therefore, Li Xiuping began to form a team to develop an automated puppet show 4 years ago, and use the program to control the puppets for performance.
[Same period] Li Xiuping, inheritor of Jinan puppet show
The traditional performance, whether it is a puppet show or a live performance, requires a lot of manpower and material resources, and the performance will be limited. The core structure of the puppet used to be a support of wood. Now we use robot technology for the core structure of the puppet. If we add some modern technology, an automated performance stage, and an automated robot puppet to perform, it will not be affected by personnel. Limitations.
[Explanation] After continuous efforts, Li Xiuping led the team to successfully develop a "puppet robot", puppets can make delicate movements such as bowing and thanks, and their expression is greatly enhanced. In addition, Li Xiuping also maximizes convenience and intelligence in the design of the mobile stage, which can complete the entire stage within 10 minutes. In order to make the reporters more intuitively understand the automated puppet show, Li Xiuping displayed a "Jinan Legend" based on Jinan folklore stories on the mobile stage. She said that the puppet robot and the mobile stage are just a carrier, and the repertoire is the core of the puppet show.
[Same period] Li Xiuping, inheritor of Jinan puppet show
In my opinion, puppets are a carrier and platform, and the content and repertoire are the core, so we are not just developing a combination of robots and puppet art, we are more concerned about the content of the story, we hope to put more Some stories and contents with multiple Chinese elements are passed on to more people. In this way, it is better to copy. Only when it is copied, and more people see it, can more people like and inherit it.
[Explanation] Li Xiuping believes that the development of non-legacy puppet shows should be inherited and innovative "walking on two legs." On the one hand, it should be based on inheriting and promoting traditional art. On the other hand, non-legacy performances cannot develop without innovation and cannot become "living fossils". In the future, Li Xiuping will take his puppet show to the countryside, schools and communities, and plan to build 3000 to 5000 small theaters in China to let more people understand the puppet show and understand traditional Chinese culture.
(Reported by Yang Fei from Shandong Jinan)
Editor in charge: [Liu Xian]