[Explanation] Playing flower drums, dancing ribbons, playing fire sticks, dancing lions, and on the small palm puppet stage, each "Liangshan hero" showed their magical powers, attracting applause from elementary school students under the stage.

Behind the stage, the actors were already sweating profusely.

The sack puppets, which were originally motionless and silent, were in their palms, and after careful manipulation, they "pointed" various stunt performances.

Recently, in the auditorium of Xixin Central Primary School in Jinjiang City, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, the actors of Jinjiang City Puppet Theatre Troupe are performing the classical play "Da Ming Fu" for the children.

　　[Concurrent] Chen Daigong, leader of the performance team of Jinjiang's Palm Puppet Theatre Troupe

　　Performances like ours on campus are generally more educational plays, such as today's performance of "Sima Guang Smashing a Tank", and "The Foolish Man Moves Mountains", and our very classic play called "The Great House".

It is to let children know more about our traditional Chinese culture and the culture of their hometown.

　　[Explanation] After the public welfare performance, the actors of the troupe returned to the rehearsal room of the troupe.

In the rehearsal room, the newly rehearsed traditional drama "Li Dong's Fake Tour Press" is being rehearsed intensively, and the puppets' movements, silences, frowns, smiles, singing and harmony are gradually getting better in the repeated rehearsal.

　　[Commentary] Zhang Manling, a 24-year-old puppeteer, started learning palm puppets after graduating from junior high school and is now a rookie in the troupe.

Talking about the long and arduous process of learning and art, she said that because of love, she persevered; because of her love, she inherited it.

　　[Concurrent] Zhang Manling, actor of Jinjiang Hand Puppet Theatre Troupe

　　In the process of learning traditional opera, especially when laying the foundation, it will be slightly more difficult, boring, and difficult to persevere.

But it's fascinating to see the puppets come to life in their own hands.

So in the end, I still worked hard to persevere, and in order to make my puppet look better on the stage, and then make the movements more anthropomorphic.

　　[Explanation] The puppet show in the palm, also known as "puppet show", has a history of more than a thousand years.

In 2006, the puppet show was included in the first batch of "National Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection List", and the Jinjiang Puppet Troupe was also identified as the inheritance unit of this drama, and has performed in many countries and regions around the world.

　　[Explanation] As the "master of the troupe", Cai Meina, the sixth-generation heir of the Southern School of Palm Puppets and deputy director of the Jinjiang Palm Puppet Art Protection and Inheritance Center, has always taken it as her responsibility to inherit and promote the art of palm puppets for more than 20 years.

Recently, Cai Meina is focusing on the revival of traditional classic repertoires such as "Li Dong's Fake Tour Press" and "The Story of Bow Shoes", trying to revive the intangible cultural heritage skill of hand puppets through innovations in performance content and performance forms.

　　[Concurrent] Cai Meina, deputy director of Jinjiang Hand Puppet Art Conservation and Inheritance Center

　　(The troupe) revives traditional operas every year, and inherits and inherits these traditional skills of the older generation.

Now we not only inherit traditional skills, but also innovate on the basis of traditional skills.

Because in order to cater to the aesthetic point of view of the new generation of audience, we must also improve the artistic creation, including stage, lighting, dance beauty, as well as the puppet shape design, including the repertoire.

　　[Commentary] Cai Meina said that in order to promote puppets in the palm of their hands, the inheritance center often carries out activities such as "puppets into the campus" and puppet show public welfare performances. She also often walks into the school to teach students, looking for excellent puppet inheritors.

　　[Concurrent] Cai Meina, deputy director of Jinjiang Hand Puppet Art Conservation and Inheritance Center

　　Because the older generation of artists, they are very hard-working, so I think this spirit should be passed on, that is, passed on to the "90s" and "00s" (actors), including us ("80s") Only by inheriting the hard-working spirit of the older generation can this traditional skill be passed down.

　　Ke Ning Wu Guanbiao reported from Quanzhou, Fujian

Responsible editor: [Sun Jingbo]