Fujian Zhangzhou Bag Puppet Artists held an online lecture for American students

On the evening of December 16, an online lecture on Zhangzhou puppet show was held at the Zhangzhou Puppet Art Exhibition Hall.　Photo courtesy of Zhangzhou Municipal Foreign Affairs Office

Zhangzhou, China, December 17 (Lu Meilian) "For teachers and students, this is a beautiful and meaningful morning. We look forward to visiting Zhangzhou in the future and meeting you. Betty McKinnis, chairman of the "World Artist Experience" organization in the United States, wrote in a letter sent to the Foreign Affairs Office of Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, on the 17th.

On the evening of the 16th, an online lecture on Zhangzhou Puppet Show called "Teacher Chen and Zhangzhou Cloth Puppet Inheritance and Protection Center" was held at the Zhangzhou Puppet Art Exhibition Hall. Chen Lihui, the provincial non-hereditary heir of budai puppetry, was responsible for explaining the performance skills of budai puppets, and the artists of Zhangzhou Budai Puppet Inheritance and Protection Center participated enthusiastically, carefully interpreting the budai puppet show "DamingFu" and interacting with the audience on the same screen, and the atmosphere was warm.

The students who participated in the online lecture were thousands of students from kindergarten to high school in Maryland, USA. After the webinar, Betty McGinnis sent a letter expressing heartfelt gratitude to all those involved in organizing the online exchange: "Your show is so wonderful! This is a true journey through Chinese art. We were captivated by the whole event from start to finish. ”

The online lecture carefully set up a propaganda film on the new appearance of Zhangzhou City, a visit to the exhibition hall, a puppet head carving, a puppet show, a finger exercise, a handmade puppet, an interactive Q&A and other links. "Understanding how people in a country see the world and how they treat each other through a traditional art is what cultural exchange means. I hope that American children can actively participate in cultural exchanges, understand China through the bridge of culture, understand China, and be the messengers of Sino-US friendship. Chen Lihui said.

Zhangzhou Bag Puppet Show and Zhangzhou Puppet Head Carving were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006. The wonderful puppet show of the bag of cloth deeply attracted the American students who watched from the screen, who exclaimed and cheered from time to time, carefully studied the basic movements of the puppets, and carefully produced a wonderful puppet.

It is reported that in March 2019, at the invitation of the "World Artist Experience" organization in the United States, under the strong recommendation and active coordination of Dr. Gao Shu of the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Conservation Center, Chen Lihui went to Maryland for a 10-day cultural exchange performance, showing the Artistic Charm of China's excellent traditional art (Zhangzhou Bag Puppet Show) to the American people, which was warmly welcomed and unanimously praised by the American people, and won the certificate and state flag issued by the Maryland government.

This year, the "World Artist Experience" organization once again invited the Zhangzhou Cloth Bag Puppet Heritage and Protection Center to the United States for exchange performances. The Zhangzhou Cloth Bag Puppet Heritage and Protection Center overcame the disadvantages of personnel not being able to visit each other during the epidemic prevention and control period, made meticulous preparations, and carried out many rehearsals and connection tests, presenting a visual feast of excellent Traditional Chinese culture for American children.

The relevant person in charge of the Foreign Affairs Office of Zhangzhou City said that by showing the historical origin and performance art of Zhangzhou Bag Puppet Show, Zhangzhou puppet artists have helped to improve the level of cultural openness and spread China's excellent traditional culture to the other side of the ocean again. (End)