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Puppetry is not pure leisure. Local professional groups have been dedicating themselves to the perpetuation of this traditional art.

Marionettes — puppets that are operated by strings attached to hands, legs, head, and body — are the hardest to handle, compared with glove puppets and rod puppets.

The Hong Kong Sky Bird Puppet Art Group, which started in 1978, performs traditional Chinese puppet shows.

Yeung Ching Yee, group leader, said, “Holding and rotating the string temples, shifting hands, and extending the arms are the most basic puppet-handling techniques.

“Puppeteers also have to pay attention to how to control puppets’ legs.

“There are marching, striding, and strolling gaits, just to name a few. Different forms of movement require different techniques.”

To Mr. Yeung, such techniques are just superficial things.

The emotional expressions of puppets is more important.

Said he: “To humanise a puppet, puppeteer must understand the character of the puppet and learn how to put their emotions into the art.

“For example, female characters are usually slow and elegant.

“Puppeteers have to understand thoroughly the mindset of different characters.”

Wong Kwok Chung, art director of Rainbowland, a local puppet group that performs Western puppet shows, agrees.

He said, “The projection of emotions vitalises puppets.

“The audience is then convinced that the puppets really have souls, just like you and me.

“This is a challenge to puppeteers, especially when one has to handle five to six puppets in a single performance.”

Since different puppets have different characters, the puppeteer has to switch emotions quickly.

Mr. Yeung added, “In the case of tangled strings during a real performance, you still know how to rotate your palms to get things back in order.

“Using the hands to untie the strings or cutting them with scissors is very unprofessional.”

There are differences between Chinese marionettes and Western ones.

The Chinese marionettes’ string temples are leaf-shaped.

Strings are fixed to many parts of the puppet’s body. There are at least 17 strings, at most around 40.

For Western marionettes, string temples are cross-shaped. They have fewer strings, 10 at most.

Strings are fixed to the puppet parallel to each other. Thus, the extent of movement is greater.

“As a result, the Western marionettes’ movements are not as delicate as the Chinese ones. And they cannot perform complicated actions,” said Mr. Yeung.

In terms of stories, the Chinese puppet shows mainly adapt literature classics like Journey to the West and The Legend of Three Kingdoms.

The Western puppet shows have greater variety.

The stage design of local puppet shows has undergone revolutionary changes.

The traditional Chinese stage is octagonal. The octagon is a divine symbol of Taoism.

Puppeteers stood on the same level as the audience.

Shorter strings were used and the puppeteers’ could be seen during performances.

Nowadays, to enhance the visual effects, puppeteers hide from the audience and stand 2 metres above ground.

Such a stage setting allows more space for the puppets.

Marionettes can thus perform movements like flying and spinning up to the air.

Although puppeteers are generally above the stage, they still stand side-by-side to each other. This limits the extent of puppeteers’ movements.

In the ’60s, a bridge stage was introduced. It is above the audience and is in a “#” shape.

Puppets can move freely in this configuration. At the same time, the depth of stage was increased.

Puppeteers could then manipulate other types of puppets such as glove puppets and rod puppets underneath the stage.

In Hong Kong before the ’70s, string puppet shows were performed mainly in villages.

They were designed to entertain gods during festivals such as the dieties’ birthdays.

Thus, besides staging performances, puppeteers also conducted essential religious ceremonies required in these festivals.

Incense, candles and other offerings were even placed on the puppet show stage.

One tradition in the Chinese puppet art — respecting the guardian deity, Xianggongye — is still preserved nowadays.

It is said that the Xianggongye brings performers blessings and protection as long as his wooden figure is placed backstage.

Mr. Yeung recalled one unforgettable experience when he forgot to place Xianggongye backstage.

He said, “Once, we went to stage a performance in Taiwan, and we forgot to bring along Xianggongye with us.

“Throughout the whole performance, a strong wind blew continuously. All our puppets fell down.

“We then rushed back to the hotel to get Xianggongye. We gave offerings to him and place him back stage. The wind stopped immediately.”