Glove puppetry inheritor pushes art forward

In a livestream on a short-video platform, Liu Yong'an, an 80-year-old representative inheritor of Shaoyang Glove Puppetry, skillfully manipulates small puppets with both hands and feet while delivering classic drama lines to a large audience.

Glove puppetry is a unique form of folk theatrical art from Hunan province. Performers concealed behind a puppet stage perform using puppets attached to their fingers. The performance integrates puppet techniques and theatrical elements into a single art form. The whole opera is performed by one man.

As the national representative inheritor of the Shaoyang puppetry art, Liu is the 18th-generation successor in his family. Since the 1960s, he has studied puppetry under his uncle and toured across China. His performances of classic plays, including Journey to the West and Wu Song Fights the Tiger, are popular, especially the puppetry adaptation of Journey to the West, which appeals to children with its smooth character transitions and engaging storyline.

Learning glove puppetry is a challenge, Liu said. It demands a variety of skills and requires steady and systematic effort. It takes two to three years to master. The most difficult part, he said, is that performers must write and perform the script themselves.

With changing times, glove puppetry has dwindled in popularity and has faced the challenge of being preserved by passing down the art to younger generations. The government's emphasis on intangible cultural heritage has provided a new opportunity for its revival.

Liu also promotes glove puppetry through short video platforms which is popular among young people. He has attracted nearly 400,000 followers.

"Thanks to the support of the government and the public, more people are visiting Shaoyang to enjoy glove puppetry, and more people are willing to learn it," Liu said.

Video by Shaoyang County Integrated Media Center