Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/53

 BOOK II—SOCIAL

CHAPTER I.

, 演戲

puppet shows or Punch and Judy shows are called chou chou tzŭ 肘肘子 because the puppets are held up in a man's arms (chou, arms). An ancient name for puppets was k‘uei lei 傀儡. Another name is pang 棒. This kind of play is said to have been originated by T‘ang Ming Huang (唐明皇) now deified as god of the theatre under the title T‘ai tzŭ 太子 p‘u sa. His image is worshipped in the lao lang temple 老郎廟 which is the temple of actors. In this temple and guildhall aged and infirm actors are housed and fed, and are buried at guild expense.

The puppets are made from the heads of coffins 猬 of newly beheaded or murdered persons. Such wood is believed to be very responsive 靈 ling. The spirit of the dead person is worshipped and called for daily, and after a time is supposed to enter the puppet and speak from the stage.