Making sense of this clip

[Suet Seung]

Has anyone seen anything like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeVLgl23xdw

I never had before and it looks like dolls/puppets and some kind of wuxia adaptation and its so creepy.

They're also using the theme song from Condor Heroes Return. Can anyone make sense of this? Found it while looking for the XAJH clip.

And this one too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGT3bNKC9Lg

Fighting scene between wuxia puppets? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12-Bu4BLF-A

[HuangYushi]

Very briefly:

1. Yes, these are puppets.

2. They are a kind of traditional performing arts form, just like Chinese opera. However, instead of using human performers, the humans operate the puppets on a specially-built puppet stage.

3. The traditional Chinese puppet theatre (like the ones seen in the YouTube clips) are native to southern China provinces like Fujian, and in places like Taiwan, where large numbers of Fujian people have migrated.

4. The puppets, which are usually about 30cm tall, are very elaborate and detailed. They are usually operated by sticks that are attached to the body and limbs.

For more information, please see:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B8%...A2%8B%E6%88%B2

It's called 布袋戏 in Chinese.

I have a 布袋戏 adaptation of LOCH, which I consider a collector's item. There are even leopards (just like the novel) in the scene where Sangkun's son (I can't remember his name now) tries to harm young Guo Jing and Tuolei.

Hope that helps.

HYS

[Guo Xiang]

The puppet videos are really well done! I like the MV.

Thanks for sharing!

EDIT: What's the dialect in the third video?

[HuangYushi]

EDIT: What's the dialect in the third video?

Hokkien, the traditional type that is very close to the original Hokkien dialect that is spoken in Fujian province. It's likely that this particular clip came from a series that was produced in Taiwan, where there is a large market for Hokkien-speaking productions.

The Hokkien spoken in Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of South-East Asia are mostly localised forms that do not sound as "thick and accented" as what you hear on the clip.

HYS

[Guo Xiang]

Ah I see. Thanks for clarifying.

[Radken]

http://spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=15068

They tried to bring this over to the United States but it never became popular. It was translated into english and the theme song is rap.

[Huang Rong]

Those clips are cool, but the puppets remind me of some horror detective films/books I've watched/read before.