A frightened deer, pursued by a hunter, runs until it finds itself cornered on the edge of a cliff, towering over a roaring sea far below.
It looks back. So much emotion is conjured in its eyes -- desperation, terror, yearning for life...
Taking aim the hunter finds himself looking into them and lowers his bow.
The Deer Looks Back, which describes the subtle communication between the hunter and hunted, man and animal, is an ancient legend of the Li ethnic group on the sub-tropical South China island of Hainan.
Today the story has been adapted for a man-and-puppet show, a genre which has a long tradition in Hainan. The show, with its distinct local features, has won several awards including the Ninth Wenhua Award granted by the Ministry of Culture and the Sixth China Art Festival Award in 2000.
An adaptation of the show will be staged on Thursday and Friday at the Hall of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress at Haikou, the provincial capital. From Saturday on, the show will be staged at Haikou Ocean World for two weeks.
For the past few months, the Hainan Ethnic Song and Dance Troupe has been busy rehearsing the new production, with Sun Kai the playwright and Peng Lin and Sun Kai directing.
Then the troupe will start a performing tour of major Chinese cities.
"The household legend, when adapted for the stage, has a distinct ethnic flavor and regional characteristics," said Meng Luguang, executive director of the show.
In the legend the deer turns into a girl called Ah Yue when the hunter puts down his bow and spares its life. The two fall in love, but a local "pig devil," which has long persecuted the locals, lusts after the beautiful girl. And in an effort to force her to be his, the devil devours the moon and threatens the people if they refuse to hand the girl over.
There was only one way to kill the devil and get back the moon, and that was to shoot it with an arrow dipped in deer's blood. So Ah Yue transforms herself back into a deer again and sacrifices herself for the sake of her beloved and the people. With the arrow the hunter shoots the devil and moonlight is restored to the island.
On stage the actors and actresses bring their hand puppets to life in the retelling of the legend.
Wearing costumes to match their roles, the troupe sing folk songs and use facial gestures to bring added drama and meaning to the performance.
The singing is intermittent with the language of the local Li ethnic group. The suona horn is the lead musical instrument, while the dulcimer, sanxian (three-stringed plucked instrument), flutes and drums play the accompaniment. The music is rather high in tone and rapid in rhythm.
The more than 60 actors and actresses have spent three months rehearsing in the heatwave in preparation for next months performance. This was particularly uncomfortable for Chen Yunkun, who plays the "pig devil," and has to wear a thick costume.
"The refined Deer Looks Back will display the peculiar art of Hainan -- the man-and-puppet show. It's great that the ancient folk art can be put on in theaters," said Chen.
The man-and-puppet show, an art form which still flourishes on the island, was introduced from the mainland during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It was first performed during sacrificial ceremonies, with the puppets representing the gods.
Historical documents show it has been popular throughout the island as a major entertainment since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Today, Lingao County in northern Hainan is the center of this traditional art form.
The nine troupes in the county give more than 400 man-and-puppet shows every year, earning about 600 yuan (US$72) for each performance.
Unlike those professionals in the Deer Looks Back, the actors and actresses in most of these shows are local farmers. They work in the fields during the day, hammer four wooden sticks into the ground in the evening, circle them with strings and thus make a "stage."
At about 8 pm many villagers arrive with benches. The performance starts around 30 minutes later, after the audience has chosen the content of the show, which is often drawn from historical tales, or an episode in the life of one or other of the villagers, such as harvest time or a wedding.
Unlike the Deer Looks Back, "almost all man-and-puppet shows have happy endings," said Wang Guida, head of the county's cultural bureau.
The puppets used in the show can wink their eyes and open their mouths. Their faces are painted in different colors, with black symbolizing the honest, red the brave, white the fraudulent, and green the robbers.
In a Confucian temple by the Wenlan River in the county, there are four delicately carved wooden puppets which date back to the Qing Dynasty. They have been used by seven generations of actors, said Chen Hecheng, an old actor who bequeathed the puppets to the temple.
The puppet troupes are most welcome at festivals, when villages compete to invite them. At the end of their several-day performance in one village, the troupe will give a "lucky show," in which they wish the villagers health, fortune and happy families.
"The man-and-puppet show is a show of our own days," said Li Huiqin, 88. "I was married into a faraway county 70 years ago. As they have no such show in that place, I often return to my home village here to watch the show."
The old lady laughed as she watched one show, often singing along with the actors and actresses.
(China Daily July 29, 2003)
