This is a hand puppet of Zhao Yun, who is one of the Five Tiger Generals of the Shu Kingdom during Three Kingdoms Period (220~280). The puppet has hand-sewed clothes and hand carved wooden core. Zhao Yun became a household name after the wide success of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms created more than 1000 years after his death. In the novel, Zhao Yun is described as being almost perfect, possessing unparalleled physical power as well as unwavering loyalty to his master, tremendous courage, keen intelligence and serene charisma.
Zhangzhou city in Fujian province, China, is famous for its hand puppets. The traditional puppets feature hand carved head and hand sewed costumes. The plays mostly come from traditional operas and folk lores. The hand puppet show from Zhangzhou can trace back to Song Dynasty (908 ~1279). Zhangzhou puppet has been selected to be one of the non-material and verbal heritage folk art in China.
