我们不一样 ：新加坡潮州铁枝木偶戏案例研究 = We are different : a case study on Singapore Teochew iron-stick puppetry

• Main Author: 成婉绮 Seng, Wendy Wan Qi
• Other Authors: Ong Soon Keong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: Chinese
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Humanities::General::History
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/78906
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

历史悠久的潮州铁枝木偶戏，是潮汕文化中相当受欢迎的传统艺术。每逢酬神， 1 必不可少，而由于其演出费比起其他戏曲表演更加便宜，所需要的人手也不多，具 有丰富娱乐性的木偶戏更是受到群众的喜爱。铁枝木偶戏的前身为纸影戏，不仅继承 了皮影操纵技巧，也形成其独特的木偶操控技巧，还采用许多潮汕当地的素材，再参 照潮剧进行沿革，使其别于其他木偶戏，形成独有的风格。 新加坡潮州人是新加坡华人社会的第二大群体，占新加坡华人人口的 20%。早 期潮州移民来新加坡定居的同时也带来许多潮州传统文化以及艺术，其中便有潮州铁 枝木偶戏。这门传统艺术随之在新加坡的文化史上占有一席之地。 然而，在建国初期，新加坡政府为了促进经济以及社会发展，推行许多由上至 下的教育政策及运动：“双语教育政策”和“推广华语运动”等。这些由政府主导的 运动和政策不仅对当时新加坡华人社群造成巨大的反响，也对现代新加坡华人文化造 成了深远的影响。从而导致现代华人在文化认同上产生改变，也因此造成铁枝木偶戏 的式微。本文将以潮州铁枝木偶戏在新加坡的传承及发展为案例研究，分析潮州铁枝 木偶戏作为一种传统艺术形式是如何受到社会以及政府政策的影响，从而讨论新加坡 教育政策对本地华人对于华人传统文化认同的影响。 With a rich historical and cultural heritage, the Teochew iron-stick puppetry is one the most popular traditional arts in the Chaoshan culture. It is indispensable during events when people offer thanks to the Gods. Puppetry is favoured by the community over other forms of entertainment like opera as puppetry is relatively cheaper and requires less manpower. Inheriting techniques of controlling shadow puppets from shadow puppetry, the Teochew iron-stick puppetry formed its own special puppet-controlling techniques. Coupled with the special puppet-controlling technique, the Teochew iron-stick puppetry also incorporates various elements from Chaoshan and made references and adaptations from Teochew opera, successfully creating its unique style which stands out from other puppetry. Teochews make up one-fifth of the Chinese population in Singapore, making them the second largest dialect group in Singapore. Early Teochew immigrants to Singapore brought along their various forms of traditional Teochew cultural activities like the Teochew iron-rod puppetry, which influenced the cultural development of Singapore as a young nation then. As a young nation, Singapore government needed to formulate policies and measures to stimulate the economy and boost social development. Hence, the Bilingual policy and Speak Mandarin Campaign was implemented. These policies significantly disrupted the Chinese community then and the perennial impact eventually led to a drastic change in Chinese cultural identity, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Teochew iron-stick puppetry. In this paper, we will use the development of Teochew iron-stick puppetry in Singapore as a case study to analyse how this traditional art was affected by government policies and social changes. In addition, we also discuss how these government policies influence our cultural identity.