Puppets
木偶

By Linda Baxter
琳达.巴克斯特著

Watch a group of children playing with their toys. At first they might be happy to put the plastic animals in their cages at the zoo and take them out again, or dress the dolls in different clothes, but after a while things get a bit boring. So the toys will be moved across the floor as if they had real legs, the animals will start to speak to each other and the dolls will pay visits to each other's houses and talk about what they've been doing today, all in slightly different voices of course. It seems that the impulse to make inanimate figures move and talk is a very natural one, and, of course, that's exactly what puppets are all about. And that's probably why they've existed for thousands of years - and are known to children and adults all over the world.
看着一群孩子以玩具为乐。一开始孩子们可能会很开心，把塑料动物放到动物园的笼子里，再拿出来，又或者给公仔穿上不同的衣服，但是一会儿过后，这些都显得有点无聊。所以，玩具似乎自己也有真正的双腿，会从地板的一边横过到另一边，这些动物会开始互相交流，公仔们会互相拜访对方的家，谈论他们今天都在做什么，当然都是用稍微不同的声音去开口交流的。促使无生命的轮廓能动会说的动机似乎是很自然的，当然，这确切来讲，也就是木偶。这很可能就是木偶存在了几千年，并被全球的小孩子和大人所熟知的原因。

The basic types
基本款

Shadow puppets are one-dimensional silhouettes which move against a light background so that they can be clearly seen by the audience. They usually have moveable arms and legs which the puppeteer controls. These ancient puppets still survive in some parts of the world, for example, the leather puppets of India and the Javanese Wayang Kulit.
皮影木偶是一维的轮廓，通过灯光背景投射到幕布上，这样观众就能很清晰地观赏到。皮影戏木偶通常都有可活动的手臂和双腿，可被皮影艺人操控。在世界上的一些地方，这些古老的木偶仍然存在着，例如印度的皮革木偶以及爪哇的皮影戏。

Rod puppets are three-dimensional figures controlled by pieces of wood or bamboo attached to different parts of their bodies. The simplest form, and one of the earliest, is just a head on a stick - an early form of doll. But more sophisticated versions have many moveable body parts and can be moved in a very realistic way. Once again, Java has probably the most famous rod puppets in the world - the Wayang Golek.
拉杆木偶是三维的人物轮廓，它是由粘附在木偶身体上不同部位的几片木材或竹子控制的。最简单的形式，也是最早期的形式之一，仅仅是木棍上的一个头而已——玩偶早期的一种形式。比较复杂的版本会有许多可移动的身体部位，这些部位可以很生动地动起来。又一次，爪哇岛可能有着世界上最有名的木偶——傀儡戏。

As the name suggests, string puppets (or marionettes) are three dimensional figures controlled by strings. The standard puppet has strings attached to its arms, legs, shoulders, back and head. These are attached to a cross of wood which the puppeteer holds in one hand while moving individual strings with the other. Different versions of string puppets are found all over the world.
如名字所示，提线木偶（或牵线木偶）是通过线丝控制的三维人物轮廓。标准的木偶的手臂，大腿，肩膀，背部和头部是系有线丝的。这些丝线交叉在木材上面，木偶艺人一手握紧，另一只手移动个别线丝。在全球各地，可以找到不同版本的提线木偶。

Hand puppets (also known as glove puppets) are three-dimensional figures which are usually made of cloth and worn on the puppeteer's hand or arm. They are probably the most common form of puppet all over the world because they are easy to make and to manipulate. The famous Punch and Judy puppets, which every British adult remembers from childhood days at the seaside, are glove puppets.
布袋木偶（也叫手套木偶）是由布料做成的三维人物，木偶艺人把布袋木偶套在手掌和手臂上。布袋木偶很可能是全世界最常见的木偶样式，因为布袋木偶制作简单，也容易操控。每一个英国成年人，从孩儿时代在海边就牢记的著名木偶，潘趣和朱迪，也是手套木偶。

How they developed
木偶如何发展演变

Very little is known about the origins of puppets. Puppets have been found in ancient Egyptian and Chinese sites and puppets were mentioned by Plato and Aristotle but we have no details about how they were used. All we know is that different cultures had them and they developed in different ways.
关于木偶的起源所知甚少。古埃及和古中国的一些遗址曾发现过木偶，柏拉图和亚里士多德也提及过木偶，但是关于木偶如何被使用，我们找不到详细的资料。我们所知道的就是，不同的文化都有木偶的存在，而木偶也以不同的方式发展演变。

The earliest puppets were probably simple shadow puppets. Later, when rods were added to give more control to the silhouettes, the three-dimensional rod puppets developed and then the types that we know today.
最早的木偶很可能是皮影戏。之后，当拉杆加入木偶以便能够更好控制木偶外形，三维的拉杆木偶就发展演变了，然后就有了我们今天所知道的各种木偶。

In Britain, string puppets became very popular in the Middle Ages, when they were used in church services to illustrate Bible stories, such as the birth of Christ. It's possible that the word 'marionette' (which means 'little Mary') comes from this time. The puppet shows slowly moved out of the churches and into the streets and by the sixteenth century there were puppet theatres at every country fair. The shows were popular entertainment and were often very rude and satirical.
在中世纪的英国，提线木偶流行开来。它们被用在教堂服务中讲解圣经故事，例如基督的诞生。词语“牵线木偶”（意为小玛丽）可能是来自于这个时代。到了16世纪，木偶表演慢慢地走出教堂，来到大街小巷，每一个乡村的庙会上都会有木偶戏院。这些木偶表演在当时是大众化的娱乐，常常都是很粗俗并带有讽刺意味的。

Punch and Judy arrived at this time from Italy. The puppets were marionettes but by the nineteenth century they had became glove puppets because they were cheaper to make and easier to transport and manipulate.
当时，潘趣和朱迪从意大利过来了。这两个木偶是牵线木偶，但在19世纪，它们已经变成了手套木偶，因为手套木偶制作更加便宜，而且更容易移动和操控。

Puppets today
今日的木偶

Nowadays in Britain puppets are usually associated with children's entertainment but they still survive as an adult art form in many countries, particularly in the East. One of the most important uses of puppets today is in education for children and adults alike. Traditional puppet shows are a good way of exploring sensitive issues such as sex education or AIDS awareness which people may be embarrassed to discuss openly. They are widely used in therapy too. A child who doesn't want to talk about the terrible thing that happened to him is often happy to act out the scene using puppets.
现在，在英国，木偶通常是跟孩子们的娱乐联系在一起，但是在很多国家，它们仍然以一种成人艺术的方式存活下去，特别是在东方。今天，木偶最重要的用途之一就是在孩子和成人的教育上。传统的木偶表演是探究敏感问题的一种好办法，例如那些人们公开讨论会比较尴尬的性教育或者对艾滋病的认识。木偶也被广泛应用于心理治疗。一个孩子，不愿谈论曾经发生在自己身上的恐怖事情，却常常都会很乐意用木偶来演绎当时的场景。

And of course, on a lighter note, let's not forget the new generations of puppets that television has brought us through the years, from the old classics like Thunderbirds, to Kermit and Miss Piggy of the Muppets, and the satire of Spitting Image. It really does seem that puppets are not just for children.
当然，还有一个要注意的，我们不能忘记多年来在电视上带给我们的新一代木偶，从传统的雷鸟，到克米特和布偶的小猪小姐，还有同模形象的讽刺。木偶似乎还真的不仅仅是属于小孩子的。