Li Bofen

Li Bofen was born in Jinjiang, Fujian, in 1926. At eleven he began learning glove puppetry from his father Li Rongzong, becoming the fourth generation of the Li family troupe and later a nationally graded performer. A complete artist, he could manipulate two characters at once in pieces such as Shijiu nong and Fanpo nong; he was praised at the 1961 national puppet and shadow-play showcase, and in 1962 his performance with his father of Qian Lanfang tijia was filmed as a documentary. He dictated, edited and staged dozens of traditional plays and trained more than 340 southern-style glove puppeteers. He was a national representative bearer of Jinjiang glove puppetry and died in 2012.