By Linda Baxter 琳達(dá).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.
如果我們觀察一群孩子玩玩具，一開始他們可能會很開心，把塑料動物放到動物園的籠子里，再拿出來，又或者給公仔穿上不同的衣服，但是一會兒過后，這些就顯得有點無聊。玩具們似乎長出了腿，會從地板的一邊溜到到另一邊，動物開始聊天，公仔們會互相拜訪，談?wù)撍麄兘裉於荚谧鍪裁?，?dāng)然他們的聲音聽起來都不大一樣。促使無生命的輪廓能動會說的動機(jī)似乎很自然，當(dāng)然，這確切來講，也就是木偶。這很可能就是木偶存在了幾千年，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.
皮影木偶是一維的輪廓，觀眾能很清晰地觀賞到通過燈光投射到幕布上的皮影。皮影戲木偶通常都有可活動的手臂和雙腿，可被皮影藝人操控。這些古老的木偶仍然存在，例如印度的皮革木偶以及爪哇的皮影戲。

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.
拉桿木偶是三維的人物輪廓，它是由粘附在木偶身體上不同部位的幾片木材或竹子控制的。最簡單也是最早期的形式，僅僅是木棍上的一個頭而已——玩偶的前身。比較復(fù)雜的版本會有許多可移動的身體部位，活靈活現(xiàn)。爪哇島可能有著世界上最有名的木偶——傀儡戲。

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.
如名所示，提線木偶（或牽線木偶）是通過線絲控制的三維人物輪廓。標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的木偶的手臂，大腿，肩膀，背部和頭部是系有線絲的。這些絲線交叉在木材上面，木偶藝人一手握緊，另一只手移動個別線絲。在全球各地，可以找到不同版本的提線木偶。

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）是由布料做成的三維人物，木偶藝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見的木偶樣式，因為布袋木偶制作簡單，也容易操控。每一個英國成年人，從孩兒時代在海邊就牢記的著名木偶，潘趣和朱迪，也是手套木偶。

How they developed 木偶如何發(fā)展演變

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.
關(guān)于木偶的起源所知甚少。古埃及和古中國的一些遺址曾發(fā)現(xiàn)過木偶，柏拉圖和亞里士多德也提及過木偶，但是關(guān)于木偶如何被使用，暫未找到詳細(xì)資料。已知的是，不同的文化都有木偶的存在，而木偶也以不同的方式發(fā)展演變。

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戲。之后，拉桿投入使用以便能夠更好控制木偶外形，三維的拉桿木偶就發(fā)展演變了，然后就有了我們今天所熟知的各種木偶。

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.
在中世紀(jì)的英國，提線木偶流行開來。教堂服務(wù)使用提線木偶講解圣經(jīng)故事，例如基督的誕生。詞語“牽線木偶”（意為小瑪麗）可能是來自于這個時代。到了16世紀(jì)，木偶表演慢慢地走出教堂，來到大街小巷，每一個鄉(xiāng)村的廟會上都會有木偶戲院。當(dāng)時這些木偶表演是大眾化的娛樂，常常都是很粗俗并帶有諷刺意味的。

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.
與此同時，潘趣和朱迪從意大利過來了。他們本是牽線木偶，但在19世紀(jì)，它們已經(jīng)演變成手套木偶，因為手套木偶制作更加便宜，而且更容易移動和操控。

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.
現(xiàn)在，在英國，木偶通常是跟孩子們的娛樂聯(lián)系在一起，但是在很多國家，它們?nèi)匀灰砸环N成人藝術(shù)的方式存活下去，特別是在東方。木偶最重要的用途之一就是在孩子和成人的教育上。傳統(tǒng)的木偶表演是探究敏感問題的一種好辦法，例如那些人們公開討論會比較尷尬的性教育或者對艾滋病的認(rèn)識。木偶也被廣泛應(yīng)用于心理治療。一個不愿談?wù)撛?jīng)發(fā)生在自己身上的恐怖事情的孩子，常常都會很樂意用木偶來演繹當(dāng)時的場景。

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.
當(dāng)然，還有一點要注意的，別忘記多年來在電視上陪伴我們的新一代木偶，從傳統(tǒng)的雷鳥，到克米特和布偶的小豬小姐，還有同模形象的諷刺。木偶似乎還真的不僅僅是屬于小孩子的。