Linqing, China: a crowd gathered around a stand to watch a puppet show with music. Engraving by G. Paterson after T. Allom.

At Linqing in Shandong province. Centre, the puppet show, in which two warriors fight each other, one with an axe and the other with a spear. Right, a musician playing the flute while he plays drums with his right foot and the cymbals with his left foot.

"Both in England and in China music forms a necessary part of the entertainment nor is it a matter unattended with difficulty to decide which country on this ground is entitled to pre eminence Mr Allom's musician at Lin sin choo seems to be very fully occupied and resolutely bent upon diverting the attention of the spectators from those movements of the mechanism or from that sleight of hand which might detract from the general effect of the exhibition To his left foot a cymbal is attached which he strikes against its fellow fixed securely on the ground with his right foot he plays upon a drum or tambour while both hands are employed in the management of a hwang teih or flute occasionally exchanged for the heang teih or clarionet that is suspended at his side This immense unkeyed instrument is simply a bamboo cane having a mouth hole at some distance from the end a second aperture covered with the inner rind or film of a species of reed two inches lower down besides ten ventiges six of which are effective and equidistant The tone of the bamboo flute is both sweet and powerful and the harmony of the musician's little band in general agreeable. … The spectators and auditors at the raree show in Lin sin choo belong to the industrious and humbler classes to whom the rice seller presents himself and amongst whom not only do the mother and child very naturally make their appearance but the less interesting character of the smoking lounger who declines all further labour until necessity shall compel him to accept it."--Allom and Wright, loc. cit.

London ; Paris : Fisher Son & Co., [1843]

1 print : engraving ; sheet 20.8 x 27.5 cm

Raree show at Lin-sin-choo. Montre des poupées à Lin-sin-choo. Puppenspiel zu Lin-sin-choo. Drawn by T. Allom. Engraved by G. Paterson.

Wellcome Collection 32494i