Culture Insider: Chinese shadow puppetry

Inheritor Qin Ligang performs shadow puppetry behind the screen in Xiaogan city, Hubei province. [Photo/IC]

3. How to perform shadow puppetry?

The limbs and head of a shadow figure are put together using threads to make it easy to move. A puppet is always manipulated by using five bamboo sticks.

After the puppets are ready, a white curtain will be put up, which is always a piece of white cloth one square meter in size. It is polished with fish oil to look smooth and lucent.

Now it's show time for the artists, although they are behind the screen.

When artists perform, they not only skillfully manipulate the figures using their hands, but also sing or narrate and sometimes, they even have to hit a drum using their feet.

Manipulation and singing skills are the most important factors contributing to a good shadow puppet play. Some masters can manipulate seven to eight figures at the same time.

Puppet plays usually tell dramatic versions of traditional fairy tales and myths. With the changing shadows on the curtain, beautiful or intense music, attractive narration and light effects, a shadow play can be thrilling and splendid.

Props for shadow puppetry are small and portable, and the performance can take place almost anywhere, so it was popular among people in past times.

Related:

Daoqing shadow play gets protection and inheritance in Gansu

Folk artist Jing Tingxiao, 63 years old, presents Daoqing (a folk operetta originated from the chanting of Taoist scriptures) shadow play backstage at Chenqiyuan village in Huanxian county, Qingyang, Northwest China's Gansu province. More...

Folk artists get due honor

For the first time, folk craftsmen and artists from all over China have received national recognition for passing down their traditions. The Chinese National Academy of Arts presented the Xinchuan Award to 60 inheritors of traditional Chinese culture. More...

Puppet opera revitalized in Shanxi	A puppeteer and his puppet performance life	Couples in Shandong preserving puppetry