Chinese Shadow Play

Known as a precursor of modern movie, shadow play is a kind of drama in which silhouettes made of animal’s leather are projected onto a white screen. The performer manipulates the characters behind the screen while singing the libretto to tell the story. The story-telling is accompanied by music and it is also a culture of singing and talking.

The shadow puppets are made of transparent plastic or buffalo and donkey’s leather and Chinese shadow artists first carve out the lines of the design and then dye them in bright colors. These transparent puppets become very lively and beautiful under the lamp light. The shadow puppet is the wisdom crystallization of Chinese artists, it is also a popular handiwork in northern cities of China.

The Shadow Play has a history of over 2000 years, which originated during the Han Dynasty (B.C202-A.D 220) when one of the concubines of Emperor Wu died. The emperor was so devastated that ignored the affairs of state, and he summoned his court officers to bring his beloved back to life. The officers got an idea and made a shape of the concubine using donkey leather. Her joints were animated using 11 separate pieces of the leather, and adorned with painted clothes. Using an oil lamp they made her shadow move, bringing her back to life. After seeing the shadow play, Emperor Wu began to recover. Then the love story was recorded in the book of “The History of the Han Dynasty”.

The Shadow Play began to become quite popular in Song Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty there were 40 to 50 shadow play troupes in Beijing . In the late 13th century, Yuan Dynasty, the shadow show became a recreation in the barracks of the Mongolian troops. It was spread by the conquering Mongols to distant countries like Persia, Arabia, Turkey and other Southeastern Asian countries.

A balladry from Shaan Xi Province described what shadow play is iconically. That is:
Folk Shadow Play
Speaking behind paper partition screen,
Expressing variable feelings by shadows,
One shadow play actor can tell thousand years stories,
Both hands can operate millions of soldiers.

Recent years, in many areas, certain types of plays and the art of performance are actually nearing fading away. Fortunately, shadow play is alive and well-preserved in Huan Xian County in northwest Gansu Province, where has more than 90 shadow play groups, all of which are made up of the local farmers. The county, the birthplace of Daoqing shadow play, is a classic and easy-understanding shadow play.

Daoqing Shadow Play features a single performer who manipulates all of the characters and conducts the orchestra, as well. Chinese Shadow Play has been staged in European and American countries including  in recent years.

Shi Chenglin, a famous shadow play artist from Huanxian County, has performed the shadow play in more than 10 countries including Italy, Canada and the United States, etc. Since 2005, the Huanxian County Shadow Play Troupe has staged 50 Daoqing Shadow Plays in 20 cities including Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence. The performances have sparked strong interest among European audiences.

In Italy, the performance approached the climax, and the audience swarmed to the stage following the performance, eager to find out what happened behind the screen.

The wonder of the shadow play based on Chinese History and culture. If one is unfamiliar with the customs of northwest China, the value of the art is abated.