A renowned inheritor of Chinese shadow puppetry in Shaanxi Province has brought a modern twist to the traditional theatrical performance, fascinating audience with consummate skills and creative ideas.
Chinese shadow puppetry, or shadow play, is probably one of the most ancient arts using light and shadow, thousands of years before its much more popular successor, the film. Generally, it is a combination of various art forms involving painting, carving, music, opera performance and storytelling.
Despite its many genres, the shadow art in Huazhou County in Shaanxi Province is among the most acclaimed, being listed as an intangible cultural heritage item under the state protection in 2006.
In the local Shadow Puppet Expo Park, a play featuring Nezha, a household name that regularly appears in Chinese mythology, was being staged to recount the folk deity's well-known story of fighting his way to become a hero. But different from a traditional shadow puppet show, the story was being presented in a way similar to modern films. The large curtain and the multimedia tools created an immersive visual feast of light and shadow for the audience.
"It's wonderful. This is the first time I've seen a shadow puppetry show with [modern] projection elements. It's like watching cartoons," said Yang Xiaoqing, a visitor.
"This is my second time watching this play. I was wowed by it the first time I saw it. The sound, light and the special effect of lightning were very well done," said Shao Changpu, a shadow puppetry performer from Beijing.
According to the inheritor Xue Hongquan, they have made multiple adjustments to the original performance to make it more vivid and impressive.
"The screen for traditional shadow plays is only 1.5 meters [in both length and breadth]. But now our screen is 5 meters long and 2.2 meters wide, similar to the screen in a cinema. We also install lights on the Wind-and-Fire Wheels [Nezha's weapon] and enable it to rotate. These are what differ from the traditional show," said Xue.
The artist is also famous for his craftsmanship in making puppets used in the performances. His award-winning work "Fanwang" features sophisticated puppets made of well-selected leathers from cattle after going through more than 30 steps of processing including soaking, scraping, grinding, carving, dyeing, and embellishment.
"It took me over a month to finish the work. Its craftsmanship is mainly embodied in the craving of hairs, which are rolled up one by one. Even a little bit breakage is not allowed. They should have same degree of thickness, be smooth and vivid. Why are our shadow puppets in Huazhou, Shaanxi so delicate? I think it has a lot to do with the techniques," Xue said.
Traditional Chinese shadow puppetry given a modern twist in Shaanxi
