Stepping Out of The Shadows
China’s ancient puppetry art is looking for light at the end of the tunnel
The sounds of gongs and drums fade into the background as figurines made from animal skins suddenly come to life behind a screen, spinning and jumping, telling children’s stories or grown-up tales of love and hate; call it a movie projection avant la lettre. The audience is enthralled and everything around them is immersed in this ancient art of shadow.
Two thousand years ago, the sadness of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-A.D. 25) over the death of his favorite concubine was somewhat alleviated by the projection of her figure through a game of lights. This started what is now known in China as the earliest form of shadow play.
This intangible heritage of the nation is a traditional art recognized by UNESCO and a cultural treasure of the world. Puppetry seems to feature only simple accessories, but in fact combines performance, modeling, carving and color matching. One shadow play performer can tell thousands of years’ worth of stories; both hands can operate many characters.
Hiding in the dark
Shadow theater is a unique art form in China and a type of opera. Thanks to the basic principle of light and shadow projected onto a screen and figures carved and painted using the skins of cows, donkeys, horses or sheep, the performers use these puppets to tell various stories in a form of scenic art typical of opera. Rooted in China’s northwestern Shaanxi Province during the Western Han, it is considered the oldest active cinematographic art in the world adopted by humans. There are those who refer to shadow theater as the ancestor of modern cinematography.
Among all the country’s branches, Beijing shadow theater stands out for its techniques in carving and modeling the puppets, as well as its specific tunes. Initially, Beijing puppetry panache was divided into two schools: east and west. The eastern school disappeared very early on, while the western school came into being during the Ming Dynasty (13681644). In 1842, Lu Decheng inherited this art and established the Beijing Xiangshun Shadow Theater. Since then, the art of Beijing western-school shadow theater has been passed down generations of the Lu family.
Beijing shadow puppetry has undergone a long period of formation and features unique performance methods. Its vocal tone draws inspiration from the
appearance at weddings, banquets and Chinese New Year celebrations. A troupe could perform up to 30 or 40 times a day, well into the night at times, and when the curtain fell, the performers would pack up shop and move on.
A family affair
Lu Baogang, head of the Beijing Shadow Theater Ensemble, is the representative inheritor as well as the fifth-generation inheritor of the Lu family’s Beijing western-school shadow puppetry.
Talking about the art, Lu explained there are many more genres on the Chinese stage. At present, more than 50 percent of them hail from Shaanxi, while 30 to 40 percent come from northern Hebei Province. However, there are few shadow performances in Beijing due to insufficient development. “As an heir to this art, I have a responsibility to tell the younger generations about its true meaning so that they can continue the legacy. Only this way will shadow theater in Beijing stand the test of time,” he explained.
Given today’s explosion in entertainment forms, the art has somewhat “recoiled” into the shadows. Right now, the country has only a little more than 10 theater puppet play groups that are regularly active. In view of the retirement and death of many artists of the older generation, and in spite of Lu’s endeavors, the capital’s typical puppetry has come to a standstill.
The Beijing Shadow Theater Ensemble struggled to the point where it no longer had its own performance venue, and the actors’ income was very low. The art’s evaporation became a relentless threat. To solve this problem, Lu and his colleagues began seeking active collaborations with forms of entertainment that are of popular interest. It’s time to raise the curtain once again.