Shadow play is taken as an earliest ancestor of modern cinema; the unique artistic value makes it be reserved from the ancient time. It is a kind of drama in which silhouettes made of ox, sheep, donkey or other animal leathers are projected onto a white screen. The performer plays the characters behind the screen while singing the libretto to tell the story.

History of Shadow puppet play

The Shadow puppet play has a history of over 2000 years, which originated during the Han Dynasty (B.C 202 – 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 puppet play, Emperor Wu began to recover. Then the love story was recorded in the book of “The History of the Han Dynasty”.

The Shadow puppet play began to become quite popular in Song Dynasty (A.D 960 – A.D 1234). During the Ming Dynasty (A.D 1368 – A.D 1644) there were 40 to 50 shadow puppet play troupes in Beijing. In the late 13th century, Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271 – A.D1368), 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.

Shadow Puppet Play in China

The shadow puppet is the wisdom of Chinese artists, and it is also a popular handiwork in China. It is widely spread in most regions in China, except Tibet and Xinjiang, with different styles of shadow puppet play in different places. However, the characters shaping and performance skills are all quite exquisite, with play themes including the Chinese ancient magic, myths, religions, monarchs, legal cases, wars, as well as talented scholars and pretty ladies, the secular life and etc.

The shadow play was the earlier form of Chinese Cartoon, and to perform a great shadow play is no easy task for it takes considerable expertise in the fine arts, often requiring artists to perform multiple skills at once.

Nevertheless, performers find it rewarding because it brings the audience a lot of happiness. The major problem now is that the audience is aging fast, and the vast majority of young people do not really understand the ancient art form.

Shadow Puppet Play in other Countries

The show began to spread to Europe in the mid 18th century, when French missionaries to China took it back to France in 1767 and put on performances in Paris and Marseilles, causing quite a stir. In time, the ombres chinoises, with local modification and embellishment, became the ombres francaises and struck root in the country.

At present, more than 20 countries are known to have shadow show troupes.

The principle methods of shadow performance adopted by the shadow puppet played an important leading role in the invention of the modern movie and the development of the movies and cartoons. Nowadays, the Chinese shadow puppet plays have been collected by the museums of many countries in the world. Meanwhile they are the best souvenir given by Chinese government officials to their foreign guests.

by Xiao Xiao @ InteractChina.com

About Interact China

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"A Social Enterprise in E-commerce Promoting Oriental Aesthetic Worldwide"

Aileen & Norman co-founded Interact China in 2004 with specialization in fine Oriental Aesthetic products handmade by ethnic minorities & Han Chinese. Having direct partnerships with artisans, designers, craft masters and tailors, along with 10 years solid experience in e-commerce via InteractChina.com, we position well to bridge talented artisans in the East with the rest of the world, and bring you direct finely selected products that are of good quality and aesthetic taste.

So far we carry 2000+ goods covering Ladies Fashion, Tailor Shop, Home Furnishings, Babies & Kids, Painting Arts, Textile Arts, Carving Arts, Tribal Jewelry Art, Wall Masks and Musical Instruments. Our team speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, and serve customers worldwide with passion and hearts.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S. We Need People with Similar Passion to Join Our Blogging Team!

If you have passion to write about Oriental Aesthetic in Fashion, Home Decor, Art & Crafts, Culture, Music, Books, and Charity, please contact us at bloggers@interactchina.com, we would love to hear from you!