Known among some Europeans as the "magic of the East", the Chinese
shadow play or Daoqing, a precursor to the modern movie, will once
again have a domestic audience. From April 25 to 27 the Daoqing
Shadow Play Troupe of Huanxian County, northwest China's Gansu
Province will give six performances in the Beibingmasi Theatre
(North Theatre) in Beijing. This is an experimental commercial
performance of folk art heritage in China.
Shi Chenglin, an actor in the Daoqing Shadow Play Troupe of
Huanxian will head the list in the performance. Shi, already in his
60s, led the troupe through Italy, Germany and other countries for
a month recently. The troupe has the characteristic roughness of
people from northwest China. The main performances are traditional
themes for folk drama and include, Cat Replacing The Prince,
Monkey Subdues the White Bone Demon, Wang Qi Is Afraid of
His Wife.
China is the home of the Shadow play, that began during the Han
Dynasty (206 BCAD 220) and spread all over the country in the Jin,
Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. It also spread to South Asia,
Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa between
the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. The ancient Chinese art
spread to Europe then in the seventeenth century.
This ancient folk tradition gradually fell from the spotlight upon
impact of modern media of television and movies. Shadow plays were
in danger of extinction. Many shadow play groups had been
disbanded, and many of the most talented artists have died, which
has made certain types of lyrics, melodies, shadow play puppets and
performances in many areas very rare.
Fortunately, Daoqing shadow play in east of Gansu Province is alive
and well. It is a cultural symbol of Gansu Province, and for
northwest China. In the last century Huanxian County had many
famous shadow play troupes and actors, such as Xie Changchun
(1843-1916) who made considerable contribution to the Huanxian
shadow play tradition.
The Chinese Gansu Shadow Play Troupe, which consists of Shi
Chenglin and other five members, visited Italy in 1978 on the
invitation of the Italy-China Friendship Association, staging 24
Daoqing shadow plays in 13 cities including Rome, Venice, Milan and
Florence. The troupe has sparked strong interest among European
audiences, and is praised as "the magic Eastern art troupe".
According to Li Ge, of the sponsor, Beijing Tongji Culture
Communication Ltd, with economic globalization there is a tendency
towards convergence among the arts in all countries and China must
concentrate on folk heritage if it wishes to keep the culture a
feature for another thousand years.
The reason for the well-protected shadow play culture in Huanxian
is due to the area's remoteness and the fact that it is beyond
other cultural influences.
But in recent years, with old actor's deaths and young people
leaving, the shadow play is on the wane. It's not on the same level
as its heyday or in terms of the number of a troupe, its actors and
their performances. Beijing Tongji Culture Communication Ltd has
invited the Daoqing Shadow Play Troupe of Huanxian County to
perform in Beijing to protect this treasured folk art heritage
through commercial support and sponsorship.
(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, April 7, 2003)