A century ago when movies were first introduced to China, they
were called Western shadow plays, a foreign equivalent of the
Chinese folk art piying (literally leather shadows in Chinese), or
shadow puppet show.
The illuminated puppet figures are manipulated by at least three to
five artists (puppet masters), who stand behind a transparent white
cloth screen. These performances combine vocal art, music, fine art
and craftsmanship.
But the silhouette puppets are by themselves works of
art.?
Combining Chinese folk painting, paper cutting skills and given
either realistic or symbolic body features, clothes, props and
headdresses, these puppets can represent a range of characters from
ancient military officers, scholars, beauties to celestial beings
and devils.
It is unclear when shadow plays began in China but they gained
popularity as early as the Song Dynasty (960-1279). During the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644), in Beijing alone, there were reportedly 40 to
50 shadow play troupes.
This traditional opera has attracted a huge following in
provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Hubei, Guangdong,
Shaanxi and Gansu.
The shadow play was one of the earliest Chinese arts introduced
to the West. In the 13th century, the plays became a regular form
of entertainment in the barracks of Mongolian troops. The plays
were spread by Mongols to distant territories like Persia, Arabia
and Turkey and were later introduced to Southeast Asian
countries.
Shadow puppets were seen in Europe in the mid-18th century when
French missionaries to China took them back to France in 1767 and
put on performances in Paris and Marseilles, causing quite a
stir.
Today, more than 20 countries are known to have shadow play
troupes.
(China Daily May 23, 2007)
