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Shadow Puppetry

Ⅳ-91Traditional OperaFuping, ShaanxiBatch 1 (2006)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

The time of shadow puppetry's formation is not yet determined, but according to Meng Yuanlao's Dongjing Menghua Lu of the Southern Song it had matured and flourished by the Song at the latest, and among the shadow artists of the Bianliang pleasure quarters there were already nine men such as Dong Shiwu, Zhao Qi and Cao Baoyi. Through the Song, Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties shadow puppetry, spread across the whole country, presented a flourishing scene in the Qing. It went to Beijing to perform in 1961, and was praised by the central leadership and by members of the Beijing theatrical circles.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Shadow puppetry is an operatic form that cuts figures from hide or cardboard and tells stories by projecting the cut figures in lamplight. Its distribution is extremely wide, covering almost every province and region, and different local vocal styles have produced a great variety of shadow puppetry—Huaxian, Huayin laoqiang, Agong qiang and Xianban qiang shadow puppetry in Shaanxi; Huanxian daoqing shadow puppetry in Gansu; Xiaoyi wanwan qiang shadow puppetry in Shanxi; Tangshan and Jinan shadow puppetry in Hebei; Haining shadow puppetry in Zhejiang; Jianghan plain shadow puppetry in Hubei; Lufeng shadow puppetry in Guangdong; and Fuzhou and Lingyuan shadow puppetry in Liaoning. In the Wenshu hall of Yanshan temple, Fanshi, Shanxi, a Jin-dynasty mural “Picture of Shadow Play” vividly shows shadow performance in Shanxi at the time. Though there are many kinds, they differ mainly in vocal style and repertory, while figure-making and performance technique are broadly similar. Figures are generally made by scraping the hair and blood from oxhide, donkey hide or sheepskin, processing it to semi-transparency and then carving and colouring it, stressing fine knife-work and lifelike modelling. A figure is divided into head, body and four limbs, all in profile, the head with helmet or cap, the body and limbs dressed, baked and pressed flat over a firebrick after oil colouring. In performance the head is inserted into the body, the body joined to the limbs, and three bamboo rods fixed to the body and two hands for operation. Besides the characters, stage props, tables and chairs and scenery must be carved. The main prop is the screen, popularly “liangzi”, generally three feet high and five wide, at most four by six, with white paper as the backdrop for single-person operation, and next an oil lamp to project the figures and their movements. Agong qiang is a particularly distinctive offshoot among the shadow puppetry of the cities and counties of north-central Guanzhong in Shaanxi, namely Liquan, Xianyang, Jingyang, Gaoling, Lintong, Yaoxian, Fuping and others. Its vocal melodies are neither heavy nor restless, but pure, leisurely and graceful; the “fanggao” (rising leap), the “di'e” (low holding) and the “one sung, three held” in its singing style are its marks. The music of Agong qiang is good at depicting and expressing the complex inner life of characters. As in the plaintive and heart-rending grief of Jiao Guiying's aria in Wang Kui Betrays His Duty; the tender, heartfelt and lingering exchange between Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen in the umbrella scene of The White Snake; and the high, stirring and soul-stirring lament for the Great River by Lei Gang in Dujuan Mountain. These classic passages are loved not only by audiences at large but also endorsed by experts and colleagues of the theatrical world. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the move of Agong qiang from shadow puppetry onto the stage was a development and an innovation. Over the years the works created and performed, such as Four Seasons Song, Two Families as Kin and The Third Girl, have won awards from the Ministry of Culture and from provincial authorities.

Four Seasons Song

Over the years the works created and performed, such as Four Seasons Song, Two Families as Kin and The Third Girl, have won awards from the Ministry of Culture and from provincial authorities.

Two Families as Kin

Over the years the works created and performed, such as Four Seasons Song, Two Families as Kin and The Third Girl, have won awards from the Ministry of Culture and from provincial authorities.

The Third Girl

Over the years the works created and performed, such as Four Seasons Song, Two Families as Kin and The Third Girl, have won awards from the Ministry of Culture and from provincial authorities.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Agong qiang is a distinctive branch of the shadow puppetry of Liquan, Xianyang, Jingyang, Gaoling, Lintong, Yaoxian, Fuping and other cities and counties in the north-central part of the Guanzhong plain in Shaanxi. Its vocal melodies are neither heavy nor restless, but pure, leisurely and graceful; the “fanggao”, the “di'e” and the “one sung, three held” in its singing style are its marks, and it is good at depicting and expressing the complex inner life of characters, as the plaintive and heart-rending grief of Jiao Guiying's aria in Wang Kui Betrays His Duty clearly shows. The Fuping County Agong qiang Transmission Centre (the Fuping County Agong Opera Troupe) is the main professional base for this item.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Shadow puppetry is an important traditional folk art of our country; in recent years, under the impact of modern film and television, audiences and the performance market have steadily shrunk and many shadow forms face extinction, urgently needing rescue and protection. Yet over the past ten-odd years its development has been slow and it is on the verge of extinction, so that rescue and protection are urgently needed.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Shadow Puppetry (Fuping, Shaanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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