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Shadow Puppetry

Ⅳ-91Traditional OperaQian, 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 formed in the early Qing, at first as a narrative-singing form in which one man shook the “daidaizi” (second clapper) with the left hand and struck the jiezi (grasshopper clapper) with the right; by the mid-Qing artists had added home-made native sanxian and erxian accompaniment, and a string-tune-based Zhengban diao emerged, extending in turn to Manban, Erliu and other tunes, so that Xianban qiang entered its first period of flourishing.

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. Xianban qiang shadow puppetry circulates in Qianxian, Xingping, Liquan and Xianyang in the Guanzhong plain. Xianban qiang, also called “Banban qiang”, is named for its principal accompanying instrument the erxianzi and its percussion instrument the banzi. In the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns Wang Xiukai of Liquan created various tunes such as Dakaiban on the basis of Zhengban, added the erhu to the instruments and adopted the accompaniment of banzi with erxian and sanxian, forming a deep, crisp and bright vocal character and laying the basic pattern of Xianban qiang music, again bringing it into its best period with troupes standing thick and artists emerging in numbers, at one point more than sixty troupes in the various places. After the founding of the People's Republic of China Qianxian, Xingping and Liquan also brought it onto the stage, so that Xianban qiang developed a form combining shadow and stage performance, circulating among the people for a long time.

Zhengban Diao (The Basic Tune of Xianban Qiang)

The basic tune, mainly the string tune, formed in the mid-Qing with home-made native sanxian and erxian accompaniment.

Manban and Erliu

Tunes extended from Zhengban diao that brought Xianban qiang into its first period of flourishing.

Dakaiban (Created by Wang Xiukai)

One of the many tunes created by Wang Xiukai of Liquan in the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns on the basis of Zhengban, laying the basic pattern of Xianban qiang music.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Xianban qiang shadow puppetry circulates in Qian County, Xingping, Liquan, Xianyang and other places in the Guanzhong plain of Shaanxi; it is also called “Banban qiang”, named for its principal accompanying instrument the erxianzi and its percussion instrument the banzi. In the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns Wang Xiukai of Liquan created various singing tunes such as Dakaiban on the basis of Zhengban, added the erhu to the instruments and adopted the accompaniment of two banzi with erxian and sanxian, forming a deep and crisp vocal character; the Qian County area thereby became the core region of transmission for Xianban qiang.

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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. In recent years its position has become endangered and rescue and protection are urgently needed. Li Yuting (as recorded in the official dossier of an associated inheritor): male, Han, born in 1946 in Qianxian, Shaanxi.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Shadow Puppetry (Qian, Shaanxi) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Li Yuting · National Representative Bearer Archive
  3. Ding Bixia · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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