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Shadow Puppetry

Ⅳ-91Traditional OperaChangli, HebeiBatch 3 (2011)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

Drawing on research into eastern-Hebei shadow puppetry, Changli shadow puppetry was at its most flourishing in the late Qing and early Republic, such famous troupes as the Ma family and Qi family troupes travelling to perform around Changli, Luanzhou and Laoting and such noted artists as Gao Rongjie and Qi Yongheng emerging.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Changli shadow puppetry is an important part of eastern-Hebei shadow puppetry. Most shadow puppetry borrows the singing of local opera, but only Changli shadow puppetry has created a singing style entirely its own. Its singing takes Changli folk song as its material, weeping and complaining in sorrow and half-speaking, half-singing in joy, fully reflecting the joys and sorrows of the Changli people. Historically Changli had such famous shadow troupes as the Ma family and Qi family troupes, and noted artists such as Mr Gao Rongjie, called the “Mei Lanfang of the shadow world”, Mr Qi Yongheng, called the “king of the arrow shaft” and “living shadow figure”, and the shadow carvers Mr Xiao Fucheng, Mr Ju Shang and Mr Tian Shimin. Its commonly performed traditional plays include Qiankun Dai, Qin Xianglian and Shao Yulan. Its figures are carved from donkey hide in bright colours with fluent lines; one man at the front operates and sings while the musicians behind divide the civil and martial accompaniment. Titles such as “king of the arrow shaft” and “living shadow figure” reflect the artists' high attainment in rod work, and its plays are mostly drawn from historical romance and folk story.

Qiankun Dai (The Cosmic Girdle)

A commonly performed traditional play of Changli shadow puppetry.

Qin Xianglian

A commonly performed traditional play of Changli shadow puppetry.

Shao Yulan

A commonly performed traditional play of Changli shadow puppetry.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Changli shadow puppetry circulates in Changli county and the eastern Hebei area, belonging with Luanzhou shadow puppetry to the eastern-Hebei shadow system, with the Changli county cultural centre responsible for the project's protection and transmission.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Zhang Xiangdong (as recorded in the official dossier of an associated inheritor): male, Han, born in September 1947 in Funing county, Hebei. He afterwards took part in shadow performance in the Funing county shadow society and the Qinhuangdao city shadow society as a principal “holder of the figures” (rod operator). In 1976 he organised the rebuilding of the Qinhuangdao city shadow troupe, adapting and leading the performance of the large newly created mythological shadow play Havoc in Heaven. He is a representative inheritor of shadow puppetry (Changli shadow puppetry) in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects. After retiring he formed the Changli Xiangdong shadow troupe, performing and exchanging in Beijing, Hong Kong, Fujian and Jiangsu and in the Czech Republic, winning a bronze award and an outstanding performance award at the third national marionette and shadow puppetry competition. Changli shadow puppetry is unique in its singing and preserves the carving and rod-work tradition of eastern-Hebei shadow puppetry, with relatively high value for the study of folk art and local culture; relying on the cultural centre, the locality sustains the art through troupe performance, intangible-heritage showcases and opera-in-schools.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Shadow Puppetry (Changli, Hebei) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Zhang Xiangdong · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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