Despite suffering a decline in popularity into the present, shadow puppetry nonetheless remains a significant and fascinating symbol of Chinese cultural history.Įxcited to learn more about other aspects of Chinese traditional art and culture? Check out our articles on Guilin Opera or traditional Chinese clothing to learn more about China's fascinating artistic and aesthetic traditions. In the dynasties that followed, shadow puppetry became a celebratory custom for farming and laboring families, with thousands of specialized troupes traveling and performing across the nation.ĭuring the communist revolution in the mid-twentieth century, shadow puppetry was temporarily banned in provinces where officials viewed it as a negative reminder of feudal tradition. The roots of shadow puppetry in China can be traced back to the early Han Dynasty, where the practice served as a form of entertainment reserved only for nobility.ĭuring the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, shadow puppetry began spreading to the working class where it was embraced as a people’s folk art. Making shadow puppets into cultural and creative products, they established a puppet-making workshop in the theater, where shadow puppet artists guide. Through their performances, shadow plays work to pass on historical stories, social morals and cultural myths from generation to generation. Find Chinese Shadow Puppets stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. In 1994, the Kaohsiung Museum of Shadow Puppet was established and opened to the public as a multifunctional museum by the Kaohsiung County Government.

Placed against translucent cloth screens, puppets are then manipulated by skilled masters to create the illusion of movement which is usually accompanied by song and dance. S ome shadow puppets depict people, while others are crafted in the shape of real animals like lions and mythical animals like Chinese dragons. The size of shadow puppets varies from some 20 cm to one meter. For this reason, the Chinese name for puppetry is pi ying xi, which is literally meant as leather shadow play. Inspired by this scene, the minister hit upon an idea. Traditionally, Chinese shadow puppets are made from animal skins that are processed and scraped to be very thin and translucent. One day, a minister happened to see children playing with dolls where the shadows on the floor were vivid.

The shadow puppets used in China are typically. More than 2000 years ago, a favorite concubine of Wu Emperor of the Han Dynasty died of illness the emperor missed her so much that he lost his desire to reign. Have you heard of Chinese shadow plays, an art considered by many to be the world’s first ever form of puppetry? Traditionally constructed out of natural materials like animal skins and mineral pigments, these marionette-like figurines are painted in order to symbolize archetypal characters from Chinese legends. Shadow puppetry is a form of theatrical performance that uses the shadow of puppets cast onto a screen.

Chinese shadow puppetry