Shadow play.
If you travel to China you'll probably see lots of things that will amaze you, but one of the most curious things you can see in your Chinese Tour is the Shadow play, or Shadow Puppetry.
Although now is present through all the Asian continent it is said that this kind of storytelling was originated in China and, like most of the things that are from China, it has a very beautiful legend that explains how the Shadow play was created.
During the Han dynasty one of the concubines of emperor Wu died from an illness, the Emperor Wu, devastated, asked everybody in the realm to bring his beloved back to life.
One officer made a concubine figure made of donkey leather and articulated it with 11 joints, he painted it and he put it against an oil lamp, made this figure look as if the concubine was alive again.
The final of the legend is not very clear, but what it's known is that some years later, on the Song dynasty the beginning of holidays was marked by a large quantity of Shadow Plays on the street.
It is said that in the Ming Dynasty there were 50 shadow plays groups in the City of Beijing alone.
From there the popularity of the Shadow play augmented, it was extended throughout Asia because the Mongols learned this kind of entertainment and they brought it everywhere they went.
When the Shadow Play began the screens were made of mulberry paper and the theme was always similar, events from the past wars or just Buddhist stories because that were the themes that interested the people.
The puppets were made of leather and they used sticks to move them through the scene.
Later Myths and Legends from Chinese culture were also added at the repertoire and they were accompanied by music specially prepared for the plays.
Although is quite difficult to find a Shadow because is not a big show and it can only be seen by a specific amount of people it is good to try to find one place to see it just for the experience.
Shadow play is an ancient Chinese art that has been entertaining people nearly a thousand years and since then it has not changed, so if during your China Travel you want to have a taste of how was the life in the ancient China why don't you try to find a place where you can see Shadow plays? (Normally there isn't any theater that does these shows regularly so it's better to gather information at the hotel or online on where you can find Shadow play shows).
Related posts:
Comic-Con - Comic-Con 2012: Penny Arcade QA Panel
Comments