Shadow play

BEIJING, May 4 -- Traditional Chinese shadow puppetry took center stage during last year's Olympic Games, lead by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou's use of the puppetry in his memorable opening ceremony festivities.

Tasked with directing the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, Zhang adopted shadow puppetry as part of his goal to use the opening ceremony to share traditional Chinese culture with the world.

Shadowpuppetry.TraditionalChineseshadowpuppetrytookcenterstage
duringlastyear’sOlympicGames,leadbyacclaimeddirectorZhangYimou’
suseofthepuppetryinhismemorableopeningceremonyfestivities.
(Photosource:Globaltimes.cn)

Zhang's first featured shadow puppetry in his 1994 film To Live, in which the film's protagonist Fu Gui (play by Ge You), was a skilled shadow puppeteer and which helped to reintroduce the art of shadow puppetry to audiences.

The ancient art form was also visible at the Chinese Traditional Arts and Crafts Show held during last summer's Olympic Games.Among the 27 Chinese folk artists invited to perform, shadow puppeteers from Beijing and Shaanxi were a particular hit with both athletes and visitors.

Shadow puppetry, also known as shadow play, is one of China’s historic folk arts.

Performed by three to five puppeteers, shadow puppetry is a form of storytelling that uses puppets against an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of movement.

During a shadow play, puppeteers hide themselves behind a white curtain and move stick-mounted puppets, while also narrating the story through folk song. Performances are generally accompanied by musicians playing drums and stringed instruments.Similar to Peking Opera, characters are clearly defined, with set roles for sheng (male), dan (female), jing (painted face) and chou (clown).