Fifth Issue

their rooms and the yards of the houses, played a great role in the spread of the Shadow
Theatre. The reason women were allowed to attend the show was because men
performing could not be seen behind the screen and thus, did not have any contact with
them.
The Chinese Shadow Theatre drew its
themes from popular stories and legends, in
which a good harvest, welfare, and longevity
played a central role; likewise, the
accomplishments of bold generals, the
beneficences of loyal ministers and the virtues of
young, noble ladies. As a result, these works, besides providing a form of entertainment,
took the responsibility of instructing an ethical education, by presenting virtuous, brave
and obedient characters. Characters either real or fictional or more commonly, historical
figures and events were covered by the haze of myth, but nonetheless foretold the
imitation of such model figures in a society such as the Chinese, that had previously
employed imitating positive figures drawn from its historical past as a main form of
education.
It is precisely this feature that sets the Chinese Shadow Theatre apart from other
Asian ones; that is to say, the absence of objects of worship and its focus on everyday
themes, which without a doubt is in line with the character of Chinese culture, that is, the
absence of a transcendental power and its founding on immanent facts. It is about a fine
characteristic of the Chinese world, that is mirrored in the ways of artistic expression and
generally all the expressions of human life.
The beginning
There are several different myths regarding the origination of the Chinese Shadow
Theatre. Emperors and concubines, princesses and maidservants, generals and common
soldiers, Taoists and Buddhist monks, dragons and other mythical creatures, all occupy a
40