Fifth Issue

camel and buffalo skins or even thick paper colored with vivid hues were used. For the
lighting, lamps were originally used; later it was candles and today electricity.
The greatness of the form of these leather puppets, greatly influenced by the popular
art of paper cutting, as well as the greatness and vitality of the colors, capture the eye and
set the imagination free. There are hundreds of forms of puppets, different from region to
region, but they all share certain common characteristics that make up the basic themes
and structural elements, a type, that is, of easily recognized standardized characteristics;
for example, everywhere, heroes have a fine appearance, whereas peasants are ugly; the
make-up and the decorative motifs are influenced by temples and statues.
The stage is rested on a board of about 1.7 meters wide, on which the curtains and
the screen are also placed. The play is opened by a red golden threaded curtain, whereas
the other curtains on the side cover the backstage space.
The Chinese shadow theatre, form of a popular art
with a long and rich tradition, is recognized today and
protected as World Cultural Heritage. Even if it is not
a very popular form of amusement as it was in the past,
the shadow theatre continues to entertain the young
and the old, especially in remote agricultural areas. Those engaged with this art are
mostly elder technicians that served and continue to serve with love to this art, and some
young students that were initiated by the elder ones. Among them, Fan Zheng’an stands
out from Shandong province, who with the help of the local government succeeded in
opening the Research Institute of the Shadow Theatre, as well as a traditional teahouse,
where he puts up performances for Chinese and foreign tourists with the assistance of his
son, Fan Weiguo, a fine arts teacher at a regional elementary school.
Elena Avramidou
Cultural Department – Embassy of Greece in Beijing
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