Most Masters and their troupe members run a combination of performances for local community members and tourists as well as collaborating with the government for funding and cultural commodity companies who have taken advantage of a growing market interest in the puppets themselves. These rare troupes are usually still functioning off a lucky blend of their region’s geographic isolation, lower economic conditions and strong religious ties – all of which keep out competing forms of entertainment and ensure the relevance of shadow puppet performances. Of the troupes still performing, only a rare few are able to make their living entirely by traditional performances. They were and are still faced with the choice of modernizing to survive and most remain somewhere on the spectrum in between.įrom thousands of troupes at the end of the 1800s to hundreds after the opening of China in the late 1970s to just a few dozen troupes in 21st century China, the decline of performances has been swift and significant. When the ban finally became irrelevant in the late 1970s, traditional troupes tried to pick up where they left off only to find that their audience had completely changed. The schism that occurred in 1952 between traditional shadow puppetry and its 'new form' pushed by the government remains the same today. Funded as a government initiative during the Communist Revolution in 1952, Turtle and Crane was created by an intellectual named Zhai Yi, in collaboration with two shadow puppet artists, just after the formation of new China. Of course, the shadow troupes that were still allowed to practice at the time took it up with open arms. The Turtle and Crane was the first ever National shadow puppet play of China. In some regions, a single troupe was allowed to continue – as long as they took their performance directives from the government. Other provinces that were lucky enough to have more lax officials were left relatively unscathed. In some provinces, it would be devastating – an entire region’s shadow puppet treasures decimated by fire. So, the practice of traditional Chinese shadow puppet was banned. And even after its early 1900s decline, there were still dozens of troupes in many of China’s provinces with deep enough followings to warrant notice. Shows made by and for the people meant messages they couldn’t control. The government was suspicious of shadow puppetry because of its grassroots origins, its relationship in religion and superstition, and its widespread popularity throughout the mainland. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) saw to the occlusion of many traditional art forms. As the Communist party declared victory and named it a ‘New China’ in 1949, the folk art traditions were to weather their biggest blow yet. In the late 1800s, Chinese shadow puppetry would begin the long struggle to keep its audience as China headed into a string of internal and external battles for control of the country. With the constraint of religious activity during the Communist Revolution shadow puppetry still struggles to find relevance in the new secular culture.įor further reading on Chinese Shadow Puppetry and Religion, check out Fan Pen Chen's excellent book Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religions and Woman Warriors. At these performances, invited guests of the family would enjoy a show alongside a grand meal and other activities. Privately, shadow puppetry has also been a central element in personal celebrations of birthdays, weddings, funerals, house-raisings and more and were usually funded by the family hosting the event. These performances were funded by the community itself and were open to all. Throughout the last millennium, shadow puppet performances have been central to religious festivities in nearly all parts of the country including religious holidays, birthdays of deities, ceremonies for good harvests, house clearings (of bad spirits) and exorcisms of plagues or bad luck. In periods and dynasties where religion, spirituality and superstition were ostracized, so were the performances. Since the birth of formalized shadow puppet performances, the art form has evolved in tandem with religion in China. In its earliest incarnations, more primitive shadows were used to represent spirits, the presence of gods and were sometimes facilitated by Buddhist shamans.
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