[Explanation] Standing behind a white curtain, the performers use the light source to illuminate the plane puppets in their hands to form silhouettes, accompanied by percussion instruments and string music, while dancing the puppets in their hands and singing stories.
This form of performance is called shadow play, also known as "shadow play" or "dengying play", which has a history of more than a thousand years.
In Chengdu, Sichuan, there is the only shadow puppet museum in the country named "China", which brings together nearly 300,000 fine shadow puppets from 30 provinces and cities across the country, forming the world's largest collection, the oldest and the most diverse. The most complete and best quality collection of shadow puppets, the shadow puppet exhibition is also one of the permanent exhibitions of the Chengdu Museum.
[Concurrent] Huang Xiaofeng, Deputy Director of Chengdu Museum
(Shadow puppetry) It is an intangible cultural heritage performance, which carries plastic arts, performing arts and our opera art.
The most important value of shadow puppet cultural relics in modern times, it presents an artistic expression of people's production, life and art in the process of (in) the development of Chinese civilization, and folk art is a kind of vivid art of expression .
[Explanation] Sichuan shadow play has a long history. It is not only influenced by foreign shadow play culture such as Shaanxi shadow play, but also has local colors such as Shu brocade, Shu embroidery and folk paper-cutting. It is eclectic to form a unique artistic style.
Under the impact of modern civilization, shadow puppet cultural relics and their art forms once declined.
[Concurrent] Li Long, research librarian of Chengdu Museum and director of Shadow Puppet Department
We are a rescue (overall) solicitation for protection. This is because when we started, there were a lot of shadow puppet cultural relics, many of which have been scattered abroad, or some other natural damages.
We started doing (shadow puppet collection) 20 years ago, and during these 20 years (between) we have gradually improved our collections.
[Explanation] To this end, the Chengdu Museum launched a shadow puppet rescue collection 20 years ago.
For the consideration of the overall preservation of traditional culture, Chengdu Museum does not only collect high-quality products.
[Concurrent] Li Long, research librarian of Chengdu Museum and director of Shadow Puppet Department
We are more of a collection of its whole, that is, such a protection of the integrity of the culture.
For this work (Chengdu shadow puppet protection), we first carried out a protection and sorting work for it, and we actually did it, which took almost a year.
In the end, we talked about (completed) most of them. We finally sorted out the shadow puppets that could be completely integrated into a whole. At that time, we had more than 600 pieces.
So after the completion of this work, we have a very in-depth understanding of this cultural relic because of our () sorting, so we formed it at that time, and I started to say, we are a relatively in-depth Chengdu shadow puppet ( research).
[Explanation] In recent years, as Sichuan has increased its efforts to collect and protect shadow puppets, and accelerated the cultivation of shadow puppet production and performance of non-genetic inheritors, shadow puppet culture has gradually revived.
But how can the cultural relics continue to radiate new vitality after the revival?
Huang Xiaofeng said bluntly that making shadow puppet cultural relics "live" and allowing audiences to experience the contemporary charm of shadow puppets is an important topic for the new generation of "shadow puppet artists" to study.
[Concurrent] Huang Xiaofeng, Deputy Director of Chengdu Museum
As cultural and bloggers, we know that every cultural relic is a treasure, but in fact there are some things that are indeed stored in the warehouse. Not enough.
I think that in the modern and contemporary context, the most important feature of shadow puppet cultural relics is its traditional cultural expression, artistic and beautiful modeling, and the value that it can re-enter into the lives of modern and contemporary people.
[Explanation] To this end, Chengdu Museum has creatively protected shadow puppets, not only creating related derivative products, but also cross-border linkage between shadow puppets and game animation, and jointly launched the shadow puppet micro-animation "Daily Life in Penglai".
It is reported that in the future, Chengdu Museum will take more innovative measures to integrate shadow puppets into modern life.
Reported by Yang Yudi from Chengdu, Sichuan
Responsible editor: [Ji Xiang]