hyo ji puppetry report

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Chinese Shadow Puppetry Name: Hyo Ji Kim Grade: 10 Subject: MYP Drama Teacher: Ms. Rankin Word count: 705 10E Hyo Ji Kim 1

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Page 1: Hyo ji puppetry report

ChineseShadow Puppetry

Name: Hyo Ji Kim

Grade: 10

Subject: MYP Drama

Teacher: Ms. Rankin

Word count: 705

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction.....................................................................3

2. History of Chinese Shadow Puppetry…………………………3-4

3. Features of Chinese Shadow Puppet........................... 4-6

4. Construction of Chinese Shadow Puppet……………………6-7

5. Presentation of Chinese Shadow Puppetry………………..7-8

6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………8

7. Bibliography…………………………………….………………………9-11

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Introduction“Shadow Puppetry is a miraculous art form of moving images dated long

before the invention of firm” (Beijing Holiday, 2001). Shadow puppetry in China is

one of the famous shadow theatres in Asian countries. “As one of the oldest art

forms in China, shadow puppetry is called a "living fossil" of Chinese folk art”

(Dong Jirong, 2009). Chinese Shadow puppetry has entertained people by presenting

Chinese cultural shadow puppets and telling episodes from Chinese history and

legend (Mercier, 2009). There are 4 main areas in Chinese shadow puppetry,

including history, features of Chinese Shadow puppet, how to construct Chinese

shadow puppet and how to present Chinese shadow theatre. Therefore, this essay is

going to examine what makes Chinese Shadow puppetry unique.

HistoryChinese shadow puppetry has a long history dating from 2000 years ago. In

the Han Dynasty, Wu Emperor came up with an idea that he played cotton puppet a

place where shadows were vivid. This performance was developed as a shadow

puppetry. It then flourished in the Song Dynasty. During this period, not only

national conflicts between factions happened, but also there were many wars

between adjoining countries, like Korea and Japan. Therefore, “shadow puppetry

had been the only and best entertainment to maintain the moral of soldiers during

long depressing military life” (Jensen Liu, 2009). More importantly, “Shadow

puppetry properties are very portable, and a shadow puppetry troupe doesn’t

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require a large supporting crew” (Abid). For this reason, in the 13th century, many

people including Genghis Khan and commercial merchants in the Silk Way enjoyed

the performance (Abid). As a result, Chinese shadow puppetry became popular

around the world.

Features of Chinese Shadow Puppet

Figure 1: Chinese female shadow puppet in a costume with flower patterns (Henry Gan, 2011)

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Figure 2: Chinese male shadow puppet in a costume with dragon patterns (Henry Gan, 2011)

Chinese shadow puppets have a lot of distinctive features. First of all, they

are exaggerated and heavily dramatized. During the shadow play, only profile of the

shadow puppets can be seen due to the light projection. The figures therefore have

vivid and funny faces and costumes to express them in the performance (Keven,

2010). They have a big head and a small body for the same reason. In addition,

patterns in the clothes of the male puppets and female puppets are different. “The

dresses of female figures are usually adorned with patterns like flowers, grass,

clouds and phoenixes (See Fig 1) and patterns like dragons, tigers, water and

clouds are usually used on male figures (See Fig 2)” (Mercier, 2009). Those

contrasting patterns are intended to indicate sex of the figures. Furthermore, colors

and faces are used to signify good and evil of the characters. Different colors indicate

different characteristics; “a red mask represents uprightness, a black mask, fidelity,

and a white one, treachery” (Keven, 2010). Not only the color, but also faces

embody the personalities of the figures. Positive character has long narrow eyes, a

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tiny mouth and a straight bridge of nose. In contrast, negative character has small

eyes, projecting forehead and drooping mouth. Those various features are seen in

designs of Chinese shadow puppets.

Construction of Chinese Shadow Puppet

Figure 3: Master is carving the piece of leather (Life, 2005)

The process of constructing Chinese shadow puppets is complicated. Shadow

puppets are made of hides of animals, such as donkeys and oxen (Bryant & Heard,

2002). Thus, the first step in the construction of Chinese shadow puppets is to

remove the fur and blood from animal skin. Next step is to “apply chemical

treatments to the skin to make it thinner and semitransparent (Beijing Holiday,

2001), and then apply China wood oil. In third step, we cut the skin into separated

human body parts; the head, torso, knees or the upper arms (See Fig 3). Those parts

are joined together with silk threads, and become a human figure. Fourth step is to

color the puppet using paints. In fifth step, we attach stiff wire rods which enable

puppeteer to control puppets without being seen on the screen. By gluing one rod to

the neck of the puppet, “it can change the direction it is facing with just a flip of the

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control rod” (Fong & Kaplin, 2001). The other rods are sewn to hands, so that the

puppet can do a variety of energetic movements. Delicate Chinese shadow puppets

are manufactured from those elaborate process.

Presentation of Chinese Shadow Puppetry

Figure 4: Chinese shadow puppeteers are controlling the puppets behind the screen under the light projection (The British Museum, 2009)

Chinese shadow puppetry is performed as a rod top puppetry. Rod top

puppetry is a style of Theatre that is performed on tope of a table with rod puppets.

With this style, “it is easy to pack up and take down, as well as puppets that are

easy to store and transport” (School of Puppetry, 2009). Additionally, Chinese

shadow puppetry is presented by light projection through a blank screen. It

"requires a light source, to cast a shadow; a blank white screen, to catch the

shadow" (Fong & Kaplin, 2011). During the performance, light and puppets

are placed behind the screen (See Fig 4). Therefore, the audiences see the

silhouettes of shadow figures. In the modern shadow play, electric lights or an

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overhead projector is used to make the light brighter and steadier. These

devices provide more focused images of the puppets as well. Magical effects

of Chinese shadow puppetry are created by the works of light and screen.

Conclusion“Chinese shadow puppetry is an art form that combines theater, music,

handicrafts, telling and singing” (Mercier, 2009). Puppets, stage design and stories

highlight Chinese style, and give uniqueness to Chinese shadow puppetry. Those

distinctive elements of Chinese shadow puppetry have caught many people’s

attention. Nowadays, “with knowledge of the newest cutting edge technology,

puppet artists have given contemporary Chinese Shadow Theater a new vibrancy”

(Chinese Shadow Works, 2011). The play has advanced by using more delicate

puppets and modern devices in the light projection. As a result, Chinese shadow

puppetry is going to perform more brilliant play in near future.

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Bibliography

<1 Person>

1. Dong Ji Rong - " Shadow play exhibit in National Centre for Performing Arts."

Shadow play exhibit in National Centre for Performing Arts . N.p., n.d. Web.

23 Mar. 2011. <http://www.chinaculture.org/exchange/2009-

07/16/content_338133.htm>.

Dong Ji Rong is a net reporter who writes news in www.chinaculture.org. I never contacted

with him but his report gave a brief introduction about what is Chinese shadow puppetry.

<1 Book>

1. Bryant, Jill, Catherine Heard, and Laura Watson. Making Shadow Puppets. Toronto: Kids Can, 2002. Print.

This book gave information about the shadow puppetries in Asian Countries and how the

puppets were constructed. There were illustrations that help me understand the

construction process of shadow puppets.

<3 Companies>

1. Beijing Holiday - "Chinese Shadow Puppetry,Shadow Puppet Show in Beijing."Beijing Tours and Travel Service by Local Beijing Travel Agency. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.beijingholiday.com/culture/chinese-shadow-puppetry.html>.

The website of this company provided information about the history of Chinese shadow

puppetry and specific process of constructing shadow puppets step by step. In addition,

there were nice pictures of shadow puppets that help me learn the distinctive Chinese style.

2. School for Puppetry - "What Is Table-top Puppetry?" School of Puppetry. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.schoolofpuppetry.com.au/tutorials.php/what-is-table-top-puppetry>.

The website of this company had information about how the rod puppets were placed in the

table-top puppetry is performed, which Chinese shadow puppetry came from. Although

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there are only examples of other puppetry like Bunraku, I got ideas of how the shadow

puppetry is presented with rod puppets.

3. British Museum - "British Museum - Shadow Puppets Video." The British Museum

Welcome to the British Museum. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.

<http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/national_tours/china_journey_t

o_the_east/teaching_resources/shadow_puppets_video.aspx>.

From this website, I could watch the performance of Chinese shadow play, and I learned

how the light and screen worked for the play.

<5 Internet-Sites>

1. "Chinese Craftsman Makes Leather Puppets For Chinese Shadow Play - Photo -

LIFE." LIFE - Your World in Pictures. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.

<http://www.life.com/image/53400095>.

This website had a photo of Chinese craftsman carving the shadow figure, and provided brief

explanation about what this man was doing.

2. "Chinese Shadow Puppetry | China Holidays Blog." China Tours,China

Hotels,Flights to China,Travel Insurance | BookChinaOnline. N.p., n.d. Web.

23 Mar. 2011. <http://www.bookchinaonline.com/blog/chinese-shadow-

puppetry-2/>.

From this website, I found lots of quotes that explain features of Chinese shadow puppet.

Those quotes were very thorough that included examples.

3. "Chinese Shadow Puppetry: the Oldest Motion Picture Storytelling | ChinaBlog.cc -

Timeless China Blog." ChinaBlog.cc | The Timeless China Blog. N.p., n.d. Web.

23 Mar. 2011. <http://chinablog.cc/2009/05/shadow-puppetry-the-oldest-

motion-picture-storytelling/>.

There were good details about how Chinese shadow puppetry was spread throughout the

world dating from 2000 years to present. I used this information to write a history section.

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4. "Chinese Theatre Works - Introduction to Shadow Puppetry." Chinese Theatre

Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.

<http://chinesetheatreworks.org/projects/shadowinfo.html#roots>.

This website gave specific information about how Chinese shadow puppetry is performed.

There were names of devices used in the play, so it was easy for me to understand the

presentation of Chinese shadow puppetry.

5. "Getty Images." Chinese Shadow Puppets. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.

<http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/sb10065721q-001>.

From this website, I got images of Chinese shadow puppets. Those images were very good

because it was clear to see the patterns painted in the costumes.

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