Shadow puppetry dates back more than 2,000 years in China.

A legend goes that in the late Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), a war broke out between the armies of Chu and the Han. Liu Bang, the leader of the Han army, was besieged by the Chu army in a fortress.

His advisor, Zhang Liang, worked out an idea: to erect thousands of leather figures on the top of the wall of the fortress in an attempt to deceive the enemy. Xiang Yu, the leader of the Chu army, was deceived into thinking that there were abundant troops in the fortress, and he was forced to order a retreat. Inspired by this legend, following generations developed shadow puppetry.

Songs with strong Chu flavor, accompanied by cymbals and gongs, came from the Mengze Shadow Puppetry Theater in Yunmeng County, in Hubei Province's Xiaogan City. On the screen in the theater, a black-faced general stood with great dignity on a watchtower, waving his weapon while singing loudly. More than a hundred audience members were absorbed in the drama.

"Qin Ligang performs well," said one member. "I like to watch his dramas. I've watched for more than 20 years. Except for on the eve of the Spring Festival, when he doesn't perform on the stage, I watch his dramas every day. I have become addicted to his shadow puppet shows."

Yunmeng County is known as the Home of shadow puppetry in Hubei Province. According to statistics from the county's Cultural Center, there are 26 shadow puppetry troupes that perform all year round in both rural and urban areas. Qin Ligang's troupe used to be the only one in the county seat, but now there are six. Qin stands out among such competition. More than 100 people watch his plays each day, more than any other performance, as some fans set off from home at daybreak and walk kilometers to his theater.

Qin, now 55, has reveled in shadow puppetry since he was young. He began to perform in the late 1970s. Although he was in school for only four years, the stage properties that he made were even more exquisite and lifelike than those made by professional artists in shadow puppetry. Moreover, he was skilled in oral mimicry. He eventually realized his childhood dream by becoming the last disciple of Lu Yuanchun, the most influential shadow puppetry artist in Yunmeng County.

Most dramas that Qin performs are inherited from his teachers, mainly based on such popular folk stories as The Canonization of the Gods, States of the East Zhou Dynasty, and The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The repertoire of shadow puppetry is plentiful, and he can perform dramas without repeating one for five years. Many older audience members see his dramas as history. By some estimates more than a million people have seen Qins performances. With ticket revenue alone, Qin has been able to put his three children through college and to build a modern four-story shadow puppet theater.

But Qin and other shadow puppet masters are facing a new threat. With the increase of the Internet and other modern media, nowadays the elderly are the ones most interested in shadow puppetry. In recent years, however, most audiences of shadow puppetry are the aged.

Qin has made great efforts in the improvement of the repertoire, music, and performing methods of shadow puppetry, but few of his efforts have worked so far. Facing those old audiences who are crazy about shadow puppetry, Qin has an indescribable feeling in his heart.

(China Pictorial February 13, 2005)