Wei Jinquan,Casting Light on Shadow Plays

By+staff+reporter+JIAO+FENG

ON April 8， 2014 a man in Huaxian County， Weinan City， Shaanxi Province held a wedding for his son. Following local traditions， in the evening he sponsored a performance of Shadow Play to entertain his neighbors.

The stage was set up， but it was not until nearly 8 pm， when the sky was completely dark， that the cast headed by Wei Jinquan took their seats in the tent behind the white curtain. The light went on， music played， and the audience， carrying their own stools and some with babies in arms， streamed in. As the beats of drums and gongs intensified， the spectators were engrossed. Some passers-by stopped over and watched， exclaiming： “It has been years since I last saw this.”

Shadow Play is a traditional folk art in Huaxian， dating back 2，000 or more years. But like all other cultural heritage， it has declined to the verge of extinction. The number of performers in the county has plummeted to below 20， and 50-year-old Wei Jinquan is the youngest of them.

The Origin of Shadow Play

In an interview with China Today， Wei said more than once： “We have to get more young people to learn Shadow Play so that it wont vanish in the future.”

Shadow Play， also known as Light Shadow in some regions， is an ancient performance art in China. Players use engraved leather figures to cast shadows on the screen， and accompany the movement with singing and music. Shadow Play is believed to originate in the ancient capital Changan（todays Xian） 2，000 years ago. Huaxian， 90 km from Xian， is its birthplace. Along with military expeditions and trade exchanges over land and sea， Shadow Play found its way to Europe， Persia， Arabia， and other Asian countries.

The puppets used in Huaxian Shadow Play are carved out of cattle hide. Each measures more than 0.3 meters in height， and the style is in some sense expressionist， as evident in the surreal figures， brilliant colors and elaborate carvings. These two dimensional marionettes are articulated and string-pulled with wires attached to 10 joints at the neck， shoulder， waist， knees， and elbows. The figure can make deft movements at the hand of its manipulator.

Huaxian Shadow Play is locally called “the busy five，” as the typical cast includes five members. One plays the vocal part for all characters as well as drum and Yueqin， a five-stringed plucked musical instrument. One operates the puppets and sings. The third juggles between five percussions. And the fourth and fifth each play two more stringed or wind instruments.endprint

“The five members have to shift between a dozen musical instruments， using both hands and feet. Thats no easy job，” said Wei Jinquan. The aria borrows from the spritely Bowl Tune， a local opera. Huaxian Shadow Play became known globally in 1994 when the film To Live， directed by Zhang Yimou， won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. It is a central motif in the film.

A Family Business

Weis family has performed Shadow Play and produced leather puppets since the Qing Dynasty（1644-1911）. The family remains well known in the region. Starting at six or seven years old， Wei Jinquan has performed with the family troupe during summer and winter school breaks. He formally started the career on his graduation from senior high school in 1981.

“I learned both performance and puppet making from the very start，” Wei recalled. “My thinking was that since all my future shows would depend upon these puppets， I would rather make them myself than depend on others works.”

Three years into his study， Wei gave his first performance， and was so nervous he forgot his lines.“My mind just went blank，” he said.

Wei deemed his career in Shadow Play as destiny rather than choice. It was inevitable that he would follow the suit of his father and grandfather as a member of a Shadow Play family. He was born a player.

There were few entertainments in rural China back in the 1980s. In slack seasons all villages in Huaxian County would invite Shadow Play troupes to stage performances. Poorly funded and equipped， Wei and his colleagues carried their wardrobe and props by bike， and rode from one site to another. Normally they would play for five to six hours every evening， and sometimes on to the early hours of the morning.

“One day we were invited to perform in Lintong 60 km away. I rode my bike there， and returned the next day after a whole-night show. I almost fell asleep during the ride back，” Wei said.

As local farmers incomes improved after opening-up and reform， they began to hire Shadow Play shows for major family events like weddings and funerals. Wei encountered many passionate and supportive audiences on his tours. One winter day his troupe was scheduled to perform at a farmers home， but a snowstorm made the bike trip impossible. Worried that no people would brave the snowfall and biting cold to watch a play outdoors， Wei and his colleagues cancelled the trip. Telephones were still uncommon， so they had no way to tell the local Shadow Play fans. The next day the patriarch of the sponsor family turned up at Weis doorstep， asking why the troupe didnt show up. He insisted the show must be staged despite the foul weather， as his fellow villagers were anticipating it. An ox cart was called in to load up troupe supplies， and the actors and host hit the road. That night Wei and his four colleagues took the stage to an opening covered in deep snow， before an elderly audience of the same size. They were cold， huddled around three stoves and sipping liquor for warmth， but didnt miss a single act.endprint

Foreign Apprentices

The award-winning film To Live brought Huaxian Shadow Play into the international spotlight. As a result Wei has been invited to several international arts festivals and cultural exchange programs.

In 2001 he attended the Asia-Pacific cultural week in Berlin. Jean Luc Penso， manager of a Paris troupe， was a spectator at one of his shows. On returning to France he called Wei， expressing his desire to visit the artists hometown and see Shadow Play again. He made it， and shot a video of the play to bring home. Jean Luc Penso had learned glove puppetry in Taiwan for five years， and was interested in its cousin in Huaxian. He offered to learn the art from Wei so that he could later promote it in France and globally.

Pensos good mastery of the Chinese language made the proposed apprenticeship possible. Over the decade starting in 2001 he visited Wei almost every year， and stayed in his home to learn shadow play. “During his first stay he learnt Hou Yi Shooting the Sun， a Chinese folk tale， and begged me to make him a set of puppets. In 2004 he brought along two friends，” Wei recalled. “He can do the singing part， but in French. The local dialect is still a tall order for him.” Wei was invited to perform in France in 2004， and later made two more trips there for cultural exchanges.

Jean Luc Penso is not the only foreign student Wei has taken on. The shadow play veteran has offered free courses to people from the U.S.， Italy， Japan and Germany， and is ready to open his door to anyone with the desire to learn more about the ancient art. “They come to China particularly to learn Huaxian Shadow Play. This is recognition of the value of this art，” he explained.

Cultivating New Inheritors

Although devoted to Shadow Play， Wei Jinquan admits the antique performance art is in decline， struggling to meet modern demands and adapt to changing tastes. Reform is necessary in both content and format of the play to make it fit into todays market， but this is no easy mission. “There are fewer than 20 performers in Huaxian County， with an average age above 60. At this age and with their educational level and mindset， these artists are not in a position to revive Shadow Play. We need young people to join，” Wei said.

The local government has thrown its weight behind the revival of Huaxian Shadow Play. According to Ran Sijuan， chief of the countys intangible cultural heritage preservation center， the local government has enacted multiple programs to support shadow play， such as granting RMB 1，500-2，000 to the teacher for every student he/she takes on. However， they show limited effects in recruiting young learners.endprint

Wei himself is active in nurturing the next generation Shadow Play performers. But few of his stu-dents， some of whom learnt for years， choose it as a career. “To be frank， performing Shadow Play used to offer a living for the players and their families， but not so any longer. So there is no motivation to learn it.”

Wei has tried many ways to attract the public， including leading his troupe into kindergartens， elderly care homes and PLA garrisons. He also experimented in bringing modern elements like audio， video and lighting technologies to the stage and writing new plays more relevant to present day life， but the results failed to meet his expectations. Wei doesnt lose hope， as he witnessed the affection of foreign audiences for his art during his international tours. “Many foreigners love traditional Chinese culture， and make the long journey to China to learn it. In contrast， my fellow countrymen give it a cold shoulder，” Wei is appalled at this thought.

He believes the fate of Shadow Play lies with the younger generation， whose broader vision and better education can lead to innovations that make the ancient art more viable in the new era.endprint