Chinese Art Palace Shadow Puppet Art Exhibition
🌟Highlights:
Shadow puppet art is created by laborers based on their direct life needs and aesthetic abilities. It has been passed down across vast regions of China. Shadow puppet art has a long history and exquisite craftsmanship, with significant influence both domestically and internationally. Also known as shadow play, it is a comprehensive folk art combining painting, carving, literature, music, dance, and performance.
❤Recommended reasons:
The earliest recorded history of shadow puppet art dates back to the Western Han Dynasty, when shadow figures appeared during Emperor Wu's reign. In the Tang Dynasty, monks used shadow figures to preach Buddhist teachings. Strictly speaking, these were only early forms of shadow play. The true shadow play was formed, developed, and flourished during the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, plain paper was used for carving, later gradually replaced by sheepskin, donkey skin, or cowhide to increase durability. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, shadow play became a popular art form among rural communities across China. The Qianjia period of the Qing Dynasty was the peak of shadow play, spreading across more than half of China. In vast rural and mountainous areas, shadow play served entertainment and educational purposes, having a great impact. In the suburbs of Shanghai, there is a tradition of performing shadow plays. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, Chinese shadow art has gradually spread to South Asian islands, Persia, Egypt, Turkey, France, Germany, and other countries.
✅Must experience:
To this day, some museums worldwide treasure Chinese shadow puppets. This exhibition displays collected shadow puppets from Qin and Jin regions, northern China, and areas such as Henan, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Hubei. They feature strong local colors and distinctive artistic characteristics. Shadow puppet art, with its rich history, opera, fine arts, folk literature, customs, and religious connotations, showcases the artistic talent of working people, offering today’s audience a chance to study and appreciate it carefully. The achievements of shadow puppet art in the history of Chinese ethnic art will illuminate the present and future of national art.
📍Detailed address:
No. 205 Shangnan Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
🚉Transportation guide:
Line 8, Zhonghua Art Palace Station
🕙Opening hours:
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
📝Tips:
Free admission