Thousands of miles in front of the lamp looking forward to the reunion, and the ingenuity behind the lamp is passed down for thousands of years.
In 2023, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, Beijing Shadow Puppet Troupe uses drama as a medium to promote the integration of China's excellent traditional culture into the "Belt and Road" construction, adhere to the guidance of socialist core values, adhere to creative transformation and innovative development, adhere to the position of Chinese culture, inherit Chinese cultural genes, and strive to create the 2021 funded project of Beijing Culture and Art Fund - cross-border integrated film theater stage drama "Shadow Box Journey". Traditional shadow puppets combined with modern light and shadow installation art present the beauty of thousand-year-old shadow puppets and awaken the memory of Silk Road civilization. The "shadow puppets" interpret the traditional shadow puppet opera from Beijing to Shaanxi, Gansu through Xinjiang, Iran to Western Turkey and other places of cultural transmission journey, conveying Chinese traditional culture to the world, self-confidence and self-improvement.
Double-line narrative, ingenuity to reproduce the beauty of classics
The story content of "Shadow Box Journey" is full of fantasy and romantic beauty, using the narrative strategy of agarwood seeking mother and artist shadow search in parallel, creatively writing the long-standing shadow puppet culture into this wonderful and dreamy Silk Road journey. The story follows with Little Agarwood's call "Mom? Mom? Slowly unfolded, the old artist in front of the shadow box shook his head and sighed, hesitated to open the dusty old shadow box, the big palm, crane, turtle, little agarwood and other shadow people are still the same, but the three virgins are nowhere to be seen! In order to reunite mother and son to continue the family affection, in order to inherit the shadow puppet and regain the skill, the big palm activated the shadow puppet time and space, and opened a shadow puppet journey to re-walk the Silk Road. They set off from Beijing, first to Xi'an, where they once started, passed through Dunhuang in Gansu, crossed the meeting point of Eurasia, and headed west to Turkey. They depict the depression of old-fashioned shadow puppets in "Splitting the Mountain and Saving the Mother", they understand the delicate and long Taoist shadow in "Baolian Lantern", and they relive the touching feelings of Beijing shadow puppet "Agarwood Saving Mother" in a foreign country. Between the light and shadow, after several tosses and turns, "The three virgins have been found, we are reunited, make up the shadow box, and prepare - open the box!" "The core essence of the double-line arrangement of the content of the repertoire falls on a "search", seeking true love, finding shadow children, seeking skills, finding original intentions, folding shadow puppets, and ingenuity, in the childlike and humorous, comfortable and flexible shadow puppet time and space, gently awakening the cordial emotional identification with national art. For a long time, paying attention to the inheritance of shadow puppet skills and calling for the return of the spirit of ingenuity and art has been the theme and main line of shadow puppet repertoire creation. The story is ingenious, and in the classic family love theme, it incorporates more historical and heavy theme elements, which has become the core highlight of the creation. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the topic of "inheritance" has both historical depth and is in line with the spirit of the times, and "inheritance" and "inheritance" cut the pulse of artistic development.
(The main creator repeatedly tests and shows the effect)
Time and space travel, light and shadow meet the essence of the technique
It is a journey through the ancient Silk Road. The creative use of "Big Slap" as the knob, coupled with "Turtle Fufu" symbolizing the flow of time and "Crane Xiaobai" symbolizing spatial transformation, adds a touch of liveliness to this wonderful dream journey, which is more vivid and interesting. In time, from the past to the present, shadow puppet art condenses the glory and beauty of the past; Returning to the past from the present, shadow puppet art makes us feel the precipitation and inheritance of ancient civilizations. In terms of space, starting from Beijing to Shaanxi and Gansu through Xinjiang, Iran to Western Turkey, the location changes along the way, not only to present the style of various places, but also to test the interpretation skills of shadow puppet artists. The combination of traditional shadow puppet art and modern light and shadow installation art tries to refresh the audience's novel viewing experience, which is undoubtedly a difficult artistic challenge.
(The main creator discusses the content and presentation of the play)
Image innovation, fun decorating character imagery
"Agarwood Salvation" is a classic in the shadow theater repertoire. Agarwood is not afraid of difficulties and bravely forges ahead, and the spirit of traditional filial piety still shines today. In "Shadow Box Journey", the image of Xiao Agarwood is renewed, adding a bit of vivid and cute to the perseverance, the process of Agarwood learning to save her mother alludes to the process of shadow puppet artists regaining traditional skills, and Agarwood's persistence in finding her mother is also the persistence of shadow puppet artists to keep art, and the characters have more practical significance. Let traditional culture speak out, let classic characters reappear, resonate with the spirit of the times, give traditional shadow puppet art new vitality, and make it shine with new brilliance in contemporary times. In addition, the image of "Big Slap" - "Although two thousand years old, looks like a doll" is novel and chic, like a witty, funny, and humorous elder who connects the various characters in the play, opening up this beautiful journey of time and space.
Light and shadow illuminate the long road of searching for the mother, the long road of inheritance, and the wider and wider "Belt and Road".
Colorful summer, the dream begins!
Take a wonderful journey together and experience the charm of intangible cultural heritage art.
August 24–25
Beijing Dongtu Theater performed 5 performances
September 1–3
Beijing Tiantongyuan Art Center performed 5 times
Movie theater stage play "Shadow Box Adventure", stay tuned!
From: Beijing Shadow Puppet Troupe
Source: Xicheng, Beijing