Chinese Shadow Art (from Wang's Shadow Museum)

Chinese Shadow Art (from Wang's Shadow Museum)

The Shadow puppetry is a form of theatrical performance with over 1000 years of history. The puppets used in performance are made from animal skins. The material is usually semi- transparent and dyed in multiple colours, so they would appear colourful when casted onto the screen. From Tang dynasty to Qing dynasty, the shadow puppetry remains one of the people’s favourite forms of art as it kept reinventing itself to survive. Although it has never disappeared from Chinese people’s life, it has lost the position as the popular way of entertainment nowadays. As one of the major national intangible heritage, the shadow art has received sufficient funds and support from the government. Dedicated museums such as the Wang’s Shadow Museum has been established. Online performance and master classes are hosted on a regular basis. In 2020, the Google arts and culture started leveraging emergent technologies such as the TensorFlow to enable users to experience the art more interactively using gestures. Digital exhibition has also been curated, drawing people’s attention to the old form of art with creative communication. Videos posted on video-sharing platforms received positive feedbacks, with one being viewed by more than 1 million users.

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19/05/2021

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current,31.575482568363512,105.96955060958864;

Chinese Shadow Art (from Wang's Shadow Museum)

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