Fan Zheng`an performs his one-man Mount Taishan shadow play. Photos by Ju chuanjiang / China Daily
 

The Mount Taishan shadow play is performed by one person, who sings and controls the puppets. Wang Qian and Ju Chuanjiang report

Against the backdrop of a white, translucent canvas, the legendary hero Shi Gandang of Mount Taishan fights the evil wolf. The colorful figures, music and dazzling kungfu have the audience captivated. At end of the show, some audience members go backstage to congratulate the performers. But what they find there stuns them. Everything they have just seen is the work of one man.

This was the scene at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in September, when folk artist Fan Zheng`an, from Tai`an, Shandong province, performed the Mount Taishan shadow play at a one-week showcase of China`s intangible cultural heritage.

"Unbelievable! How could one man control the puppets, sing, and play musical instruments all at the same time?" said one UNESCO official.

Originating in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), shadow plays are an art form that combines traditional Chinese opera with painting, carving and folk customs. The puppets, made of cattle or donkey hide, are manipulated behind an illuminated white backdrop to create the illusion of moving images.

Fan Zheng`an gets his stage props ready for a performance.
 

Since the 13th century, Chinese shadow plays have been introduced to dozens of countries and regions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and are said to have played an important role in the development of modern film art.

"My shadow play can be performed by just one person, while the other kinds usually need at least seven or eight people," says Fan, 65, who is the nation`s sole exponent of the one-man puppet show.

Born into a poor family, Fan developed an early interest in shadow puppetry, but didn`t have money to buy a ticket to a show. When he was 8 years old, he finally got to watch a play with the 5 cents he had been saving for years, and was fascinated.

Thereafter, every day he would wait at the door of the theater or climb over the wall, for a secret glimpse. He also made puppets out of cardboard boxes and then tried to replicate what he had seen in front of a mirror.

While in his third year at primary school, Fan came to know that local shadow play master Liu Yufeng was looking for apprentices. Seizing his opportunity, Fan quit school and joined Liu, despite objections from his parents and teachers. There were no written scripts, all lines were taught by word of mouth. It would take dozens of attempts to memorize one episode, Fan says.

But his passion kept him going and he was able to make his debut in just two years. 
 
With the Mount Taishan shadow puppet show included in China`s first State-level intangible cultural heritage list in 2007, Fan has held many performances at home and abroad.

In June 2007, he was invited by the Ministry of Culture to perform in Beijing and was a sensation. Premier Wen Jiabao met him and praised his "unique skills".

"Premier Wen encouraged me to further develop my skills and hand them down. I was greatly inspired," Fan says emotionally.

The same year, Mount Taishan shadow play took the top slot in the awards for intangible cultural heritage given out by the Ministry of Culture.

To date, Fan has been invited to perform in countries as diverse as France, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, and at more than 60 schools ranging from Peking University to local primary schools.

"The play appeals strongly to foreign audiences. During breaks in performances, they always crowd around me to ask about its history and I feel proud that they are so interested in traditional Chinese art," Fan says.

According to official statistics, one third of the practitioners of China`s State-level intangible cultural heritage are aged over 80. Like other folk artists, Fan worries about how to pass down his skills.

"It is very demanding for the performer. You have to learn many things, from singing traditional opera to playing the drum and gong. Making puppets is also hard. It usually takes several months to finish a single piece," Fan says, explaining that the pieces of donkey hide have to be polished, cut, carved, colored and then joined together to make a shadow puppet.

"My teacher had eight apprentices but only I persevered," Fan says.

His son, Fan Weiguo, a graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, began to learn to make and play shadow puppets when he was 12.

"I`m still not able to perform perfectly all by myself. Sometimes, you have to control four puppets in one hand, and also be ready to deal with unexpected emergencies on stage. It`s really demanding," he says.

As an art teacher at a primary school in Tai`an, Fan Weiguo has tried to promote shadow puppetry among primary schools. Thanks to his efforts, there are now more than 3,000 students learning to make and play shadow puppets in Tai`an.

In 2009, he helped his father establish a Mount Taishan shadow puppet research institute and a teahouse to hold shadow play shows for Chinese and foreign tourists.

Every Friday evening, the teahouse is open free to children. "The play is extraordinarily popular among children. Some stay here for hours to have a go at puppet play on stage," says Fan Zheng`an, who comes up with new plays every year to cater to his young audience.

He hopes that one day he can build a shadow play theme park, complete with a theater, museum, research center and stores.