Donghua Shadow Puppet Theater Introduction
Donghua Puppet Theater has a history of two hundred years, originally named "De Xing Ban." It is the most famous cultural asset of Dasha Township. The fifth-generation successor, Zhang De-cheng (who has passed away), was elected as one of the first National Folk Art Masters in 1989, receiving the prestigious title of national treasure. Residents of "Puppet Zhang" Zhang Family House on Sanmin Road know the history well. Starting from "Puppet Chuan-zi" Zhang Chuan, the lineage includes Zhang Jiao and Zhang De-cheng, whose artistic talents are well recognized. In the era without televisions, shadow puppetry was the most popular folk entertainment, where adults and children gathered to watch performances and listen to folklore, enjoying the unique light and sound effects of shadow puppetry. Under the promotion of Zhang De-cheng, the Donghua Puppet Theater toured across Taiwan in the 1940s, creating a sensation and also performed in the United States, the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan, contributing greatly to public diplomacy. Zhang De-cheng passed away in 1995, and his son, Zhang Ke-guo, continued his father's legacy of "passing down history through art," collaborating with local cultural centers in recent years to promote the cultural heritage of shadow puppetry. Shadow Puppetry and Heritage: Over two thousand years ago, Emperor Wu of Han mourned the death of his beloved concubine and summoned a Taoist priest to bring back her spirit using sorcery. The priest set up a large curtain in the palace, using smoke and dim lights to create silhouettes on the fabric, claiming they were the spirits appearing, which comforted the emperor. With this beautiful legend, shadow puppetry has continued to flourish in China. Chinese shadow puppetry is one of the earliest forms of performing arts that employs light and shadow changes, integrating rich fantasy, painting, carving, music, and theater. According to existing records, its performance style had already matured by the Northern Song Dynasty. It continued to flourish and was beloved by the public during the Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Shadow puppetry is a flat art form, where each puppet often presents a combination of various sculpting techniques in its design. Through the puppeteer's manipulation, accompanied by singing, spoken dialogue, and percussion music, the performance transforms smoothly within two-dimensional space to create a vivid and illusory puppet world. The Donghua Puppet Theater has been passed down through generations of the family, making it the oldest shadow puppet troupe in Taiwan. Its uniqueness lies in adapting to the times, not limiting itself to traditional performance but making various improvements, such as enlarging the shadow window, increasing puppet size, using more vibrant colors, and achieving high-level techniques and special lighting effects to create unique visual presentations. Apart from being well-known throughout southern Taiwan, from the 1950s to the 1960s, it was the only shadow puppet troupe able to perform successfully across all theaters nationwide. The troupe has been invited to perform in Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and the United States. Due to the immense contributions of the fifth-generation leader Mr. Zhang De-cheng to shadow puppetry, he won the first National Folk Art Inheritance Award in 1985 and was the first National Important Folk Art Master elected in 1989. Currently, the sixth-generation leaders, Mr. Zhang Ke-guo and Mr. Zhang Yi-guo, have been taking over leading roles since 1987, tirelessly working on the preservation and promotion of shadow puppetry in Taiwan. In addition to maintaining tradition, they also introduce creativity, receiving acclaim from audiences for their flexible and rhythmic performances. They have won the Outstanding Art Inheritance Golden Lion Award, the National Top Ten Outstanding Youth Inheritance Award, and are the first to graduate from the Ministry of Education's important ethnic arts shadow puppetry apprenticeship program.
