Donghua Shadow Play Introduction
Donghua Shadow Puppet Theater has a history of two hundred years, originally named "Dexiong Class," and is the most famous local cultural heritage in the now Dasi Township. The fifth-generation heir, Zhang Decheng (deceased), was elected as one of the first national ethnic artists in 1989 along with Li Tianlu, receiving the honor of a national treasure. The older generation in the area around Sanmin Road is well aware of "Puppet Zhang" Zhang's residence. Since the time of Zhang Chuan, known as “Puppet Chuanzi,” followed by Zhang Jiao and Zhang Decheng, the artistic talents of the Zhang family have been widely recognized. In an era without televisions, shadow puppetry was the most popular form of folk entertainment, where both adults and children would gather to watch performances, listen to folk tales, and enjoy the unique light and sound effects of shadow puppetry. Under the promotion of Zhang Decheng, the Donghua Shadow Puppet Theater toured all over Taiwan in the 1940s, causing a sensation, and even performed in the United States, the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and other places, contributing greatly to national diplomacy. After Zhang Decheng passed away in 1995, his son Zhang Keguog continued his father's legacy of "passing down art through history" and has collaborated with local cultural centers in recent years to promote the cultural heritage of shadow puppetry. The origins of shadow puppetry date back over two thousand years. When Emperor Wu of Han mourned the loss of his beloved concubine, he asked a Taoist priest to summon her spirit. The priest set up a large cloth screen in the palace and used smoke and dim light to project human figures onto the screen, claiming these were souls appearing, which comforted Emperor Wu. With such a beautiful legend, shadow puppetry has continued to be passed down in China. Chinese shadow puppetry is one of the earliest performance arts utilizing the effects of "light" and "shadow" and combines rich dream-like elements with painting, carving, music, and drama. According to existing records, the performance form was already mature at least by the Northern Song Dynasty. From the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, shadow puppetry remained popular and beloved by the public. Shadow puppetry is a flat art form, where each puppet’s design often presents various sculptural perspective focal points. Through the puppeteer's manipulation, combined with singing, dialogue, and the accompaniment of gongs and drums, the performance cleverly transitions into a two-dimensional space, creating a puppet world that feels both real and magical. Donghua Shadow Puppet Theater, passed down through generations of the family, is the oldest shadow puppet theater in Taiwan. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to adapt to contemporary times, not only limiting itself to the performance of ancient traditional skills but also allowing for various improvements, such as enlarging the shadow window, increasing puppet sizes, using more vivid colors, and achieving flexible joint manipulations, as well as performing high-difficulty techniques and creating special lighting effects on demand. In addition to its well-known reputation in southern Taiwan, from 1951 to 1966, it was the only shadow puppet theater that successfully attracted audiences in theaters across the entire province. It has been invited to perform in Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, the United States, and other places. Due to the significant contributions of the fifth-generation leader Mr. Zhang Decheng to shadow puppetry, he was awarded the first National Ethnic Arts Inheritance Award in 1985 and became the first important ethnic artist in the nation in 1989. Currently, sixth-generation leaders Zhang Keguog and Zhang Yiguog have taken over the role since 1987 and have worked tirelessly to preserve and promote shadow puppetry in Taiwan. They combine tradition with creativity and are widely praised for their flexible and rhythmic performances. The theater has received the Outstanding Arts Inheritance Golden Lion Award, the Top Ten Outstanding Youth Inheritance Award, and has produced the first graduate in shadow puppetry recognized by the Ministry of Education.
