On October 15, 2023, the Chinese Embassy in the United States on Sunday hosted a ”Discover Beijing Opera“ cultural event at its Public Diplomacy Center in Washington D. C.,     1     (bring)the charm of the traditional Chinese stage art to nearly 100 people from all walks of life.

The event was co-organized by DC’s Beauty of Beijing Opera Lad(DCBBO)and a local     2     (organize)Things to Do DC. Minister Jing Quan of the embassy attended the event.

At the event, the guests     3     (show)the make-up process of a ”guifei”(noble consort)as well as props(道具)and costumes     4     (use)in the Beijing Opera. In addition, the history, performance features, and beauty of the traditional art were also on show.

Through performances such     5     “Battle at the Hu Village”, “Empty City Strategy”, “Monkey King” and “Drunken Beauty”, the audience experienced a great joy of the major types of roles of the Beijing Opera and the     6     (base)skills including singing, reciting, acting, and martial arts.

The audience went on stage     7     (experience)horse riding, male role walking, fighting, playing small gong(锣)—     8     musical instrument in Beijing Opera-and acting with water sleeves.

“This is unique. This is fantastic,” Gregory Bland, CEO of Things to Do DC, told Xinhua. “I’m looking around: everyone’s smiling; everyone’s happy. They’re running up to take     9     (picture); they’re running up to get involved; they’re all asking questions. ”

This cultural event was held successfully,     10     would help promote people-to-people exchanges, he said.

Like Peking Opera and other traditional national arts in China, Piyingxi or the shadow play show,     1    (know)as a Chinese     2    (culture)heritage, has spread to many countries. Vivid design and a rich variety of     3    (color), beautiful costumes, change of lighting, and unique singing, together make up the fascinating world of a shadow play.

As     4     old form of storytelling and entertainment, shadow play artists use plain figures in front of a bright cloth     5    (create)the illusion of moving images. The figures are usually moved     6     people behind a thin screen. Shadow play is not     7    (entire)a show of shadows, but rather a show of silhouettes(剪影).

That day I     8    (watch)a shadow play show at the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and was fascinated by the wonderful     9    (perform). Most young people have little understanding of     10     a shadow play is, despite its 2000-year-old history. It is a pity that nowadays young people don't know how to appreciate this traditional an. Shadow play is our precious folk art, and let's preserve it.

A traditional festival closely related to spring, which is     1     (little) known than major traditional festivals, and remained silent for centuries, comes back, thanks to growing     2     (enthusiastic) for traditional Chinese culture and a rising demand for seasonal sightseeing tours. Huazhao Festival is said     3     (celebrate) as the birthday of the flower goddess in the second month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

Its origin can date back to the period before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and was     4     (official) set as a festival during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, China Tourism News reported. During the Tang Dynasty, the festival     5     (fall) on the 15th day of the second lunar month. It was one of the three nationwide celebrations back then. The     6     two were Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.

However, the timing of the festival varies between regions, because of the difference in     7     flowering begins. As a result, many parts of the country take turns to start their celebrations,     8     (present) a feast (盛宴) for the eyes in relay. Regardless     9     various highlights, the festive celebrations across different regions share the     10     (feature) of hanfu, a traditional Chinese style of clothing, and flower appreciation.

Shadow play (皮影戏),     1     folk drama active in China for over 2,000 years, is also known     2     “shadow puppet” or “lamp shadow play”, in which people perform stories by using puppet shadows on lighted hide or paperboard.

The production procedures (程序) of shadow puppets usually go through the following     3     (step): leather selection, leather making, painting, engraving, color application, sweating and ironing, binding and synthesis. Each step must be     4     (care).

Born in the times when there was neither movie nor TV, shadow play has always been on the way of development,     5     (reach) its best days in the Qing Dynasty with it seen all around China. In 2006, shadow play was listed in China’s first national intangible cultural heritage list (非遗目录) Since then, it     6     (win) many awards at home and abroad, which is of positive     7     (important) to the inheritance of shadow play.

Shadow play is among the first Chinese drama arts     8     (spread) abroad. Quite a few foreign friends spoke     9     (high) of it—“I love the modeling of shadow puppets because they have a special styling.”, “I fail to understand what people are singing, but I still find it quite interesting.”, and such like that.

As for shadow play in our traditional culture, we can’t let the drama left to us be lost     10     let it be handed down.