Students control shadow puppets(皮影木偶) as the singing voice of 71-year-old Liu Aibang echoes(回荡) across the classroom. They use thin straight pieces of wood to make shadow puppets step onto the “stage”—a cloth screen. Those sitting in front of the stage play music on drums, suona horns and other instruments.
This is a Daoqing shadow puppetry class at Longdong University. Except Liu,the other performers of the show are all college students.
Starting in the Han Dynasty, Daoqing shadow puppetry has been included in the national intangible cultural heritage list(国家非物质文化遗产名录) since 2006. For years, shadow plays were welcomed by people of all ages. and were often performed during the festivals. However, with films and TV series becoming popular in the late1980s,many performers moved on to other jobs. Faced with the choice between protecting this art and making a good living, Liu chose to stay on.
One day in 2020, Liu received a phone call from Zhao Zhixue, head of the music school at Longdong University. Zhao told him that the school planned to introduce Daoqing shadow puppetry into college classrooms and develop young students’ long-term interest in intangible cultural heritage. Excited by the news. Liu dropped his farmwork and became a part-time teacher at the college.
Liu hopes to train more young people. “Just as true love is not a one-man show the learning and keeping of cultural heritage needs efforts(努力）from both the old and the young,” Liu said.
1. Where do music performers sit during the shadow puppetry class?2. When was Daoqing shadow puppetry included in the national intangible cultural heritage list?
3. What did many performers do when films and TV series became popular in the late 1980s?
4. How did Liu feel on hearing about the news from Zhao Zhixue?
5. What’s the meaning of Liu’s words in the last paragraph?
