A Photographic Guide to the History of Oriental and Occidental Shadow Puppet Theatre

Max Von Boehn

Description

This classic book contains a photographic guide to the history of the oriental and occidental shadow puppet theatre, and will prove to be a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the subject.This book contains classic material dating back to the 1900s and before. The content has been carefully selected for its interest and relevance to a modern audience.

Sujets

• Loisirs
• Artisanat
• Puppetry
• Puppets
• Crafts
• Hobbies

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 03 décembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781447484622
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

A Photographic Guide to the History of Oriental and Occidental Shadow Puppet Theatre
by Max von Boehn
Copyright 2011 Read Books Ltd. This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Contents
The Shadow Theatre in the Orient
Occidental Shadow Theatres
THE SHADOW THEATRE IN THE ORIENT
H ITHERTO we have been tracing the development of the puppet stage in its various aspects up to the threshold of the modern period. Before going further and attempting to give an account of its present position we must cast a glance at the non-European puppet theatres, which unquestionably have had a real influence on the marionette art of the Old World.
First of all comes the shadow theatre, which originated in the Far East, and entered Europe during the rococo period, at the time when China was the latest fashion. The shadow stage does not deal, like the marionette theatre, with rounded figures, but only with their shadows. Its technique is closer to the film than to the puppet theatre, since the art of the film also works, not with three-dimensional objects, but only with their two-dimensional representations. As a form of artistic expression it stands very high. It is the art form, says Georg Jacob very prettily, which approaches nearest the poet s dream, the creative power which reaches consummation in a waking dream; it can therefore reflect the poetic conception in all its freshness and original form, vainly striven after otherwise. Its origin is to be sought in China, where, during the Han period, in the reign of Emperor Wu (140-86 B.C .), it arose out of magical celebrations. Its scope embraces all possible incidents of the natural and supernatural worlds, intermingled with much grotesque humour and riotous fantasy. The figures are typical of the subject-matter. The good characters have human faces, the evil characters have devils masks. These were not treated as pure silhouettes; the faces only were outlined in black. The ancient figures were made of bone or horn, transparent and painted; the modern, according to the description of Carl Hagemann, are made of stiff, oiled paper of a golden yellow colour; the bodies are cleverly built up out of a number of small planes, painted in transparent colours and superimposed on one another. Their colour effect, according to the same authority, has a subtle delicacy; for they are said to glow like stained-glass windows. These puppets are about 30 cm. high; the arms are movable at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists, the legs at the thighs and knees, supported and operated by means of bamboos strengthened by wire. The representation of scenery is not without charm: hills, rocks, trees, houses, and pagodas-all are introduced. The ancient texts, of which Berthold Laufer, Wilhelm Grube, and Krebs have published sixty-eight different versions, are of importance for the study of the Chinese language and people and for the history of their culture and literature. Laufer is of the opinion that the shadow-play represents the highest artistic level which dramatic representation ever reached in China, in reference, of course, to a period in the distant past. According to Carl Hagemann, it was once the refined toy of the cultured, an art for the learned, whereas to-day it is merely a hollow relic. People do not now know what to do with the figures; they cannot work them; they are stiff and inflexible or else aimlessly flop about with all their limbs; when several characters have to be introduced the player is helpless. The Chinese shadow theatre no longer has its own repertoire; it simply takes over that of the regular stage. It has no public, and the educated classes pay no attention to it now. The V lkermuseum in Berlin possesses a complete series of artistically made ancient Chinese shadow-figures which includes fifty-one heads which could be interchanged as desired.

FIG . 336. TRANSPARENT COLOURED CHINESE SHADOW-FIGURE : WA-HI, THE PRIEST OF THE TEMPLE ON THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN Collection of Carl Niessen, Cologne