Mount Tai shadow puppet show enchants crowds in S. Korea

The classic shadow puppet show, Shi Gandang Fights against the Evil Wolf, is on display in Seoul. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An excellent Mount Tai shadow puppet show was staged in Seoul, South Korea on Nov 27- 29, marveling hundreds of local audience members including cultural fans, intangible cultural heritage experts and students.

Jointly hosted by the Shandong Provincial Department Cultural and Tourism and Seoul Chinese Culture Center, the Mount Tai shadow puppet series show was performed at Seoul Jongno District Civic Center, Seoul Chinese Culture Center and Seoul University Road Theater.

The stunning show provided a platform to enable the South Korean audience to feel the unique charms of traditional Chinese puppet culture and to further promote cultural exchanges between China and South Korea.

Chinese shadow play, one of the "Chinese stunts", was listed as UNESCO's world intangible heritage in 2011.

Fan Zheng'an, the sixth-generation inheritor of Mount Tai shadow puppet, introduces traditional shadow puppet art for visitors in South Korea. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Mount Tai shadow puppet has a long history of more than 600 years. It stands out among many shadow puppetry schools for its exquisite artistic modeling, wonderful performance skills, as well as beautiful music singing style. It also enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad.

Fan Zheng'an, 70, the sixth-generation inheritor of Mount Tai shadow puppet, performed the classic item, Shi Gandang Fights against the Evil Wolf, gaining a lot of cheers and applauses from the crowd.

Fan is one of the most outstanding inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage. He has tired to blend traditional shadow puppetry with Xihe drum, a traditional drum forms in North China and Shandong allegro performance skills.

Additionally, Chinese artists also performed a new puppetry show adapted from the Korean popular dance song, Gangnam Style.

The Mount Tai shadow puppet show enchants the audience in South Korea. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]