Shadow Puppetry (Qinzhou)

Shadow puppetry is one of China's oldest folk theatres, and the Qinzhou tradition of Tianshui is an important branch. It uses cowhide figures cast by lamplight onto a white screen, with Qinqiang singing and percussion to perform historical romances and folk tales, long popular in the villages of southeast Gansu. In 2008 shadow puppetry entered the second national ICH list, with the declaration region including Qinzhou District of Tianshui, Gansu.

The figures are carved from translucent cowhide, painted, pressed flat and oiled, the joints supple and the forms vivid; in performance one hand works many puppets while singing many roles, backed by banhu fiddle, two-string and percussion, the singing high and bold, rich with the earthy flavour of the Gansu uplands.

Qinzhou shadow puppetry carries the folk theatre and carving art of southeast Gansu, an important sample for the study of northwest shadow art and village life, still alive at rural fairs and festivals.