Chinese Dragon in Folk Art: Shadow Play

By Wang Ruoxin, Wang Jinhong, Zhang Junye

In celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Dragon, Episode Three of the program “Chinese Dragon in Folk Art” will take viewers to the Beijing Flying Dragon Shadow Play Art Center, where the crew is preparing for the shadow play show “Chinese New Year Gala”, featuring a 1.2-meter-long dragon which artists are currently adding colors to. Through the dragon, artists are sending their wishes for a vibrant, successful and prosperous Year of the Dragon.

Wang Xi, a representative inheritor of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Haidian District of Beijing, will show our views the series of dragon-themed shadow play works they created for the upcoming Year of the Dragon, which include the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, the Dragon’s Nine Sons, and the Twenty Eight Divine Figures of the Dragon Family, each telling the legendary stories and showing the unique charms of dragons in a distinctive art form.

At the end of the program, Wang Xi hopes that Chinese shadow play can soar like flying dragons and wishes all viewers a prosperous Year of the Dragon!