Showcasing traditional arts

Beijing Fenglei Peking Opera Company presents its work, Ke Si Jian Yi, during the Traditional Culture & Arts Week in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The Beijing Shadow Show Troupe, set up by the government in 1957, is an extension of the Lu family tradition.

Since its founding, the troupe has received support from established Peking Opera masters, including Mei Lanfang, who had invited the troupe to perform at his home many times.

"Shadow play and Peking Opera have a strong connection. Many repertoires, including The Journey to the West and White Snake Lady, were shared by shadow play and Peking Opera," says Lu.

Like many traditional Chinese art forms, such as Peking Opera, shadow play has gone through rocky times, challenged by diverse contemporary entertainment.

In 2008, shadow play was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.

What Lu wants to do is more than display this art form.

"I want to revitalize this art form. I am proud of my family's tradition. But for decades, the troupe was losing talent and its market was declining. It would be a shame if this art form dies in my hands," says Lu.

The troupe now has 11 actors, from their early 20s to their 50s, who give about 110 performances every year around the country. They also produce shadow puppet cartoons for television and do free shows to children during the summer vacation.

For now, Lu is preparing for a new show to be premiered in 2018, which will integrate traditional shadow play with contemporary elements, like a multimedia stage set, to attract younger audiences.

But he feels that there is much to be done.

He says that by letting more people see the art form－from the performances to the techniques of making shadow puppets－people, especially the young, could be inspired by what they see and begin their own revival.

Along with Lu's troupe, the ongoing Traditional Culture& Arts Week also features Beijing Fenglei Peking Opera Company, which celebrates its 80th anniversary; and the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe, which marks 60 years.