The Heritage of Wang Piying Troupe: Shadow Puppetry in North Sichuan

Wang Piying (Wang Shadow Puppet Troupe) has a long history. It manifests both the essence of Shaanxi shadow play and traditional old style North Sichuan shadow puppetry which uses chuanju (Sichuan opera) character types, staging, and music. The troupe maintains this Chinese intangible cultural heritage genre with exquisite puppets and rich narratives. Through the efforts of several generations of artists, this family company has achieved a balance between art and commerce, becoming known domestically and internationally.Tang Rui is a lecturer at the Art College of China West Normal University and focuses on Chinese folk arts and shadow puppetry. She was a visiting scholar at Ithaca College (2014-2015) and is author of Research on Asian Shadow Play Arts and Genres (2016). This article was supported by the Young Lecturer s Funding Project of China West Normal University (17D030).