Join us for a free one-day workshop for educators at the Japanese American National Museum, hosted by the USC U.S.-China Institute and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. This workshop will include a guided tour of the beloved exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community, slated to close permanently in January 2025. Following the tour, learn strategies for engaging students in the primary source artifacts, images, and documents found in JANM’s vast collection and discover classroom-ready resources to support teaching and learning about the Japanese American experience.
Renwen Lecture: The Chinese Shadow Puppetry in the US - A Centennial Story
The China Institute hosts a talk on the history of Chinese shadow puppetry within the United States.
When:
February 22, 2020 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Where
Where:
The Chinese shadow puppetry is a traditional Chinese folk art. In 2011, it was added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Throughout the 20th century, Americans continued to perform Chinese shadow puppetry and improvised at the same time. This is a centennial legend worth remembering, particularly when the story is linked with the life stories of a man and three women.
Chinese shadow puppets were brought to the United States by Dr. Berthold Laufer (1874-1934) in 1904. Ms. Pauline Benton (1898-1974) founded the “Red Gate Shadow Players” in 1932. She was the first and only foreign artist to perform Chinese shadow puppetry at the time in the United States and the rest of the West. She was invited to perform at the White House and performed at benefit events many times for the Anti-Japanese War. After Ms. Benton’s death, some of her shadow puppets were gifted to Ms. Jo Humphrey, who subsequently founded the “Yueh Lung Shadow Theatre” in 1976 to perform traditional Chinese shadow play until her retirement in 1999. Afterwards, all the shadow puppets were passed to the “Chinese Theater Works” founded by Ms. Kuangyu Fong in 1995, performing cross-border, cross-cultural original repertoire to date.
The Chinese shadow puppetry and its continued life in the United States is valuable, because it is a living heritage. This history not only provides rare typical cases for the study of intangible cultural heritage around the world, but also shows the universal value of Chinese civilization and its ethical values, as well as the significance of art and beauty for all people.
At this lecture, Professor Li Mingjie of the Folklore institute at East China Normal University (Shanghai, China) will relate this history. After more than three years of research she has restored the links and is acquainted with the entire story. The documentary “Chinese Shadow Play” recorded by Mr. Wango Weng in 1947 and performed by Ms. Benton named “The White Snake Lady ” will also be presented. Ms. Feng, director of “Chinese Theater Works”, will also attend the lecture with some of the actually puppets seen in the film made by Ms. Benton and handed down by Ms. Humphrey.
(Photo\China Institute)
Featured Articles
October 20, 2024
October 20, 2024
Please join us for the Grad Mixer! Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, Enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow students across USC Annenberg. Graduate students from any field are welcome to join, so it is a great opportunity to meet fellow students with IR/foreign policy-related research topics and interests.
RSVP link: https://forms.gle/1zer188RE9dCS6Ho6
Events
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - 3:00pm
Hosted by USC Annenberg Office of International Affairs, enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow international students.
Thursday, November 7, 2024 - 4:00pm
Join us for an in-person conversation on Thursday, November 7th at 4pm with author David M. Lampton as he discusses his new book, Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War. The book examines the history of U.S.-China relations across eight U.S. presidential administrations.