Events

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.

Please note, this event is conducted in Mandarin.

皮影戏是中国传统的民间戏剧艺术，2011年入选人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录。在整个二十世纪都有美国人在坚持演出中国皮影戏并在当下有所创新。这是一段值得记忆的百年传奇，它与一位男士和三位女士的生命历程紧密地联系在一起。

中国皮影1904年由东方学家劳费尔（Berthold Laufer, 1874-1934）博士带到美国。班顿（Pauline Benton,1898-1974）女士1932年创立“红门剧社”，在美国乃至西方，是第一位也是当时唯一表演中国皮影戏的外国艺术家。她曾受邀到白宫演出，并曾多次为抗日战争义演。班顿女士故世后，她的部分皮影赠与了韩福瑞（Jo Humphrey,1927- ）女士。韩佛瑞女士1976年创立“悦龙皮影剧社”，演出传统中国皮影戏，直至1999年退休。之后将所有皮影传至冯光宇女士于1995创办的“中国戏剧工作坊“（现名“纽约美华剧坊”），演出跨界、跨文化原创剧目至今。

中国皮影在美国的传奇，其可贵之处，在于它是活着的传承。这不仅为世界范围内的非物质文化遗产的研究，提供了不可多得的典型案例；而且展现了中华文明及其道德伦理的普世价值以及艺术和美的全人类意义，昭示了文化记忆和社会记忆在全世界文明维护中的核心地位。

华美人文学会2月22日下午3时至5时特邀华东师范大学李明洁教授做专题讲座，分享她经过三年多的跟踪调研所复原的这一民间历史，纪念华美协进社在这段传奇中长久的贡献。演讲中还将播放1947年由翁同龢的五世孙、华美协进社的往任社长翁万戈先生拍摄、由班顿女士领衔出演的皮影记录短片《白蛇传》。班顿女士皮影现在的收藏机构纽约美华剧坊的负责人冯光宇女士也将光临现场，并展示片中的代表性皮影形象。演讲后，李明洁教授和冯光宇女士将共同导览正在华美协进社展出的上述珍贵皮影原件展。

李明洁，华东师范大学社会发展学院民俗学研究所教授，博士生导师。擅长结合语言学、符号学和人类学、民俗学的研究路径，通过多种批评方法，讨论社会政策、风俗民情、媒体传播、民间艺术作为权力的再现，对于日常生活和社会记忆的多重构型关系。近五年来，在美国（主要是纽约市及纽约州）进行长期的针对民间社会和历史档案的田野调查工作，尤其关注视觉记忆的研究。

活动免费。因座位有限，请预先订位。