Zhejiang Haining Shadow Pugpetry And The Construction Of Collective Memories

Haining shadow puppetry is one of the most unique traditional performance in Zhejiang Haining.It carries the collective memories of Haining as an intangible cultural heritage.However,few studies have focused on this theme.This study uses documents investigation,direct observation and semi-structured interviews to analyze the way the heritage constructs collective memories in the performance place,the traditional tune and singing language and the special performance forms.The results has showed that:(1)The impacts of modernization and globalization on its social framework have affected the way that Haining shadow puppetry constructs the collective memories in the progress.(2)Stakeholders,such as the artists(source community),local audiences(visitor community),the government and tourism companies(other communities)play an important role in the process.(3)As an intangible cultural heritage,it constructs collective memories of Haining in three aspects.First,it combines the historical information contained in Yanguan ancient town and Nanguanxiang block with the repertoires based on the historical events that happened in above places to constructs Haining’s collective memories.Second,artists defend the origin of its tune,Haiyanqiang,which can represent Haining’s salt industry history,to save the historical continuity and identity.Besides,they cooperate with the government to use modern vehicles to preserve the charm(memory)and dialectal memory for the heritage to adapt to the new social framework and reconstruct the memories.Thirdly,the progress of the form of Haining shadow puppetry in sericulture,from ritual to symbol,reflects the change of the way Haining shadow play constructs collective memories.This research attempts to provide a supplement to the existing research of Haining shadow puppetry,as well as theoretical and practical references for the inheritance and protection of other heritages similar to it.