When Wei Jinquan, master puppeteer of the Huaxian shadow puppets told us he was going to perform, we did not realize it was going to be at someone's funeral. Many rural areas in China still keep the tradition of having opera or puppet performances on special occasions such as wedding, funerals and house-warmings.

A new apprentice needs at least three years to grasp the basics in puppet manipulation, singing or instrument playing. Many students do not last that long and even if some do, there are not enough to make up the troupe of five.

Master Wei and his peers have broken the mold to ease the situation. They no longer pass down their craft only to male disciples. They now teach girls, and even foreigners - in fact to anyone willing and determined to learn.

Pan Jingle, the oldest living master of Huaxian shadow puppetry at 83, considers himself lucky. He has experienced the art in its heyday and he has seen it survive the transitions to the modern day. He is just too old to think about it, he says. He has even forgotten which song he sang in Zhang Yimou's film To Live. But when you ask him to sing one or two of his favorite pieces, he bursts into song, recalling his lyrics perfectly.

Huaxian shadow puppet troupes have as many as 247 handwritten scripts that are passed down through generations. Most are four-hour plays. Each troupe may own as many as 140 handmade shadow puppets with more than 500 changeable heads. For funerals alone, the more solemn repertoire has about 20 choices available.

The puppeteers adhere strictly to the guidelines handed down by their masters and would not dream of altering anything, be it the stage setting, props or length of the play, which are often several hours long. There's no break, not even for the toilet.

The worries facing the puppet masters these days are many. They fret about who to pass their craft to, and they are fearful that one day, no one will want to watch these traditional shadow puppet shows anymore.

The rural audience still enjoys the live performances, sitting out in the freezing cold, ignoring the little imperfections from the low-quality speakers, and the occasional interruptions from barking dogs or crying babies.

But China's population shift from rural to urban is taking place at a faster pace than ever before, and the crowd in front shrinks every year.

(China Daily 01/15/2012 page4)