Traditional Legend

The Butterfly Lovers

The Butterfly Lovers or Liang Zhu is a Chinese legend about the tragic romance between two lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, from whom the name of the legend is known in Chinese (梁山伯與祝英台, pinyin: Liáng Shānbó yǔ Zhù Yīngtái, often abbreviated as "梁祝", Liáng-Zhù). The legend is sometimes regarded as the Chinese equivalent to Romeo and Juliet.

Six cities within thePeople's Republis of China (PRC) have collaborated since 2004 on a formal application for the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on the legend at UNESCO, submitted in 2006 through the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

Chinese Traditional Puppet Show

The Chinese Puppet Show (kuileixi) is known as mu'ouxi (play of wooden dolls), in the country, which has its roots in remote time. Traditionally, Puppet Show comes in three forms: the rod-top puppet, the marionette or string puppet and the glove or hand puppet. In China, the rod-top puppet is the most popular show. The puppet, less than a meter tall, is made with true-to-life features. It is raised overhead at the top of a stick by the puppeteer with one hand and manipulated its action (moving a pair of wire rods) with the other hand. One of the basic skills required of the puppeteer is to be able to hold high the puppet, which weighs 2 to 3 kilograms, with one arm and to keep it either motionless or moving steadily on the same level as dictated by the scenario.

The Marionette or String Puppet

The marionette appears on stage in full view of the audience. it is of a more complicated structure, with the head, shoulders, waist, hands and feet all jointed, movable and controlled by separate wires. During performance, it is operated from a concealed operating bridge high above the puppet.

The Glove or Hand Puppet

The glove or hand puppet is also called "bag puppet" in China. About 20 cm long, it is the smallest of the three types. The puppeteer's hand is placed directly inside the puppet, giving the direct control and manipulation of movement. It may be made from solid materials such as wood, plastic wood, paper mache or from pliable ones such as fabric, foam rubber, latex. The hand puppet is usually legless or with stuffed legs, which merely hang limply.

Today, the stage has been expanded and modified. The glove puppets have been enlarged. More three dimensional props are used, and a wider variety of plays are presented with diverse themes and greater dramatic appeal.


Shadow Play of China

Usually called "the home of shadow play", with the longest history, the most charming images and the most marvelous techniques in performance, has exerted great influences on the world culture.

A puppet, usually two-dimensional, is placed against a screen so as to interrupt the light from the rear or above. Shadows may be in silhouette (opaque) or colored. A shadow puppet may be a single shape or sectional, and articulated by means of hinged, overlapping segments. It may be made from leather, metal, cardboard, plastics and theatrical gels.

The Chinese shadow play, has three branches: hand shadow play, paper shadow play and leather shadow play.

Famous Artists

Liu Fang

Born in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, and graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Liu Fang is a very promising young pipa virtuoso now residing in Montreal (Quebec), Canada.

She started learning the pipa at the age six and began an impressive performance career as a pipa soloist when she was 11 years old. She performed for festivals and concerts across China and had the honor to play pipa solo for Queen Elizabeth during Her Majesty's visit to China in 1985.

She toured Japan in 1986.

Liu Fang has won numerous prizes at provincial and national Chinese music competitions, such as first prize for pipa at the National Youth Competition held in Sichuan in 1988. At the age of 15, she successfully enrolled in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and studied the pipa under Professor Ye Xu-Ran, pipa master, educator and composer. As her second major, she also learned the zheng, a zither considered to be one of the oldest Chinese instruments.



Anna Guo


Anna Guo (Guo Min-qing), a former professor at the renowned Shanghai Conservatory of Music, has been teaching and playing the yang-qin for more than 30 years. From 1985 to 1996, Guo was head of the Shanghai Women's Silk String Quintet, a successful Chinese music ensemble that gained a solid reputation worldwide. The quintet recorded two albums and toured extensively in Asia and Europe. In 1996, Guo immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, where she formed the Dunhuang Chamber Ensemble, which performs traditional Chinese music across North America.

Lei Qiang

Lei Qiang is a master player of the erhu. Born in 1960 in Shaanxi province in the People's Republic of China, Lei began to play the erhu in 1975. After studying at the prestigious Xian Conservatory of Music, he toured with the Shaanxi Provincial Song and Dance Troupe for 11 years across Asia.

In 1993, Lei settled in Canada, where he has recorded with several renowned musical acts, including Cirque du Soleil. Lei has also performed at numerous music festivals and cultural events throughout North America. Currently, he is working with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.



Wu Man

Wu Man is an internationally renowned virtuoso of the Chinese lute known as the pipa. She is trained in the Pudong School of pipa playing, one of the most prestigious classical styles of Imperial China. She was the first artist at Beijing's Central Conservatory to earn a master's degree on the pipa, a plucked instrument in the lute family.

Since her arrival in the U.S. in 1990 she has become a leading exponent of both traditional and contemporary pipa repertoire, inspiring the composition of a dozen new concertos and numerous chamber works by a new generation of Chinese composers that includes Chen Yi, Bun-Ching Lam, Tan Dun, and Zhou Long, as well as Bright Sheng. In 1999 Wu Man was named winner of the City of Toronto/Glenn Gould Protégé Prize by Yo-Yo Ma. Since then they have toured and recorded together as part of the Silk Road Project, which has included concerts throughout Europe, Japan, and the US.

Wu Man has also collaborated with distinguished musicians such as Yuri.

Eileen Huang

Eileen Huang, born in China, began her piano studies at the age of six. In her career she obtained several awards, example the Flora Boyd Memorial Award. Besides being an excellent pianist, Eileen also produces and teaches Chinese music. Eileen Huang currently lives in Positano, Italy.