Elling Eide Research Library & Preserve
Presents

Professor Fan Pen Li Chen
State University of New York at Albany
Associate Professor of Chinese Studies and Department Chair,
East Asian Studies

An Introduction to Chinese Shadow Puppet Theater

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Professor Chen's research focuses on women warriors in Chinese history and fiction;
women in Chinese history and fiction; the Chinese shadow theatre, and the Chinese
marionette theatre. An internationally recognized authority and living voice of Chinese
Shadow Theatre, Dr. Fan Pen Li Chen has published several renowned books on the
Chinese puppet theater, including Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religion,
& Women Warriors; Visions for the Masses: Chinese Shadow Plays from Shaanxi and
Shanxi; Marionette Plays from Northern China, and most recently Journey of a Goddess:
Chen Jingu Subdues the Snake Demon. This introduction to the regional histories of
the genre, and their social functions, will be selectively demonstrated with shadow
figures, and brought to life through personal recordings of the shadow puppet making
process, and excerpts of a variety of shadow plays taken on location in China.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Tour of the Elling Eide Center (optional)
Elling Eide Research Library & Preserve
8000 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida