Animated series draws on ancient storytelling tradition

A new animation series called "Let’s Learn Martial Arts" was produced by a local radio station and funded by the Jing’an Culture and Tourism Bureau.

It tells the story of a group of children who find a martial art school in the concrete jungle and constantly challenge themselves. It features Chinese arts such as traditional opera and shadow puppetry, a heritage-listed ancient form of storytelling dating back about 2,000 years ago.

“We combine old storytelling forms with today’s popular animation to help children learn about tradition,” said Shen Qijie in charge of the series.

Cartoon artist Sun Zongqing said: “Shadow puppetry itself is not attractive to today’s young children. But in this animation, the puppets are designed in a new colorful style.”

The first season, comprising 20 five-minute episodes, will be launched on SMG’s BestTV+ in December, and it will be launched on iQiyi, Youku and Tencent next year.