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Shadow play is an ancient art of performances. The characters, settings and stage property are carved from thick paper at first. Later, the skins of donkey, sheep and cow are also employed in making the puppet. The hands and feet of the puppets are carved separately and then joined to the main body by thread so that they can move freely. During performance, the shadow puppetman will hide himself between the light and a screen, which is usually a big piece of white silk. The images of these puppets will then be projected onto the white screen, accompanied by music, libretto and words, which become programs deeply loved by common people.
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It is said that in the Han Dynasty(206 BC-25), the palace maids often cut out images of persons with tree leaves and reflected them on screen windows to entertain princes. After emperor Hanwu lost his belved concubine Madame Li, he became very depressed. A necromancer named Qi shaoweng asked a maid wearing clothes of madame li to stand between a cloth curtain and light so that her shadow could be seen on the curtain. In this way, emperor wu seemed to see his concubine again and his sadness was lessened. This might be the origin of the shadow play.
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During the song dynasty(960~1127), the economy became prospering and the culture also developed to its peak. The talking and singing became very popular among common people in bianjing(kaifeng of Henan province today), capital and economic, cultural and commercial center of the old china. A large number of fine folk literary works emerged in forms of songs, storytelling to the accompaniment of drums of stringed instruments and operas. It was at that time that the shadow play changed from a mere form of storytelling to a special program combining images and sounds.
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The shadow play is spread across china. The subjects often come from folk literature, historical srories and legends. Characters of the puppet can be easily judged from their appearances: the fair and loyal one is always handsome, while the wicked and hypocritical one is ugly. The shapes, clothes and rhyme scheme are greatly influenced by local operas. Characters are also divided into five kinds: sheng(male lead), dan(female lead), jing(character with painted facial make-up), mo(servant) and chou(clown). During the long process of evolution, the shadow play are divided into various schools. Each shadow plays has its special features. The puppets are all made elaborately and exaggeratedly, so they are highly decorative and have bright colors. Beijing shadow puppet is usually made of donkey or sheep skins and puts much emphasis on different characters of personages and function of decoration. Tangshan shadow puppet is made of donkey skin which is soaked in tung oil till it becomes transparent. Each characters has distinctive features and bright colors and is exaggerate. shanxi shadow is often made of the skin of little cow. It is always large, carefully carved and with striking colors. Shaanxi shadow puppets can be divided into two schools. Those to the east of xianyang are exquisitely shaped, deliberately decorated and carefully carved, with a small body; while those to the west of xianyang are straightforward, forcible, simple and natural. Shaanxi shadow puppets, in general, are sophisticated but not disorderly. The shadow puppets of Sichuan province have also two categories: the eastern category(in east and North Sichuan) and the western category(in the chengdu plain in west Sichuan). The eastern category is similar to that of east Shaanxi province. The small silhouette will facilitate performances in mountainous areas. The western category shadow puppet is carved out of thick cow skins and has a large body, mainly affected by murals of the tang dynasty and Sichuan opera. Hubei shadow puppet is mostly influenced by the masks in its local operas, and its head and cap can be easily changed. In most occasions, people may see one body with three heads or one head with three caps. Shadow puppets can also be found in Qinghai, East gansu and Ningxia.
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The shadow puppets are not only used in performances; they themselves are a kind of artwork. Many procedures have to be gone through to make a shadow puppet. First, to soak and scrape animal skin many times and polish it again and again till it becomes neat and smooth. High techniques are required in carving. The head and cap are the first to be carved, then thee face, eyebrows, eyes and nose, hair and clothes. The last step is painting, which also need different techniques. Burn the color and hide glue soft and mix them, and the color will not be easily washed away. Finally, connect all the parts together and put on a control rod, the shadow puppet is finished.
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Since the shadow play is a two-dimensional activity, the shadow projected onto the screen always features the profile. The silhouette profile, therefore, becomes the focus in making shadow puppet. The puppet makers have accumulated a set of experiences in shapes, sexualities and ages the figures. Those with even brows are always loyal, those opening their eyes wide always cruel. If a person is smiling, his or her mouth will turn upwards. If a person is sad, he will have knitted brows. As a kind of artistic form realized through light, large patches of blackness should be avoided. Consequently, these puppets are always made hollowed-out.
In communicating means through light and shadow, the shadow play have many similarities with the modern film. -
As a comprehensive art, the shadow play integrates many kinds of Chinese traditional culture, including the paper-cutting, mural, woodcut pictures, stone carving, opera and music. Various schools of shadow plays in different regions show some common features. They are all graceful, elegant, rigorous, harmonious and hyperbolic. The artistic charm of the shadow play is unique.
Guide created: 12/24/08
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