What are the characteristics of shadow puppetry?

Shadow puppetry is a form of opera in which images are cut out of animal skins or cardboard and illuminated by lighting to act out the stories. Its popular range is extremely wide, almost all provinces and regions in the country, and due to the different vocal cavities performed in various places and form a variety of shadow puppetry, such as Shaanxi Huaxian shadow puppetry, Huayin old shadow puppetry, Ah Gong cavity shadow puppetry, string plate cavity shadow puppetry, Gansu Huanxian Daoqing shadow puppetry, Shanxi Xiaoyi bowl bowl shadow puppetry, Hebei Tangshan shadow puppetry, southern Hebei shadow puppetry, Zhejiang Haining shadow puppetry, Hubei Jianghan Plain shadow puppetry, Guangdong Lufeng shadow puppetry, Liaoning Fuzhou shadow puppetry, Lingyuan shadow puppet and so on.

There is no definite date on the formation of shadow puppetry, but according to the records of the Southern Song Dynasty Mengyuan's "Tokyo Menghualu", it has matured and flourished in the Song Dynasty at the latest, and the shadow and opera artists in the Bianliang Washe in Tokyo have already been Dong.

Ten. Five, Zhao.

Seven, Cao Baoyi and other 9 people. There is a "shadow play" in the Jin Dynasty mural of the Wenshu Hall of Fanzhi Yanshan Temple in Shanxi, which vividly shows the live situation of Shanxi shadow puppet performance at that time. After the development of the four historical periods of Song, Jin, Yuan and Ming, shadow puppetry, which was popular all over the country, showed a prosperous situation in the Qing Dynasty.

Although there are many types of shadow puppetry, the differences are mainly in the vocal cavity and repertoire, and the production and performance techniques of the filmmakers are similar. The shadow man generally scrapes off the hair and blood of cowhide or donkey skin and sheepskin, processes it into translucent and then engraves it to color, and its carving and painting process pays attention to the exquisite knife work and realistic shape. The shadow figure is generally divided into several parts such as the head, body, and limbs, all of which are silhouettes, with a helmet attached to the head, and the body and limbs are dressed in clothing, which is baked and flattened with fire bricks after being painted with oil paint.

During the performance, the head of the filmmaker is inserted into the body, the body is connected to the limbs, and three bamboo skewers are attached to the body and hands at the same time to operate the performance. In addition to the character modeling, some masonry props, tables and chairs and scenery should be carved to match the performance.

The props are mainly shadow windows, commonly known as "Liangzi", generally 3 feet high, 5 feet wide, the highest is only 4 feet, and the width is no more than 6 feet, with white paper as a curtain, so that it can be operated by a single person. The second is an oil lamp, which is used to reflect the shadow people and perform the movements.

Shadow puppetry is an important folk traditional art in China, in recent years, due to the impact of modern film and television art, the audience and performance market are decreasing, and many shadow puppet puppets are facing the danger of extinction, and they urgently need to be rescued and protected.

Shadow puppetry, also known as "lamp shadow", is an ancient and peculiar opera art in China, which is very popular in Guanzhong. Shadow puppet performances are simple, the performance field is broad, and the acting skills are delicate, and they are active in the vast rural areas and are deeply welcomed by the peasants.

Shadow puppetry is one of the earliest types of opera in China. The singing is rich and beautiful, and the performance is wonderful and moving, so it spreads widely, almost all over the country, and forms a variety of shadow puppets due to the different vocal cavities performed in various places.

Shadow puppetry is carved out with a carving knife on the cowhide, in addition to the back of the dyeing, threading, etc., shadow puppetry is performed by about 5 or 6 artists with more than 20 bells of musical instruments in addition to the most important signature on the lamp cloth of various actions, only to have people to see the lifelike character story, because there are too many, can only say these, interested friends can learn about one, Huazhou shadow puppetry, because my father has performed most of his life shadow puppet play, sometimes I will also go to see, shadow puppet play really needs people's attention.

The characteristics of shadow puppetry mainly include two aspects: props and vocal cavities. "Shadow puppetry" is a general term for shadow puppetry and shadow puppet characters (including scenes, props, and scenery).

Chinese shadow puppet art is a unique artistic variety formed by the ingenious combination of folk arts and crafts and opera in China, and is an indispensable exquisite pearl in the palace of Chinese national art.

Shadow puppetry also has high requirements for the performance skills, and the performers must be able to control it by one person.

The movements of the three or four filmmakers should also closely cooperate with the soundtrack on the field, taking into account the narration and singing.

There are all kinds of shadow puppet performances, including historical romance plays, folklore plays, martial arts dramas, love story plays, mythological fable plays, fashion modern plays, etc.

Shadow puppet play is a kind of puppet play, also known as "shadow play", "light shadow play", referred to as "shadow puppet", is an ancient art form in China, and it is also the world's earliest film and painting art form dubbed by people.

The origin of shadow puppetry can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Shadow puppetry is deeply loved by the audience for its exquisite carved shadow puppets, popular singing lyrics and simple and flexible performance forms.

The shadow puppet shape is handsome and generous, and the outer outline is straight and general; The engraving is fine and smooth. The shadow puppet figures and props are projected onto the screen under the backlight, and the shadows appear magnificent and crystal clear.

The production of shadow puppets is very delicate, the shadow selection is exquisite, with the best donkey skin or cowhide soaked in water to soften, after soaking, to make it smooth and transparent, and then carefully carved, painted with bright colors.

The three main characteristics of shadow puppetry are:

1. The epidemic range is wide

Shadow puppetry is almost all over the country, and due to the different vocal cavities performed in various places, a variety of shadow puppet plays are formed, such as Huaxian shadow puppet play in Shaanxi, Huayin old shadow puppet play, Ah Gong cavity shadow puppet play, string plate cavity shadow puppet play, Gansu Huanxian Daoqing shadow puppet play, Shanxi Xiaoyi bowl and bowl shadow puppet play, Hebei Tangshan shadow puppet play, southern Hebei shadow puppet play, etc.

2. A wide variety

There are many types of shadow puppetry, but the difference is mainly in the vocal cavity and repertoire, and the production and performance techniques of the filmmakers are similar. The production of the shadow puppet is to first scrape off the hair and blood of the donkey skin, cowhide and sheepskin, and then carry out translucent processing, and then engrave and color the shadow puppet. The part of the shadow figure is generally divided into the head, body, and limbs, the head is attached to the helmet, and the body and limbs are dressed in costumes, which are baked and flattened with fire bricks after being painted with oil paint.

3. The performance props are shadow windows

The props of the shadow puppet show are mainly shadow windows, the general height is 3 feet, the width is 5 feet, the height will not exceed 4 feet, the width will not exceed 6 feet, mainly with white paper to make the curtain, which can be convenient for a person to operate. Oil lamps are also used.

a lamp, thus reflecting the shadow man and the performance action.

Historical Records of Shadow Puppetry:

According to historical records, shadow puppetry was already in the Western Han Dynasty, and then it arose in the Tang Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty was the most popular, and it spread to Europe and West Asia during the Yuan Dynasty. Legend has it that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

I missed the deceased Mrs. Li very much, and a person named Shaoweng imitated the portrait of Mrs. Li and used the light to shine on the cloth tent, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very happy when he saw it. Perhaps this is the prototype of shadow puppetry. Southern song dynasty.

Kaifeng and Hangzhou and other places have movie studios. During the Yuan Dynasty, it spread to Persia and Java. etc.

The meaning and value of shadow puppetry are as follows:

1. Chinese shadow puppetry is closely connected with the production, life and religious beliefs of traditional society, and is an important part of folk customs, and folk activities are the basis for the survival and development of shadow puppetry.

2. Shadow puppet performances and related folk customs including sacrifices, festivals, weddings and funerals have greatly enriched people's spiritual life and are a valuable heritage of excellent traditional culture.

3. Shadow puppetry is not only a form of entertainment for people, but also an important ritual of folk religious activities, carrying a certain function of ethical education and religious transmission. From the content and form of shadow puppet performances, it can clearly reflect the folk culture of a place, some of which have evolved with the development of the times, and some of them have been preserved intact.

4. Shadow puppetry is the artistic crystallization of the development of the local culture of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, reflecting the characteristics of Chinese culture "broad and profound, with a long history", and has great social value. In 2011, Chinese shadow puppetry was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is China's 29th intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

5. The design and production of shadow puppeteers not only provide very rare materials for art design, but also provide a broad display space, so that the relationship between folk art and professional creation is one of mutual influence, mutual penetration, interdependence and mutual transformation.

Shadow puppetry, formerly known as "shadow play" or "lantern shadow play", is a kind of folk theater in which the silhouettes of characters made of animal skins or cardboard are illuminated by lights to act out stories. Behind a white curtain, the performers manipulate opera characters while singing and telling stories to popular local tunes, accompanied by percussion instruments and strings. In the rural areas of Henan and Shanxi, this humble Han folk art form is very popular with people.

Its performers manipulate silhouettes, sing, or accompany them behind the scenes. In the past, when movies and television were not yet developed, shadow puppetry was one of the most popular folk entertainment activities.

Shadow puppetry is an ancient traditional art of the Han nationality in China, and the old Beijingers call it "donkey shadow puppetry". For thousands of years, this ancient art has accompanied generations of ancestors and spent many happy times. Shadow puppetry is not only a puppet art, but also an authentic craft.

It is made of donkey, horse, and mule skins, and goes through several processes such as material selection, carving, coloring, sewing, and painting. The shadow puppet production is exquisite, the craftsmanship is exquisite, and the performance is full of fun and vividness. Affected by various factors such as the external environment and the difference in the texture of animal skin materials, the style of shadow puppets is different from place to place.

During the Yuan Dynasty, shadow puppetry was spread to various countries, and this art form originated in China, which fascinated many foreign theater fans, and people affectionately called it "Chinese Shadow Lantern".

The process is as follows: first, the leather is soaked, scraped thin, and smoothed, and then the artists depict the various figures on it, carve it with various types of knives, and then paint it with color. When carving, it is generally engraved with yang, and sometimes it is also engraved with yin.

Painting and dyeing pay attention to women's hair ornaments and clothing are mostly patterned with flowers, grass, clouds, phoenixes and other patterns, while men use dragons, tigers, water, clouds and other patterns as patterns. The loyal character is a five-faceted character, and the negative character is a seven-faceted character. The character modeling is the same as that of the drama characters, with a complete range of raw, dan, clean and ugly characters.

The shadow puppets are up to 55 centimeters high and about 10 centimeters low. The limbs and head of the shadow puppeteer are carved separately and connected with threads to allow for free movement during the performance. A shadow puppet is manipulated with five bamboo sticks, and the artist's fingers are nimble, often dazzling the audience.

Not only is the kung fu in his hands superb, but he also has to speak, read, play, and sing on his lips, and he also brakes gongs and drums under his feet. The screen for shadow puppetry is made of a piece of white gauze with a size of 1 square meter. The white gauze is polished with fish oil to become crisp and translucent.

During the performance, the shadow puppets moved close to the screen, and the figures and colorful colors were really moving. The shadow puppet props are small, the performance is convenient, and the venue is not limited, and the actors do not need formal training, so they are deeply loved by the people. In areas where shadow puppetry is prevalent, people will affectionately refer to it as the art of "one dan pick".

The significance of shadow puppetry can be summed up in 8 words: far-reaching and significant.

It is one of the first batch of intangible cultural heritage in China (in 2006, it was listed as the first list of intangible cultural heritage approved by China).

Shadow puppetry originated in Shaanxi in the Western Han Dynasty, with a history of more than 1,000 years, and is the world's earliest film and painting art dubbed by people, and is recognized as the "ancestor of modern films".

The three-foot silk is used as a stage, all with ten fingers and witty, and sometimes under the bright moon and light window, a smile comes from the palm of the hand." A small shadow puppet, a simple curtain stage, the operator's dexterous fingers, and a little light can show the various states of life in life and countless anecdotes in history.

Shadow puppetry is one of the ancient dramas in our country, is the crystallization of the wisdom of generations of folk artists, it integrates painting, sculpture, literature, **, stage performance, has a high historical, cultural and artistic value, and is known as the "living fossil" of Chinese folk art. The shadow puppet show of the National Centre for the Performing Arts attracted many domestic and foreign audiences, and more than 40,000 people came to visit the show in the first week of the show. The popularity of shadow puppet collection is also gradually heating up.

Shadow puppetry is one of the important art forms of China's intangible cultural heritage. The Chinese and foreign art circles unanimously agree that shadow puppetry has a profound influence on film.

Overview of the development of shadow puppetry and its historical role.

Summed up in 8 words: far-reaching and significant.