Who can talk about shadow play?

Shadow play is a kind of folk drama. The silhouette of characters made of animal skin or cardboard is illuminated on a white screen with lights, and the story is performed with music and songs. The plane figures and props in shadow play are usually leather products drawn by folk artists by hand and knife carving, so it is called shadow play.

Shadow play art is a unique artistic variety that combines China folk arts and crafts with China traditional opera skillfully, and it is an indispensable bright pearl in the Chinese national art palace.

When did it originate? Due to the lack of literature, it is impossible to verify. To be sure, shadow play was very mature at the latest in the Northern Song Dynasty. When the performance of traditional Chinese opera is still immature, the shadow play in Song Dynasty was able to perform a complete and vivid story of the Three Kingdoms, such as Tokyo Dream of China, Liang Yusheng Dream and Wulin Old Stories, all of which were related to the grand occasion of the shadow play in Song Dynasty.

Shadow play is simple to make and perform, with low cost, and the content in the play is loved by ordinary people. Therefore, it has been deeply loved by the general public for thousands of years, so it has spread widely in Wuzhen, Tongxiang.

The repertoires performed here include: Saving Mother by Splitting Mountain, the Monkey King vs. Cattle, Killing Tiger in Xu Da, Naolong Palace, Shuikou Station, Jitou Mountain, The West Chamber, Tang Bohu Playing Qiuxiang, Crossing the River in Kang Wang and so on.

Shadow play is a folk art form in China. Longdong Shadow Play in Gansu, northwest of China, is mainly distributed in Pingliang and Qingyang counties, and the triangle bordering Shaanxi and Ningxia in the east is relatively concentrated.

Longdong Shadow Play was very popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (14th century-19th century), with handsome and generous shapes and straight outlines. The carving is fine and smooth.

Longdong Shadow Play uses young black bull cowhide, which is moderate in thickness, firm, flexible and green. The cowhide is scraped and dried until it is bright and transparent. First, draw a sample on the cowhide lightly, and then carve or chisel it with various knives. After that, the transparent water color is used, and the colors are generally not harmonious, so it is pure and beautiful, and the contrast is strong. After cutting and coloring, ironing is the most critical and difficult step. After the water comes out and dries, you can go on stage for binding combination.

Gansu Longdong Jade Emperor Taishang Laojun (Carved Cowhide)

The two works in the picture show the shadow of the Jade Emperor on the left and the old gentleman on the right. Carving is complicated and fine, flexible and vivid, with red, yellow, black and green as the main colors, and the patterns are staggered and particularly rich. The jade emperor carved in the sun, with flat eyes, small mouth and straight nose, which seemed peaceful and generous; The old gentleman in Taishang is carved in the shade of the tree, with round eyes, a pimple nose, a prominent forehead and a large backward crown, which looks lean and energetic.

Shadow play focuses on the performance effect, because all parts of the characters in the shadow play can move, and the melodious singing makes it have strong local characteristics and folk flavor.

Gansu Longdong Luotong Sweep the North (Cowhide Carving)

There are many plays in Longdong shadow play. In the picture, Luo Tong swept the north for the romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties. The characters and props are carefully carved, so the actions and plots when you perform will be fascinating. The decorative effect of the pattern; Strong color contrast, lively; The combination and decomposition of the shadow puppeteer's body parts are reasonable, so the performance is very flexible, which fully embodies the artistic style of rough and refined, unrestrained and uninhibited.

Shaanxi shadow play

Shadow play in Shaanxi Province, northwest of China, retains traces of folk storytelling and is the predecessor of many local operas in modern Shaanxi.

Shaanxi shadow play is unpretentious, richly decorated and has exquisite artistic characteristics. The outline of the figures in Shaanxi shadow play is summarized as a whole with beautiful and vivid lines. The interior of the outline is mainly hollowed out, which should be kept properly, so as to be complex and appropriate, and mixed with reality and reality. Shadow play figures, props and various parts of the scenery are often decorated with different patterns, and the overall effect is gorgeous without procrastination, concise without emptiness. Each image is not only pleasing to the eye locally, but also fully and vividly integrated to form a perfect artistic whole.

Hua county Shadow Play in Shaanxi Province

In hua county, shadow play is also called "five people make trouble". One of the most important is "the voice of the forefront"-the singer sings everything from birth to death, sometimes for eight hours, playing Qin Yue while playing drums, which is equivalent to the conductor of a band. Then there is the "hand sign", which is responsible for manipulating the shadow play: "sitting in the trough", also known as playing backstage, sitting at the back of the backstage, responsible for knocking gongs, bowls, cymbals, clappers and other five musical instruments: "rising tone", mainly responsible for playing the two-stringed piano and suona: "falling tone", mainly responsible for playing banhu. It's actually five people, but it sounds like a band. "

Hua county shadow play is not only the oldest art variety in China and even in the world, but also the master of shadow play in China and even all parts of the world recognized by the shadow play circles at home and abroad. Because it is the oldest, the most essence, the most mature, the most perfect, the most classic and the most qualified to represent the highest level of Chinese and foreign shadow play art, it is known as "the father of China opera" and "the father of shadow play in the world". Therefore, experts believe that the status of hua county shadow play in the history of shadow play at home and abroad is similar to that of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses in the history of archaeology at home and abroad.

Photo: Tourism in Shaanxi Province (donkey skin prints)

In the travel map, the main map (first from left) stands out, which is more noticeable than the ceremony map in color and modeling, showing the fine and complex lines, dense levels and meticulous craftsmanship.

Shanxi shadow play

The shadow play in Shanxi Province in the north of China is rigorous and standardized, and its artistic style and technical means are similar to those in Shaanxi. The lines are drawn with ink lines instead of knives, and depicted on tiny ornaments that are difficult to carve, which are meticulous and wonderful. Most of the pigments used are artists' homemade red, big green, apricot yellow and so on. , bright color, elegant appearance, corrosion resistance, long-term deformation.

In the shadow play in southern Shanxi, various traditional auspicious patterns, such as Fu Lushou, Wuzi winning the championship, kuixing fighting, the birthday of the Eight Immortals, the sending of children by Kirin, and Lian Shenggui, often appear in shadows and props. Traditional patterns of various buildings and appliances are also common in people's clothing, such as the word D, endless life, long life and so on.

In the picture, "Han Yan Dresses" shows a girl sitting in front of a mirror and stirring chocolate powder. Shadow puppeteers skillfully show the concern of Byakki Smoker and outsiders when girls dress up, and the consistency of their actions shows the artist's originality. Punan style shadow play, beautifully carved, exquisitely painted tables, chairs, boxes, cabinets, antique utensils, is also dense, rich and complete. The exquisite and meticulous carving of girls' clothes, tables and stools is really admirable.