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This story was recorded in the ancient books and is believed to be the origin of shadow puppetry. At night fall, he invited the emperor to watch an illuminated puppet show behind a curtain. He made a cotton puppet of the concubine and painted it. Inspired by this, the minister came upon an idea. One day a minister saw children playing with dolls where the shadows on the floor were vivid. The emperor missed her so much that he lost his desire to reign. More than 2,000 years ago a favorite concubine of Wu Emperor in the Han Dynasty died of an illness. Most tourists who visit Xian and Shaanxi are willing to buy them as souvenir.
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Today, Guanzhong play figures are popular with collectors as home decorations. The academic-style painting of the Song Dynasty (960-1279AD) and folk paper-cuts can also be found there. They were modeled after the stone relief patterns that originated in the Han Dynasty. With puppet silhouettes made out of cow's leather or donkey hide, the shadow show figures of the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province are most represented in China. It has entertained the Chinese for centuries, bringing joy to them and raising their hopes.Chinese shadow puppet show (play), also called Piying Show or Piying Xi in Chinese language, is a traditional folk art, which traces back to the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-25 AD). Shadow theater is a popular form of drama in China. They may help promote Chinese culture and contribute to the creation of new art forms,” said Sun Jianjun. We should preserve not only the puppets and props but also the theater texts and music. “We should preserve the tradition of our shadow puppetry. Ruffians and treacherous characters always have exaggeratedly large eyes and bushy eyebrows.
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The young male and female roles, for example, usually have an elegant, noble slant of forehead and nose. Their facial features are often exaggerated. The faces of the shadow figures – representing as they do human, supernatural, and animal beings – pose an intricate and interesting problem. Figures with faces represented in profile are more expressive and can be better animated and manipulated. Most of the faces of the shadow figures are depicted in profile. Shadow plays are a two-dimensional form because the puppets, scenery, and other props are all flat. Many of these are based on items existed in the past,” said Sun Jianjun. These include clothes, ornaments, towers, pavilions, furnishings, and scenery. The shadow puppeteers' property trunks contain most objects found in everyday life. “Chinese shadow puppetry shows a strong Chinese opera influence. The principal colors used are red, green, black, and yellow. The method of dying is derived from Chinese New Year's pictures.
CHINESE PUPPETRY SKIN
The hair and remaining flesh are scrapped off, leaving a thin, translucent skin that makes an ideal raw material for creating a shadow puppet.Īfter the puppets have been carved, they are dyed in bright colors to enhance the puppets' appearance and make them more eye-catching. Then it is stretched tightly across a wooden frame and left to dry until it is flat and even. First, the raw pelt is soaked in clear water or limewater. Preparing a hide that will be used to make a shadow puppet requires special tanning and processing techniques. The puppets are made of ox, sheep, or donkey skin. It was Buddhism that helped shadow puppetry spread in China,” said Sun Jianjun, associate professor of School of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University.
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Religious art was a major influence on the shapes and manufacture of shadow puppets. Its birth, development, and spread were closely related to religious culture. “Chinese shadow puppetry had much to do with religion. Shadow puppets are not only essential elements of stagecraft but also lovely handcrafted objects of art in their own right. Shadow puppetry is a combination of performing arts and the art of carving. It has been a popular form of entertainment in China for centuries. Shadow puppetry, one of the oldest performing arts in the world, appeared in China long before the invention of motion pictures and television.