Shadow play was first born in the Western Han Dynasty two thousand years ago, also known as sheepskin play, commonly known as head play, shadow play and donkey shadow play. Originated in Shaanxi, China, and flourished in Hebei in Qing Dynasty. Five solid colors, such as red, yellow, cyan, green and black, are mainly used for coloring. In China, many local operas are derived from shadow play, and the performance principles and artistic means adopted by shadow play also play a leading role in the invention of films and the development of art films. Nowadays, China's shadow play is being collected by museums all over the world, and it is also a good gift for the China government to communicate with leaders of other countries.
Shadow play originated in hua county (Guhuafu) of Shaanxi Province in the Western Han Dynasty, with a history of more than 2,000 years. It is the earliest art of moving shadow play in the world. Some people think that shadow play is the modern "ancestor of movies".
Shadow play is also called "Shadow Play", "Light Shadow Play" and "Earth Shadow Play", and in some areas it is called "Monkey Play" and "Paper Shadow Play". It is a kind of drama, in which figures carved from animal skins or paper plates are illuminated by lights to perform stories. Traditional Chinese opera and aria mostly interact with local operas, which are manipulated by artists and sung with music.
It is said that Chinese shadow play art was introduced to Asia and Europe countries such as Persia (Iran), Arabia, Turkey, Siam (Thailand), Myanmar, Malay Archipelago, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia from the Yuan Dynasty in the13rd century. From a global perspective, Goethe, Chaplin and other world celebrities in the18th century spoke highly of China's shadow play art. It can be said that shadow play is a folk art with a long history and wide spread in China.
From the Qing Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the art of Chinese shadow play reached its peak. Many shadow puppeteers have inherited their father's career and passed it on from generation to generation. No matter from the aspects of shadow play modeling, acting singing and popular fields, it has reached the peak of history. At that time, many Wang gentry in the official residence were proud to invite famous teachers to engrave films, store precision film boxes and raise private film classes. Shadow play classes abound in folk rural towns, and it is not surprising that there are twenty or thirty shadow play classes in one township and one city. Whether it is a holiday, a bumper harvest, praying for the gods, or a wedding banquet to celebrate the birthday, it is indispensable to sing a shadow. Even this drama (series) will stay up all night or last for ten and a half months. A temple fair can have several film groups fighting each other, which is very lively and spectacular.
You can hear it in the shadow of an old song.
However, the development of Chinese shadow play art is not smooth sailing, and it has experienced ups and downs. In the late Qing Dynasty, some local officials were afraid of gathering people in the dark places of shadow play, so they banned shadow play and even arrested shadow play artists. Shadow puppeteers were also implicated in the Anbaili Uprising in the late Qing Dynasty, and were confiscated on charges of "bandits in Deng Xuan". Before and after the Japanese invasion, due to social unrest and years of war, people lived in poverty, which led to the decline of thousands of households in the shadow play industry.
After 1949, the remaining shadow play classes and artists all over the country began to become active again. Since 1955, shadow play performances have been organized at national, provincial and municipal levels, and delegations have been sent abroad for visits and performances for cultural and artistic exchanges, which have achieved good results. However, during the Cultural Revolution, the art of shadow play was unfortunately broken by capitalism again, and it was greatly damaged from then on.
historical materials
Shadow Play Book of Shadow Play Heritage in Western Beijing
Shadow play in western Beijing, also known as Xicheng School of Beijing Shadow Play, is the earliest urban shadow play with capital characteristics in Beijing, and is the representative and mainstream of Beijing Shadow Play.
According to the available information, Beijing shadow play began in Liao and Jin Dynasties more than 900 years ago. At that time, the art of shadow play in the Central Plains and the Northern Song Dynasty was mature. Nai Deyong's "Ji Sheng Wa She Zhong Ji" said: "All movies ... are originally carved with ordinary paper and then covered with colored leather. His story is almost the same as that in history books, almost half true and half false. The righteous engrave the right side, the wicked engrave the ugly side, and the cover is also a drama in the eyes of the common people. " Wu's "Meng Liang Jiyi" notes: "There is more shadow play. At the beginning of Bianjing in Yuan Dynasty, they carved cymbals with plain paper. Since then, they have carved various shapes with sheepskin for color decoration, and these shapes will not be damaged ... "
After hundreds of years of development and progress, Beijing Western Shadow Play has inherited and retained the essence of Shaanxi Shadow Play, Henan Jiangsu and Zhejiang Shadow Play and Luanzhou Northeast Shadow Play.
Characteristics, forming a Beijing shadow play with Beijing flavor, emphasizing exquisiteness, expression, change and perspective effect as its main artistic characteristics.
After the rescue restoration, Xiaweidian shadow play has entered the scientific protection series of the museum. On the basis of protecting precious cultural heritage, it also retains rare intangible cultural heritage such as shadow play carving technology and performance skills and a large number of professional materials.
Shadow play art can be called the originator of today's film and television art, which originated in China and is one of the earliest operas in China. According to historical records, shadow play began in the pre-Qin period, flourished in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and spread to West Asia and Europe in the Yuan Dynasty with a long history. Xiaoyi is one of the birthplaces of Chinese shadow play and an important branch of Chinese shadow play. Named after the popular filial piety in Shanxi Province. According to historical research, xiaoyi shadow play has a history of 2400 years. According to historical records, during the Spring and Autumn Period, from 445 BC to 396 BC, Xia Zi, Confucius' favorite student, gave lectures in Xiaoyi. In order to attract more people to listen to his speech, he used the form of "shadow music" to gather people to give lectures at night. Because Xia Zi studied under Confucius, he can also "play the piano and play music", give lectures in the form of film music, and entertain education with music, so that "teaching, playing, film and music" can be integrated into one, becoming a perfect film form of "film, music and teaching". Lectures in summer are loved by local people, who have learned the skills of performing shadow play music. Over time, the form of shadow music teaching has become a shadow play in the local area, which is the earliest filial piety shadow play.