Shadow play (Jianghan Plain shadow play)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Shadow Play (Jianghan Plain shadow play)

Applicant: Qianjiang City, Hubei Province

Project No.: 235

Project No.: Ⅳ - 91

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Hubei Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Qianjiang City, Hubei Province

Protection unit: Qianjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center

Brief introduction of shadow play (Jianghan Plain shadow play)

Applicant: Qianjiang City, Hubei Province

Shadow play is a kind of opera form that uses animal skin or cardboard to cut images and uses light to illuminate the cut images to perform stories. Its popularity is very wide, almost all over the country's provinces and regions, and forms a variety of shadow plays due to the different voices, such as Huaxian shadow play, Huayin laoqiang shadow play, agongqiang shadow play, xianbanqiang shadow play in Shaanxi, Daoqing shadow play in Huanxian County in Gansu, Wanwanqiang shadow play in Xiaoyi County in Shanxi, Tangshan Shadow Play in Hebei, Southern Hebei shadow play, Zhejiang shadow play Haining shadow play, Jianghan Plain shadow play in Hubei, Lufeng shadow play in Guangdong, Fuzhou shadow play and Lingyuan shadow play in Liaoning, etc.

The formation age of shadow play has not yet been determined, but according to the records of Menghua records in Tokyo written by Meng Yuanlao in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was mature and popular in the Song Dynasty at the latest. There were nine actors in the vashe of Bianliang in Tokyo, including Dong Shiwu, Zhao Qi and Cao Baoyi. There is a picture of shadow play in the Jin Dynasty mural of Wenshu Hall of Yanshan temple in Fanshi, Shanxi Province, which vividly shows the actual situation of Shanxi shadow play performance at that time. After the development of song, Jin, yuan and Ming Dynasties, shadow puppet shows a prosperous situation in Qing Dynasty.

Although there are many kinds of shadow play, the differences are mainly in the aspects of voice and repertoire, while the production and performance techniques of filmmakers are similar. Generally, the film makers scrape off the blood of the cattle skin, donkey skin and sheep skin, process them into translucent shape, and then carve them with color. The carving and drawing process is exquisite, and the shape is realistic. Generally, filmmakers are divided into head, body, limbs and other parts, all of which are silhouettes. The head is attached with helmets, and the body and limbs are dressed. After painting, they are baked and flattened with firebricks. During the performance, the actor's head is inserted into the body, and the body and limbs are connected. At the same time, three bamboo cuttings are installed on the body and hands to operate the performance. In addition to character modeling, we also need to carve some props, tables, chairs and scenery modeling to match the performance.

The main props are shadow windows, commonly known as "Liangzi", which are generally 3 feet high, 5 feet wide, no more than 4 feet high and no more than 6 feet wide. They are made of white paper for single person operation. The second is an oil lamp, which is used to reflect the movie player and perform the action.

Shadow play is an important traditional folk art in China. In recent years, due to the impact of modern film and television art, the audience and performance market are decreasing day by day. Many shadow plays are facing the danger of extinction and need to be rescued and protected.

Jianghan Plain shadow play refers to the shadow play popular in Qianjiang, Tianmen, Mianyang (now Xiantao City), Jianli, Honghu, Shishou, Jiangling, Gongan, Jingshan and other counties (cities) in central and southern Hubei Province, with the same artistic characteristics. Jianghan Plain is one of the birthplaces of Jingchu culture, which is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the north and runs through the Han River in the south. Although its source is still unknown, as early as in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, people in this area had the habit of singing shadow puppet during festivals and festivals. Over time, it formed a unique style and carving characteristics.

The core areas of shadow play in Jianghan Plain are concentrated in Tianqian and Mian areas. Its remarkable artistic features are mainly reflected in carving (plastic) art, singing art and oral writing art.

The carving art of shadow puppets in Jianghan Plain originates from "tangge" and "Guoge" in Qianjiang. It has formed a unique artistic style with fine patterns, mellow and outstretched patterns, realistic and vivid figures and large shadows.

The singing of shadow play in Jianghan Plain is mainly composed of singing tune and fishing drum tune. The "Jiming tune" in geqiang shadow puppet originated from the "songs of being besieged on all sides" of the state of Chu in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which is the "living fossil" of traditional Chinese music. Yugu tune comes from begging songs of old artists. It has various modes and strong local flavor.

There are more than 300 plays of shadow play in Jianghan Plain. In fact, these "scripts" only have the content of the play. When performing, they rely on the artists to unfold the plot and portray the characters according to the historical story. Singing, acting, reading and playing are integrated. The oral literature and art form is another main feature of shadow play in Jianghan Plain.

Jianghan Plain shadow puppet production fine, vivid shape, beautiful singing, rich in ancient Chu culture style, loved by the people of all ages.

With the maturity of modern civilization and the decline of the older generation of artists, shadow play in Jianghan Plain has begun to disappear, and its artistic essence needs to be inherited by posterity.

Chinese PinYin : Pi Ying Xi Jiang Han Ping Yuan Pi Ying Xi