Shadow play (Huaxian shadow play)

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

Applicant: Weinan City, Shaanxi Province

Project No.: 235

Project No.: Ⅳ - 91

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Shaanxi Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Weinan City, Shaanxi Province

Protection unit: Weinan culture and Art Center (Weinan Mass Art Museum, Weinan intangible cultural heritage protection center, Weinan Youth Palace)

Brief introduction of shadow play (Huaxian shadow play)

Applicant: Weinan City, Shaanxi 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.

Huaxian Wanwanqiang shadow play (once known as Shiqiang) was formed in the early Qing Dynasty. Because it is mainly spread in the Guanzhong Dongfu Weinan Erhua, Dali area, so it is also known as the East Road bowl cavity. This kind of opera has all kinds of singing styles, and its accompaniment instruments are very characteristic. It is delicate and elegant, tactful and touching, and its forms of expression are rich and colorful. The shadow play has beautiful modeling, obvious personality characteristics, exquisite material selection and fine production. During the reign of Qianlong and Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty, Li Fanggui, a dramatist, and other literati and Ju Zi wrote many traditional plays such as "ten editions" for Wanwanqiang shadow puppet. They have been handed down to the present day, transplanted and adapted by other operas, and have been put on the stage for a long time. They have made great contributions to Shaanxi opera art. Shadow puppet classes and clubs are mostly composed of five or six people. They are easy to move and do not choose venues. They can move in folk villages and towns and homes for many years and lay a solid foundation in the vast countryside.

At present, due to various reasons, we are facing the crisis of loss and survival. It is an urgent task to save and protect the bowl cavity shadow puppet, an excellent traditional culture loved by the masses.

Chinese PinYin : Pi Ying Xi Hua Xian Pi Ying Xi