Xiaoyi Shadow Play: China's Shadow Play

Hua county's Wan Wan Qiang Shadow Play (once famous for its time) was formed in the early Qing Dynasty. Because it is mainly spread in the areas of Erhua and Dali in Weinan, it is a house in the Middle East, so it is also called Wan Wan Qiang on the East Road. The play has complete vocals, unique accompaniment instruments, exquisite elegance, tactfully moving and colorful expressions. Shadow play has exquisite modeling, obvious personality characteristics, exquisite material selection and fine production. During the reign of Qianlong and Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty, the dramatist Li and other scholars created many traditional plays such as Ten Books for Qiang shadow play, which have been handed down to this day and have been transplanted and adapted by other operas and put on the stage, making great contributions to Shaanxi opera art for a long time. Shadow play classes and clubs are mostly composed of five or six people. They move easily and don't choose venues. They can live in folk villages and houses for many years and lay a solid foundation in the vast rural areas.

Facing the loss and survival crisis caused by various reasons, it is an urgent and important task to rescue and protect Wan Wan Qiang shadow play, an excellent traditional culture loved by the masses. Tangshan shadow play, also known as Luanzhou Shadow, Laoting Shadow and Donkey Shadow Play, is one of the most influential types of Chinese shadow play. It is generally believed that Luanzhou Cinema was founded in the late Ming Dynasty and prevailed in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, with a history of more than 400 years.

There are two main types of manipulation actors in Tangshan shadow play, namely "online" and "offline". There are three poles that dominate the action of the shadow man, which are called "main pole" and "hand pole" respectively. Tangshan shadow play usually has five kinds of division of labor: taking, posting, acting, pulling and singing, which is called "seven busy and eight idle"

There are at least 500 shadow play scripts in Tangshan, also called "shadow volumes". Among them, Liantaiben 130 is more, and there are many single plays. Plays include Five Fronts Meeting, Two Plums, Qingyun Sword and so on. The literary structure of traditional shadow play is that there are "poems" on the stage and "rights" under the stage. Its metrical patterns are commonly used in seven words, cross brocade, three driving seven, five-word fu, hard dispersion, big Phnom Penh and small Phnom Penh. The structure of these lyrics is based on dual upper and lower sentences, and each lyric is generally composed of several pairs of upper and lower sentences with the same rhyme. Based on Laoting dialect, Tangshan shadow play is good at singing and has a unique style. The basic board types are big board, two-character board, three-character board, scattered board, flat singing, coloratura, desolate tone, sad tone, drifting tone, returning tone, and various stresses named after special sentence patterns.

The carving of shadow play should go through several steps, such as scraping skin and pulp, laying samples and carving, painting and oiling, nailing and assembling sticks. Knife edge and coloring are the places that best reflect the sculptor's level. Character modeling is divided into raw, small, big, sideburns, ugly and so on.

The content of Tangshan shadow play is an important material for in-depth analysis of local folk customs and religious psychology. The improvement and innovation of vocal performance, stage prop materials and skills by Tangshan shadow play artists in past dynasties have never stopped, and these experiences are valuable wealth for present and future generations. The inheritance of Tangshan shadow play continues the way of oral teaching and provides important reference value for the ways and means of cultural inheritance. The singing, music, performance and modeling of Tangshan shadow play have a unique style in this region, which is well received by peers and audiences at home and abroad and has high appreciation and research value.

At present, less than 10 people can create shadow play scripts, shadow play artists are too old to find disciples to pass on, and fewer and fewer people appreciate the art of shadow play. Tangshan shadow play is facing the dilemma of being lost. Reporting area or unit: Handan City, Hebei Province

Shadow play in southern Hebei is mainly distributed in many counties and districts in Handan, Hebei Province.

Shadow play in southern Hebei has a long history. It is said that Beijing Palace Shadow Play was formed in southern Hebei, mainly distributed in southern Hebei, and spread to central and northern Hebei. Southern Hebei movie theater is an important branch of Central Plains movie theater in Song Dynasty, which is closely related to Henan movie theater.

The shadow play in southern Hebei is simple in modeling, combined with carving and painting, and concise in modeling system, which embodies the style of early shadow play in China. The shadow play in southern Hebei is rich in repertoire, and there is no text in singing. It's all word of mouth. The dialogue is humorous, very colloquial, easy to understand and has distinctive local characteristics. The props of shadow play in southern Hebei mainly include shadow play modeling, performance screens and accompaniment instruments. The band is equipped with banhu, erhu, stuffy flute, sanxian, suona, sheng and other musical instruments, and now it is equipped with an electronic organ. The martial arts field is equipped with bangu, war drum, big drum, big gong, small gong, big cymbal, small cymbal, horse number and bangzi. The shadow play club in southern Hebei still maintains traditional customs, which basically embodies the performance form of the original ecological shadow play.

Shadow play in southern Hebei has a glorious history, but today it has fallen into a very embarrassing survival situation. Shadow play artists are mostly too old to sing. There are fewer middle-aged artists, especially young artists, and fewer shadow play boxes. Some clubs only leave props, and artists are gone. According to the statistics of six counties in southern Hebei, the number of shadow play clubs that can perform now has decreased from more than 100 in the early days of liberation to more than 100, the number of shadow play artists has decreased from nearly a thousand in the past to more than100, and the number of performances has decreased from more than 200 in the past to more than 30, with fewer and fewer performances. Traditional shadow play performance skills are difficult to inherit, and its singing, oral repertoire and carving methods are almost lost. Reporting area or unit: wafangdian city, Liaoning Province.

Fuzhou shadow play was spread by Shaanxi soldiers who came to the northeast to defend the border during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573- 1620). Shadow play in Fuzhou was really active and popular during Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty (1796- 182 1). At that time, the "White Lotus Sect" prevailed in Hebei, and some shadow puppeteers also participated in the "White Lotus Sect", which was falsely accused by the Qing government as a "hanging lantern thief" and ordered to ban shadow puppetry. Shadow puppeteers in Luanzhou, Hebei Province were forced to flow into the northeast and southern Liaoning. Fuzhou shadow play was born and developed under this background, and it has a history of more than 300 years.

From 1932, Fuzhou shadow play was forced to stop performing and resumed after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. After the national liberation, the shadow play in Wafangdian area was very active. At the peak, there were 43 shadow play classes in the county, and there were more than 20 shadow play artists who had great influence among the masses.

Fuzhou shadow play has a long history and important historical and cultural value. It has played a publicity and education role in spreading cultural knowledge, preserving and inheriting folk valuable historical legends, local customs and people's stories. Judging from the contents reflected in Fuzhou shadow play, it covers social life, praises the truth, goodness and beauty, and lashes the false, evil and ugly, and is deeply loved by local people. Reporting area or unit: Haining City, Zhejiang Province

Haining Shadow Play, located in Haining City, Zhejiang Province on the north bank of Qiantang River, is a classical drama with the style of Southern Song Dynasty.

Haining Shadow Play was introduced from the Southern Song Dynasty, that is, it was integrated with the local "Haitang Salt Play" and "Haining Minor", and absorbed the classical tunes such as "Yiyang Tune", and changed the northern tune to the southern tune, forming the ancient music with the two major tones of "Yiyang Tune" and "Haiyan Tune". The tune is sonorous, impassioned and elegant, accompanied by flute, suona, erhu and other Jiangnan silk and bamboo. The rhythm is bright and melodious, full of water town charm. At the same time, the lyrics and lyrics were changed to Haining dialect, which became a regular program for folk weddings, birthdays and blessings. Moreover, Haining is rich in silk, and there is a folk custom of praying for the silkworm god. Shadow play is also called "Silkworm Flower Class" because of its long-term performance of "Silkworm Flower Play".

The figures in Haining Shadow Play are made of sheepskin or cowhide through painting, cutting, hooking, coloring, sewing and inserting. The main features are: "less carving, redrawing, single-line flat painting", round face, one-eyed side, less exaggeration, close to reality, full of "human feelings" flavor; The whole body is dominated by one hand and one foot (sideways), which is quite ethnic and folk.

Haining's shadow play has been performed for nearly a thousand years. By 1930s and 1940s, there were more than 20 troupes, more than 300 plays and 120 actors in Haining. With the changes of the times, the living environment of shadow play art has been seriously affected. In 1950s, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture went to Beijing to perform in order to form a troupe. After investigation, only Haining in the province has skilled old shadow puppeteers. But today, the only remaining old artists are over 70 years old, and there is no successor, which has become one of the key traditional folk art projects. Shadow play in Jianghan Plain refers to the shadow play with the same artistic features in Mianyang (now Xiantao City), Qianjiang, Tianmen, Jianli, Honghu, Shishou, Jiangling, Gongan and Jingshan counties (cities) in central and southern Hubei Province. Jianghan shadow play, especially Mianyang shadow play, is the most famous. It integrates traditional painting, sculpture and art, and integrates film and television animation. It has a strong flavor of Chinese culture, and is a wonderful flower in China art world.

Jianghan Plain, which borders the Yangtze River in the north and Hanshui River in the south, is one of the cradles of Jingchu culture, and shadow play has found a breeding and prosperous soil here. Although its origin can't be verified, as early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there was a habit of singing shadow play on holidays, which formed a unique style and carving characteristics over time.

The core area of shadow play in Jianghan Plain is concentrated in Tian, Qian and Mian, and its remarkable artistic features are mainly manifested in the art of sculpture, singing and oral writing.

Shadow play in Jianghan Plain, with a length of 70cm to 80cm, belongs to the category of "door-god spectrum" and mostly adopts four styles: Piggy, Tonge, Guo Ge and Young. "Little Pig" was created by Pi and Pi, two brothers of Xiantao Xiudi. Shadow play is beautifully made, both positive and negative, and paper-cut. Tonge was created by Tang Yutang, a master of shadow play in Qianjiang Wangchang. His shadow play is famous for its exquisite flowers and plants. Guo Ge was written by Guo Da's father (date of birth and death, name unknown) in Sanjiangkou, Qianjiang, and is especially famous for his lifelike characters. "Brother Yang" was created by Yang, a former member of Mianyang Shadow Play Team. Shadows are longer, more porous and more transparent than other styles.

The singing of shadow play in Jianghan Plain is mainly singing and fishing drum singing. The "chicken singing" in vocal shadow play originated from Fortress Besieged by Chu in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which is a "living fossil" in China traditional music. Fishing drum cavity comes from the begging songs of old artists, with diverse modes and strong local flavor.

There are more than 300 shadow plays in Jianghan Plain. In fact, these "scripts" only have the provisions of the repertoire. When performing, they all rely on artists to unfold plots and portray characters according to historical stories. Singing, doing, reading and acting are integrated, and its oral literary form is another main feature of shadow play in Jianghan Plain.

The shadow play in Jianghan Plain is exquisitely made, vivid in shape and beautiful in singing, and rich in ancient Chu culture style, which is deeply loved by people of all ages.

With the maturity of modern civilization and the death of the older generation of artists, the shadow play in Jianghan Plain began to die out, and its artistic essence needs to be passed down by future generations. Mianyang shadow play, commonly known as "shadow play", has a history of more than 300 years. It is unique with exquisite and vivid images, beautiful and lyrical singing, interesting lines and elegant and beautiful accompaniment, and is deeply loved by the people. It is a wonderful flower among many folk arts in Jianghan Plain. Mianyang (now Xiantao City, Hubei Province) is a famous hometown of shadow play art at home and abroad. The folk ballad "Look at cowhide, boil your eyelids, go home in the middle of the night and bump your skin, and your wife will squeeze your eyebrows", which shows that shadow play has great temptation.

Xiantao shadow play imitates the facial makeup of drama characters and is carved by Mianyang's carving and paper-cutting skills. The sculptor is exquisite, healthy, beautiful, clean and ugly, and has a complete industry. In terms of modeling, the shadow of shadow play is 70 cm to 80 cm long, which belongs to the category of "door god spectrum" and its modeling is more realistic; Rich in content (mostly from historical stories, biographies, etc. ), there are more than 300 departments such as Chu and Han contending, Three Kingdoms, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Water Margin and Journey to the West, with ups and downs and suspense; Singing with the tune of fishing drum, the language is humorous and full of strong local flavor, which is widely spread in Xiantao urban and rural areas and even Jianghan Plain.

Mianyang shadow play is mainly composed of fishing drums and vocals, accompanied by percussion and sung in chorus. Fishing drum shadow play is mainly based on Mianyang fishing drum tune, loud and unrestrained, lively and cheerful. The aria of Mianyang Fishing Drum can be divided into five categories, including flat cavity, sad cavity, fishbone, pipa and miscellaneous cavity, with more than 50 kinds. Due to the different popular areas, it is divided into the upper road, the middle road and the lower road. On the road, we borrowed folk tunes such as mowing songs, fiddling songs and perching songs, while in the middle road, the melodious tunes of the road are the origin of Mianyang Fishing Drum Tune.

There are two kinds of Mianyang shadow play: Daobai and Bai Yun. The authentic Mianyang dialect, mixed with folk sayings, proverbs, two-part allegorical sayings and dialects, is humorous and full of local flavor and folk flavor, which makes the audience feel very cordial. Lyrics are generally composed of three sentence patterns: "May 575" sentence, seven-character sentence and cross sentence, and there are also three or four-character overlapping sentences. There are two kinds of lyrics: one rhyme to the end and one rhyme to each paragraph. The rhymes used are "light, light, board, repair, song, hemp, foreign, Yu, pro, kindness, action, grams, four, elegance and joy". The lyrics "Fifteen Rhymes" of Mianyang Yugu Shadow Play are the same as the rhymes "Thirteen Strings" in poetry. Artists must be familiar with the rhyme when singing the shadow play of fishing drum, especially when writing and singing "Good Water Words", they must be eloquent and rhyme properly.

There was no orchestral accompaniment in the early fishing drum shadow play, only the fishing drum tube and the cloud board beat the board, and drums, cymbals, big gongs, small gongs and ma gongs played, interspersed and sang songs on the stage. At first, the shadow play class consisted of three or four people, two of whom were singing while holding a shadow play, one was playing a fishing drum and a cloud board, and the other was clapping (gongs and drums, etc.). ). Later, accompanied by national instrumental music (dulcimer, erhu, Hu Si, flute, suona, etc. ) introducing and increasing female artists to sing female characters, and increasing the number of shadow play classes to five to eight classes, further enhancing the artistic effect of shadow play singing; Mianyang shadow play is constantly innovating in stage art, lighting, special effects, vocal music and shadow play operation, which makes the shadow play extremely artistic.

Mianyang shadow play has been handed down from generation to generation. After the founding of New China, the number of singers increased. 195 1 year, Xiantao also established the first shadow play art troupe in Hubei province, and was invited to be included in the sympathy group of the motherland. Four shadow puppeteers went to North Korea to express their condolences to Chinese people's Volunteer Army, encouraging soldiers to bravely kill the enemy and defend their country. Mianyang shadow play, beautifully carved and loud in singing, once brought a lot of laughter and glory to Xiantao people. 1953 Gong Benhuai, a shadow puppet artist, won the first prize of the whole province and the Central South Bureau for his performance "Song Wu Da Hu". 1March, 955, went to the provincial capital to perform, and Mianyang shadow play "Song Wu Da Hu" won the first prize; 1957, the shadow play "Building a Car" was recorded by Hubei Radio Station and distributed to the whole country by China Record Club. 1988, after watching the shadow play in Mianyang, the West German shadow play delegation requested that two shadow plays be brought back to China and displayed in the museum of that country. 198 1 In May, the leading comrades of the Central Ministry of Culture and the National Puppet Shadow Play Association went to Mianyang to watch the shadow play "Flame Mountain", and they greatly praised the singing skills of the play. The provincial TV station also filmed a documentary about Mianyang Shadow Play. In 2007, Xiantao was named "the hometown of shadow play art in Hubei" by the provincial government.

At present, there are 15 shadow play art groups in Xiantao, with nearly 300 shadow play artists, who are active in the streets and villages all the year round. In the past, the grand scene of "singing flowers and drums in five miles, and shadow play in every village" reappeared in Xiantao. Declaration area or unit: Lufeng Shadow Play in Shanwei City, Guangdong Province is the only relic of Chaozhou Shadow Play, one of the three major shadow play systems in China, and Lufeng Shadow Play Troupe is the only professional shadow play troupe in Guangdong Province. Lufeng shadow play has been surviving and developing among the people, with the genes of the ancient Minnan language family and the breeding of Hailufeng folk customs. It has rich singing music, strong local characteristics, exquisite paintings and sculptures, and vivid and elegant performances.

Lufeng City is located on the bank of Jieshi Bay in the southeast of Guangdong Province, bordering the South China Sea in the south, Hong Kong and Macao, and between Shenzhen and Shantou, with very convenient land and water transportation. Lufeng shadow play lives in this small town. It has a long history, formed in the Song Dynasty, prevailed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and prevailed in the Republic of China. During the war on the eve of the founding of New China, most other operas stopped playing drums, and shadow play classes were still active in surrounding towns and villages, which shows that shadow play has a profound mass base and strong vitality. After the founding of New China, it was revived and developed, attracting worldwide attention in painting, music, production, performance, effects and stage lighting. Wherever it goes, it is welcomed by the audience, especially the children. The performance area is constantly expanding, not only to cities and counties such as northern Guangdong and Guangzhou, but also to many cities and counties in Fujian. After 1975, he went to Beijing to participate in many performances, and his plays, War with the Evil Beast, Chicken and Snake, Race between Tortoise and Rabbit, Flying, Cockfighting and Crying Tower, were widely praised. Lufeng shadow play is a traditional folk art with high historical, educational and artistic value.