Shadow Play: An Ancient Art Form of Traditional Handicraft in China. Do you know that?/You know what?

Today, Bian Xiao will introduce you to China's traditional handicraft art: shadow play. For many people, shadow play is strange, because for many people, they have never even touched shadow play. When Bian Xiao was a child, he met the shadow play while watching the TV series Private Zhang Ga. Later, he gradually got to know the shadow play and had a deeper understanding of the traditional handicraft shadow play. Then Bian Xiao will popularize the knowledge about shadow play with you, and everyone should watch it carefully.

Shadow play has a very long history in China, and it was also very popular in Song Dynasty. Many stages also use shadow play to celebrate some important festivals. However, the art of shadow play is not very simple to operate. A shadow play needs at least 3 bamboo sticks to operate, and the more difficult one needs 5 bamboo sticks to operate. At this time, the artist's flexibility is very needed. Anyone who has seen shadow play can find that artists play shadow play very fast, and it is not a simple matter to operate a few bamboo sticks by hand. In addition, artists have to be able to talk and sing, and some artists have to contract the operation of drumming. Such a difficult operation may only be done by a shadow puppet actor.

There is also a strict order in the production of shadow puppets, and it is a very complicated process from selecting the skin to finally installing bamboo sticks. The first step of shadow play is to choose a good "skin". As the name implies, the raw materials of shadow play are the skins of some animals. The animal skins commonly used in shadow play are cowhide and sheepskin. To get a piece of animal leather, the first thing to do is to shave off the epidermis, remove the fat, and then nail it to a board to dry.

Next is the "deep processing" of the skin. This step is drawing. The so-called drawing is to design dried animal skins into special shapes. For example, if you are a shadow play, then you should use color to emphasize the dress code of this role. Different characters present different faces. Every shadow play is deeply processed according to the identity and personality of the characters, such as the general's scarf, the marshal's soaring helmet and some characters' beards.

After painting, it is a manuscript, and this process is also a difficult point in making shadow play. Sculptors have to break down the leather, then rub the pieces with oil, and some will choose to soak them in oil, because this will make the cowhide smoother. Then the cowhide is traced, and the cowhide is designed with a special steel needle and carving pen. This process is also called over-drafting.

The next step is the skill that sculptors need most. Sculptors will use dozens of carving knives to process cowhide. Where to use a sharp knife, where to use a round knife and a triangular knife are all made by artists according to their experience. For sculptors, they also have a set of carving formulas to make their sculptures more perfect.

After the sculpture of shadow play is finished, the characters and their costumes are colored. Artists who do shadow play also have their own requirements for color. For example, they like to use some mineral plants to make some pigments. The method of coloring is to put the transparent leather in a container, and then color the leather glue while it is hot. Make the color bright. Then the shadow play is dehydrated, and the shadow play is dehydrated by soldering iron. Shadow play is only the last step after dehydration. The last step is to connect all the parts of the shadow play, and then use bamboo sticks to make the shadow play smooth. It is also these bamboo sticks that make some movements such as running, sitting, lying down and crawling under the control of shadow puppeteers.

Well, that's all I want to introduce to you about shadow play. I believe everyone has a deeper understanding of shadow play under the introduction of Bian Xiao. I believe everyone also feels the tedious and hard work of making shadow play. Finally, I hope you can learn more about shadow play. After all, shadow play has less and less contact with our lives. I hope everyone can actively promote this traditional handicraft.