Ah... ah... "With a sudden roar, the Huayin Laoqiang shadow puppetry began, breaking through clouds and rocks! On stage, five veteran artists were playing the Yueqin, Banhu, Bangzi, and Ma Luo, shouting at the top of their lungs, 'Zhang Fei Battles Dian Wei'. On the curtain, Zhang Fei stepped on a snow horse with dark clouds under his crotch, holding a spear of eight zhang, and killed Dian Wei, who was wearing heavy armor. In the midst of the intense battle, a "dang" sound was suddenly heard, and the spears and spears intersected, causing the curtain to tremble slightly. Looking at these two fierce generals, they had already thrown their stirrups off their saddles and wrapped themselves naked in a fight... At the 2024 Beijing Puppet Art Week, the cool "stunts" and the performance atmosphere of "one person singing all over the stage" left the audience amazed and satisfied. Speaking of which, Huayin Laoqiang shadow puppetry is just a drop in the ocean of Chinese shadow puppetry art. At present, there are 37 shadow plays listed in the national intangible cultural heritage representative project list: Tangshan shadow play in Hebei Province, Daoqing shadow play in Huan County, Gansu Province, Haining shadow play in Zhejiang Province, Tengchong shadow play in Yunnan Province, Mount Taishan shadow play in Shandong Province, etc. Small shadow plays have taken root everywhere in China. There are various opinions about the origin of shadow puppetry. In the Book of Han, it is recorded that in order to relieve Emperor Wu of Han's longing for the deceased Lady Li, a sorcerer asked Emperor Wu to observe Lady Li's image from afar. Some scholars believe that this is the prototype of shadow puppetry. Some scholars also believe that shadow puppetry originated from the need of Tang Dynasty monks to pass on Buddhist scriptures through "popular preaching". As for the place of origin, some say it was in Shaanxi, some say it was in southeastern Gansu, and some say it was in Henan... It can be confirmed that by the Song Dynasty, the city life became increasingly prosperous, and shadow puppetry entered a flourishing period. Shadow puppetry is a theatrical form that uses lighting to create silhouettes of characters on a screen for performance, hence it is also known as "shadow puppetry" or "lantern shadow puppetry". The seemingly simple shadow play integrates sculpture, Paper Cuttings, painting, modeling, oral literature, music singing and stage performance. It is not easy to make and difficult to perform. Why choose cow, sheep, and donkey skins as materials to make "skin" shadows? Just because these fur coats are thick and thin, they can be processed to achieve semi transparent or even crystal like clarity; Resilient, convenient for carving delicate lines, and not easily damaged during performance operations; It is also easy to adsorb pigments, maintaining long-lasting and bright colors. As shadow puppets, there are differences in cultural trends and styling characteristics among different regions: Shaanxi shadow puppetry shows that all characters have high foreheads at a glance; Tangshan Shadow Puppetry in Hebei Province likes to borrow the profile of Bodhisattvas, and the characters are all "hooked eyebrows, eyes, and noses"; Zhejiang shadow puppetry features heavy color painting, minimal carving, and realistic imagery; Yunnan shadow puppets have rough lines, heavy ink, exaggerated patterns... Influenced by local operas, folk songs, and minor tunes, shadow puppets in different regions are also good at singing: Shaanxi shadow puppets have more than ten tunes, or are named for musical instruments, such as Wanwan tune, Xianban tune, or singing methods, such as A-gong tune, Laoqiang tune, Qin Opera tune; Haining shadow puppetry focuses on Haiyan and Yiyang dialects, with a strong flavor of Yue style; The most famous Tangshan shadow puppetry is the Luanzhou style, with the most recognizable singing technique of "pinching the throat"... narrating eternal events through curtains, and waving drum music under the lamp. Go door-to-door to gather members and invite the villagers of the theater troupe, stirring the seductive drums and gongs with a resounding and urgent voice. The images of all living beings on the Three Kingdoms Water Margin Investiture List, the kerosene lamp hanging on the "Liangzi" (screen), and the watching child riding on the father's shoulder... Shadow puppetry time in the depths of time sways in the memories of many people. But since the 1980s, shadow puppetry performances have almost disappeared and the production techniques are on the brink of extinction. At the beginning of the 21st century, the rescue and protection of shadow puppetry were comprehensively launched. Since 2005, shadow puppetry from some provinces has been included in the national intangible cultural heritage list. In 2011, Chinese shadow puppetry was included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Under the protection system at the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels, through unremitting efforts, shadow puppetry has ushered in a new era. This new student is in the narrative. While preserving traditional theatrical purposes, today's shadow puppetry constantly writes modern stories that are closer to real life and the spirit of the times. The Hunan Province Puppet and Shadow Art Protection and Inheritance Center has created a shadow play called "I Want to Fly", which tells the story of a little boy who loves playing football and the little red crowned crane he saved healing and growing together. At the performance, the reporter saw that the children who were used to watching cartoons were staring at the screen intently. This new student is performing. Many shadow puppets have surpassed flat screens and expanded into three-dimensional spaces. The Beijing Shadow Puppetry Troupe's shadow puppetry stage play "The Strange Journey in the Shadow Box" brings shadow puppeteers to the forefront and together with the shadow puppets, they become the protagonists of the story. The simultaneous appearance of artists, shadow puppets, and puppets on stage greatly expands the expressive power of shadow puppetry performances, "praised Professor Wang Yongen of the Communication University of China. This new student is in the stage design. The addition of digital technologies such as ultra large shadow window curtains, modern stage sound and light technology, and even holographic projection has made the shadow play "Punish Evil and Promote Goodness Little Nezha" created by Xue Hongquan, a representative inheritor of Shaanxi Province's shadow puppetry production skills, shine brightly. Within 5 days, it was performed 10 times in a row at the China National Arts and Crafts Museum, and each time was sold out. This new student is spreading. From offline "point-to-point" to online "point-to-point", online dissemination has greatly expanded the audience and influence of shadow puppetry. Recently, Feihua, a post-00s youth from Xi'an who enjoys "online live streaming", cleverly recreated the high difficulty skill effects "Gathering and dispersing Qi" and "Body fixing Technique" from the popular game "Black Myth: Wukong" with shadow puppetry, which has attracted countless likes and attention from netizens on various online platforms. The pearl of shadow puppetry is being polished again. Behind this is the joint efforts of all sectors of society Wei Liqun, Director of the Shadow Puppetry Art Committee of the China Folk Literature and Art Association, recounted to reporters that "the central government provides subsidies to representative inheritors of national intangible cultural heritage every year; the Ministry of Culture and Tourism provides special funding for excellent shadow puppetry according to the size of the play; shadow puppetry exhibitions, tours, art festivals, and sculpture competitions continue to be held; the integration model of shadow puppetry culture and tourism, which combines sightseeing, learning experience, handicrafts, and cultural experience, has also begun to show results..." In 2017, Beijing Opera Art Vocational College opened the first shadow puppetry performance major in China, and universities such as Shaanxi Normal University and Tangshan Normal University also offered practical courses in shadow puppetry to cultivate both theoretical knowledge and cultural experience in shadow puppetry. Talents with practical abilities. More and more young people are falling in love with this art, "said Wei Liqun. Bang dong dong, bang bang bang... "On Huimin Street in Xi'an, following the sound of drums and gongs, the reporter met a young man performing - Sun Zan, a 95s generation and inheritor of Huaxian shadow puppetry. At this moment, the play 'Three Beats at the White Bone Demon' is coming to a critical point. Sun Wukong appeared, and Sun Zan's fingers fluttered, dancing the golden cudgel like a tiger; The white bone spirit appeared, and Sun Zan's technique became light and delicate. The jumping shadow puppet was sometimes charming and enchanting, and sometimes treacherous and cunning. After the performance, surrounded by applause and cheers from the surrounding audience, Sun Zan enjoyed it very much: "I like the feeling of being close to the audience. No matter how the form changes, conveying emotions will always be the core of shadow puppetry!" (New Press)