 Shadow
Play is one of the most popular folk opera with stage
props in China. Depending on the light of the lamp, the
ingenious sculpted skin dolls are shined upon the screen
and are controlled by the artists behind the screen, mixed
with music and singing, many interesting shadow plays
is directed. Except for the rich varieties and exquisite
performance skills£¬the skin carving has achieved a high
level. shadow puppets are made from donkey hide, the local
people call it lupiying (donkey hide shadow play). For
hundreds of years shadow plays have brought so much happiness
and laughter to the people Shaanxi skin shadow play has
rarefied skin making, vivid appearance, fine cutting techniques£¬brilliance
color, beautiful pattern and good function of decoration.
For the simple and unsophisticated style and unique elegant
flavor£¬it can be not only used in the Shadow play£¬but
also can be seemed as a unique artworks for appreciation.
 Chinese
Pi Ying Xi, also called leather-silhouette show or shadow
play, came into existence almost a thousand years ago.
It is said in Yuan Dynasty it once spread to west Asia
and even as far as Europe. The paper or leather cut
silhouette is reflected onto a piece of white cloth
and performers behind the scene control it to walk,
dance, or do various kinds of acts by the strings connected
to the joints, with companion of music and songs. Among
the many types of Pi Ying Xi, the silhouette show of
donkey leather in Tangshan, Hebei Province and of ox
leather in northwest China are renowned for their exquisite
cutting and distinctive folk music.
About its origin there is a beautiful love story. It
has it that, Liu Zhe, the Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty,
liked all kinds of entertainment and kept many artists
in his palace. Among the musicians Li Yannian was the
best. Not only was he good at playing all kinds of musical
instruments, but also could he improvise songs. One
year the King of Qiuzi, a tribe in the northwest, came
to present tribute. On the reception banquet Li Yannian
was ordered to give a performance and he sang about
an exceeding beauty. All the people were fascinated
and lost in the graceful scene he created. Later when
someone reported to the Emperor Wu that Li's sister
was such a beauty, the emperor was so pleased as to
call her in. And finding she was pretty beyond description,
he fell in love with her at the first sight. She received
great favor and gave birth to a son the next year.
 But
good times did not last long for she fell ill seriously
afterwards. As the emperor visited her, she covered
her face with quilt and said, 'I hope your majesty can
take good care of my brother and son for the sake of
our past.' But she refused his request of taking a last
look of her, 'A woman makes up to please her lover but
I am not as good-looking as before and not dressed up.
Please leave me as I am.' So finally the emperor went
away disappointedly. As explained to her maid she said,'His
majesty favors me because of my appearance. I'm no longer
pretty with illness and he will forget all my goodness
at my sight. But otherwise he'll remember me forever.'
After her death the emperor missed her so much that
a necromancer was summoned to call back her spirit.
Though his mind racked, the necromancer found no way
to meet this expectation. In the evening when pacing
up and down in his room, he saw his shadow reflected
on the wall. Thus an idea was hit upon out of the predicament.
He copied the concubine's picture onto a piece of leather
and after coloring and cutting a lifelike silhouette
was made. With all the details well prepared, Emperor
Wu was invited to the room. From far away, he saw his
concubine's silhouette came up slowly and gracefully,
knelt down respectfully and remained there. Just as
he was approaching, the necromancer stopped him and
said the spirit needed a respectful distance. And hundreds
of years later Pi Ying Xi was passed down from the descendants
of the necromancer.
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