The Taoist shadow play in Huanxian County is the product of the combination of Taoism and shadow play, which has a history of thousands of years. After vicissitudes of life, a unique Taoist shadow play in Huan County has been formed. After the reform and innovation of a generation such as Jie Changchun, a master of Taoist shadow play in the late Qing Dynasty, it was more perfect. It is in good agreement with the local people's customs and beliefs, forming the current situation of broadcasting around Huan County, extending to neighboring counties such as Huachi, Qingcheng, Yanchi and Dingbian in Ningxia. Its value is mainly reflected in the beautiful and unique Taoist music singing and exquisite shadow play production and performance. When the troupe performs, one person at the front desk picks the pole and performs all the roles, and four or five people at the background accompany and "spring", which is rough and high-pitched and unique. Fine-tuning of Taoist music can be divided into "injured sound" and "Chinese sound". There are two speeds of singing, flat and flying board, and Qupai and plate coexist. The four strings, fishing drum, clapper and simple board in its accompaniment instruments are all self-made and have unique timbre. In more than 80 repertoires of/kloc-0, ancient cultural symbols such as "map" and "volume" are still preserved. Thousands of original Qing dynasty shadow puppets, which are now in Tibet and among the people, are of great artistic and research value because of their wonderful conception and exquisite carving.
According to the census, there are 47 troupes, 285 artists and more than 40 shadow sculptors in the county. In 1950s, the shadow play of Taoist feelings in Huanxian County went to Beijing for three performances, which was highly praised by leaders such as, and eventually developed into the only local drama in Gansu-Dragon Opera.
More than two thousand years ago, Li Furen, the beloved princess of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, died of illness. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so anxious to miss him that he ignored state affairs all day long. Minister Li Shaoweng went out one day, and the children in Lu Yu were playing with dolls in their hands, and the shadows were vividly displayed on the ground. Li Shaoweng's heart moved. He carved the image of Li Furen with cotton and silk, colored it, and put wooden poles on his hands and feet. In the evening, the emperor was invited to sit in his tent and watch with square curtains and candles. Emperor Wu was so happy that he couldn't put it down. This love story in Hanshu is regarded as the earliest origin of shadow play.
Shadow play is a kind of folk drama, which uses lights to illuminate the silhouette of people made of animal skins or cardboard to perform stories. When performing, usually three to five artists are behind the white curtain, manipulating opera characters, and singing stories with local popular tunes, accompanied by percussion instruments and strings.
The production process of shadow play is as follows: firstly, the sheepskin, donkey skin or other animal skins are depilated and bled, then the leather is treated with drugs to make it thin and translucent, coated with tung oil, and then carved into the required figures. Head, limbs, trunk, etc. The leather man's is independent, but it is connected into a whole with lines, and the actor manipulates it with bars to move it. Leather people are painted in various colors to express the good, evil, beauty and ugliness of the characters. When carving, we usually use male carvings, and some also use female carvings. The carving is meticulous and the knife method is changeable. Painting and dyeing are also very particular. Women's hair accessories and costumes are mostly patterned with flowers, clouds and phoenix, while men are mostly patterned with dragons, tigers, water and clouds. Generally, loyal and kind people are divided into five parts, and villains are divided into seven parts. Character modeling, like drama characters, is full of ugly characters. The height of shadow play is 55 cm, and the height of shadow play is only about 10 cm. Behind the translucent white cloth, the actors skillfully manipulated the activities of the leather man close to the curtain, accompanied by rap and band, vividly performing the plot. So, the story is very long, not too long. Are you playing? How much is the tip? What's the news Hey? Charming? Hey? Hey, you see? Fat rock kills mold? ? Know the world? Embedding around? Lying in bed?
Shadow play is a kind of performance form that combines drama, music and other artistic means. It has a long history, and it is also the earliest China traditional art introduced to the West.
China's shadow play was very popular in the Song Dynasty (960- 1 127), and there were many shadow plays on festivals. By the Ming Dynasty, there were forty or fifty shadow play clubs in Beijing. In13rd century, shadow play was also used as an entertainment performance in Mongolian military camps at that time. Later, shadow play was brought to Persia, Arabia, Turkey and other countries with the army. Since then, shadow play has spread in Southeast Asian countries.
China's shadow play spread to Europe from the middle of18th century. According to records, in 1767, French missionaries brought Chinese shadow play back to France and performed it in Paris and Marseille. It is called China Lantern Shadow, which is a sensation. After being transformed by the French, it became a French lamp shadow. China's shadow play has made a unique contribution to enriching the world art world.
A shadow play must be manipulated with five bamboo sticks. The artist's fingers are flexible and often dazzle the audience. You should not only have excellent skills in your hands, but also speak, read, play and sing in your mouth, and brake gongs and drums at your feet. The screen of shadow play is a piece of white gauze with the size of 1 meter. The white yarn becomes crisp and bright after being polished by fish oil. During the performance, the shadow play moves close to the screen, and the hollow figures and colorful colors are really touching.
The vocals used by artists in performing shadow play not only absorb the traditional vocals in this region, but also have their own originality. Although the shadow play seems simple, it is ingenious and contains the rich imagination and ingenious artistic creativity of the working people. It is small in props, convenient to perform, not limited by the venue, and the actors do not need formal training. In areas where shadow play is popular, people will affectionately call it a light art form or a light cavalry in cultural life.