How much do you know about shadow puppetry?
As an ancient Chinese intangible cultural heritage, shadow puppet theater is particularly unpopular even among many mysterious and magnificent intangible cultural heritage.
In the early years, someone did a data survey. As of around 2020, there are only 50 national shadow puppet inheritors.
Such an unpopular art, if not mentioned by some people may forget to be clean, and even in a few decades, whether shadow puppet theater will be completely submerged in the tide of history is unknown.
But at the beginning of this year, shadow puppets ushered in a good start.
The national comic "A Hundred Refinements into Gods" is refined from the novel of the same name, and the picture quality is excellent after changing into animation, and the plot is super-combustible, so it seems that the national comic is indeed quietly improving silently.
But what makes the sheep even more excited is that this anime actually uses the technique of shadow puppets to adapt into 3D animation, to paraphrase the official fight, "Shadow puppets are carefully carved, and animation is refined into gods." ”
On the road of inheriting the national style, innovation and integrity, this time it has brought the shadow puppet theater that is in decline back to the audience's field of vision.
The source of shadow puppetry
In fact, shadow puppets appeared very early, it is the magical "Chinese shadow" in the Western population, 1200 years before the film invented by Lumière, and 1800 years before the play created by Shakespeare.
The first version of shadow puppets had already appeared in the Western Han Dynasty. Song Ren Gao Cheng's "Things Jiyuan" volume 9 wrote, "Therefore, the old inheritance, the source of the shadow drama, is due to the death of Lady Li, the emperor of Hanwu. ”
It is widely rumored that in that year, Emperor Hanwu's concubine Lady Li died, and Emperor Hanwu was overwhelmed with grief.
There was a courtier Li Shaoweng who happened to meet the urchin next door holding a rag doll when he was out, and the shadow of the ragdoll came to life in the sun.
Similar shadow projections
He used this ingenuity to make a small statue of Mrs. Li out of cotton drapery, and prepared brackets, curtains, etc. for Emperor Wudi of Han to enjoy, which is the earliest traceable source of shadow puppetry.
Shadow puppets
Since then, shadow puppet theater has developed rapidly, not only can be watched in the court, but also many shadow puppet theater groups have been circulated among the people.
During the Yuan Dynasty, it also spread to West Asia, Europe and other places, and was called by the locals, "the magic art of the East", and shadow puppetry reached its peak at that time.
In this process, the form of shadow puppets has become more and more perfect.
From the initial simple construction of cotton drapery and wooden supports, it gradually evolved into the process of making animal skins such as donkeys and cattle, and then going through the process of drawing, engraving, painting, drainage and ironing.
The operation method has also changed from simple multi-person control but only controlling a single shadow hard action to single-person control of multi-character shadow puppets.
Shadow puppets have more action, faster speed, and smoother graphics.
Mature craftsmen can control 7 or 8 shadow puppets at the same time with one hand, which makes shadow puppets from the initial single-player image to a series that can be watched smoothly.
This art of using light and shadow construction once became the pinnacle of folk culture in China, Europe and other places.
Ancient Chinese art has also been officially put on the international literary stage.
Shadow aesthetics
Shadow puppet theater is a kind of puppet play, including silhouette statues, musical instruments, scripts, lighting, and craftsmen and masters behind the scenes.
Shadow puppets, craftsmen, and lights are one and the same
1. The mutual achievement of choreography and shadow puppetry
The existence of shadow puppets requires a white curtain as a support, which is now the big screen of the cinema.
For shadow puppets, the combination of light and color is extremely important, so when making shadow puppets, dyeing a piece is particularly important.
Use red, black and other colors or bright or thick colors as the shadow base color to ensure that the shadow itself can be projected to the maximum even through the curtain.
Color itself is the core of determining whether the silhouette catches the eye, while light and shadow are the premise that determines whether the shadow can be clearly and finely transmitted.
The structure of light and shadow required for later imitation and development of films is somewhat similar, but not the same.
The similarity is that both use lighting equipment to arrange different distances, angles, areas and light intensities to the subject, so that the scene has a certain emotional effect.
The ultimate goal is to achieve the purpose of conveying emotions and expressing emotions through the screen, but the difference is that the film requires a wider, more and more demanding light source.
The film itself needs a variety of light sources in the process of shooting, key light, fill light, and modified light.
Among them, the main light, also known as "shaping light", is the first light to be arranged when lighting, which directly determines whether the entire picture is high-key or low-key.
The main light source hits the actor's face
The fill light position is generally opposite the main light, and the key light produces shadows.
Fill lights can weaken shadows, reveal shadow detail, and reduce image contrast. The intensity contrast between the key light and the fill light determines whether the picture is high or low contrast.
Modified light is the light that modifies and shapes the part of the subject, such as luminescence, eye light, flare light of craft jewelry, etc., so that the main environment is more harmonious.
Although shadow puppets also need light and shadow, because of the difference in the derivative environment, the demand for light itself is not so high.
In general, a light source will be placed in the upper half of a wide shelf behind the shadow, and ancient shadow puppets mainly rely on oil lamps; Modern shadow puppet light sources mainly include fluorescent lamps and LED tubes.
It is used with lightning, cloud lamps, rain lamps and water lamps.
The projection method of shadow puppet play determines that it needs to use the hollowing of the shadow itself to determine the difference between light and shadow.
Through sparse, dense, deep or shallow carvings, different visual effects can be revealed.
For example, the face carved by different techniques and density has different effects under light and shadow.
In addition, shadow puppets are used in shades and shades to set up stereotypical character symbols.
Therefore, it is very common in shadow puppets to match red and green, thick and colorful.
Heavy brush outline edges, apply color according to the character image, the color of the key character is more exaggerated and intense, but ignore that the character even the line outline is light.
Sometimes in order to make the effect more conspicuous after projecting, complementary colors are applied at the edges.
This kind of stage design and shadow puppet itself complement each other, in terms of conveying feelings, it is often more real and more like.
2. Cultural connotation
The existence of shadow puppetry is not just a simple portrait, it is essentially a collection of literature, music, and folk tales with popular local tunes.
For example, he will use shadow puppets to tell the story of Journey to the West:
Flexible and vivid, no less than cartoons.
Even to some extent, the character image of the shadow puppet play is more in line with the original image than the animated version.
Whether it's animation or TV series, they all personify Monkey King and the like too much.
But in fact, he is a monkey from beginning to end, and shadow puppets show his undomesticated bestiality and confiscated face more clearly.
Shadow puppets are good at using local materials, and in addition to national works like "Journey to the West", the local people also retain their own local folk shadow puppets.
Word of mouth and high circulation.
The local atmosphere is strong, and it can be regarded as the first theatrical existence in the past.
Perhaps other forms are slightly sluggish than today's cinema, or perhaps not as good as the modern Western cinema in later generations.
But there is one thing that movie theaters can't compare, shadow puppets can't make a sound because of themselves.
It is also impossible to dub later, so it is necessary to sit behind the scenes with some music teachers and use musical instruments to create scene music.
Supplemented by characters singing and fighting, shadow puppets flying, it is a unique charm, and it is precisely because of this that it is of great significance in art history.
But unfortunately, such an art with inheritance significance has not developed smoothly.
The decline of shadow puppetry
In the past, shadow puppets were specifically divided into different genres such as Sichuan shadow puppets, Hubei shadow puppets, Beijing shadow puppets, and Shandong shadow puppets, which were derived according to different local customs and folk customs.
1,500 years ago, there were nearly 5,000 shadow puppet troupes in Hunan alone, but today, shadow puppet theater has gradually declined.
This magical art that Goethe and Chaplin could not help but praise.
It was also used by Italian director Sergio Leone in the movie "Once Upon a Time in America", trying to use it to express that shadow puppetry is the originator of cinema and the earliest art of moving images of human beings, and whether it is still disappearing day by day.
Everything has a cause and effect, and the decline of shadow puppets should have been expected long ago in the characteristics of its inheritance process.
1. The process is complex and time-consuming
As mentioned earlier, since the first appearance of the material in the period of Emperor Wudi of Han, the material selection of shadow puppets in later generations has been updated and iterated.
It was eventually used as donkey skins, cowhides, pig skins, etc., but these skins were not so easy to obtain.
A good leather, first of all, to ensure that it meets the needs of the shadow puppet genre, such as the shadow puppet in Longdong, Gansu, where the shadow puppet generally has a complex internal structure, cumbersome cutting, and a high demand for color.
Therefore, in the choice of leather, it is also necessary to cut the type, but it is not easy to break, and generally choose young, black and bright bull leather.
This leather is not only tough in material, but also reveals a transparent cyan color, which is suitable for splashing ink.
Even if you get a good skin, the treatment process is not easy, you need to clean the skin first, the amount of work is very large, not only need to soak the skin in clean water.
It is also necessary to shave every three or four days and re-soak again.
Repeat the cycle four or more times before you can dry it, and only after the skin is completely transparent can you make shadow puppets.
2. Artwork is missing
After the era of casual creation, shadow puppets began to require special drawings, and masters had to copy them.
Originally, these drawings were passed down from generation to generation, but in 1966 something happened and shadow puppets were characterized as "broken four olds".
Many senior shadow puppet teachers fell at that time, and their drawings were damaged and lost.
Although there are innovations to fill the void in later generations, the reason why intangible cultural heritage is fascinating is because of the ancient taste they contain from ancient times to today.
3. The benefits are impressive
If the first two reasons are still objective reasons, the last one should be the most important subjective factor.
I have to admit that it takes a long time and great mental effort to cultivate an excellent shadow puppet master.
Starting from skin selection, leather making, skin drying, to drawing, carving, coloring, sweating and ironing and finally embellishment, this process is not easy.
Just talking about carving, there are 11 or 12 single knives, including diagonal knives, flat knives, round knives, triangular knives, etc. of different widths.
The craftsmen need to determine the size of the leather to be used in advance, and you can't make a mistake in the fine carving on it.
This is not a kung fu that can be cultivated overnight, but in contrast, the income of shadow puppet masters is not high.
Yang looked at the recent salary of shadow puppet actors, which is 2018 data, with an average salary of around 6000-7000.
This is much lower than the salary of actors and drama actors.
Most of the people who can sit in high positions are veteran craftsmen with deep experience in the industry, and for young people who are new to the industry, the future is not visible.
Such a laborious and unprofitable effort, in terms of the weakness of human nature, the gradual decline is also an inevitable result.
It's just that I can't help but sigh when I talk about it now, this culture, which is slowly disappearing in its place of origin, is highly sought after in the West.
Many countries have developed their own unique shadow puppets, such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana in Southeast Asia.
Nanya shadow puppets and Nandron shadow puppets in Thailand, etc.
In the United States, Germany, France, Austria, Turkey and other countries, shadow puppet art museums have been established, and some have also established related research centers. It can be said that shadow puppetry has become an international research discipline.
Fortunately, since 2000, the China Puppet Shadow Art Society, with the support of relevant parties, has organized two national puppet shadow puppet art competitions for young and middle-aged people aiming to promote the ancient puppet shadow art to pass on the torch.
In 2011, China applied for intangible cultural heritage for shadow puppets, and once approved, the inheritance of this culture will be greatly enhanced.
I hope that one day we can see the day when shadow puppets come back to life.
Sheep know that in today's booming modern art, shadow puppets are a little boring.
But as a valuable cultural heritage of the mainland, if it is really replaced by fast food culture, then it will not only disappear shadow puppets, but also part of Chinese history.
After all, aesthetics that have been passed down for thousands of years, this art derived from nature and life, should not be quietly lost.