Shadow Puppets in China
2 min readA Brief Introduction of Shadow Play
Shadow plays are a traditional folk art，the origin of which can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty.（206BC-24AD）.With puppets made out of cow’s leather or donkey hide，the shadow play figures of the Guanzhong area of Shanxi Province are
modeled on the stone relief patterns of the Han Dynasty，the academic-style painting of the Song Dynasty and folk paper-cuts.Guanzhong shadow play figures are popular with collectors and as home decorations.
History of Shadow Puppets
More then 2000 years ago，a favorite concubine of Wu Emperor of the Han Dynasty died of illness；the emperor missed her so much that he lost his desire to reign.Oneday，a minister happened to see children playing with dolls where the shadows on thefloor were vivid.Inspired by this scene，the smart minister hit upon an idea.He made a cotton puppet of the concubine and painted it.As night fell，he invited the emperor to watch a rear-illuminated puppet show behind a curtain.The emperor was delighted and took to it from then on.This story recorded in the official history book is believed to be the origin of shadow puppetry.
Shadow puppets were first made of paper sculpture，later from the hides of donkeys or oxen.That’s why the Chinese name for shadow puppet is pi ying，which meansshadows of hides.Shadow puppetry was very popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties in many parts of China.
