The Process of Making Shadow Play
2 min readThe Process of Making Shadow Play
Regular shadow figure head is a full profile，known as“half face.”Clown and villain sometimes are given half profile，called“70%face”；fairies and Buddha are shown with a full face.Shadow figure’s body is mostly 70%.Carving of shadow figures is very particular.It requires using knife with ease and making turns smoothly.The hollowed-out facial outline，in particular，requires an exceptional skill in craftsmanship，making lines as thin as“stretching wires，”sharp and translucent.Bodyfigure using chisel engraving has a variety of designs，including snow flake，letter “Wan”shape，wealth and fortune，wintersweet，fish scale，pine needle and star eyes，etc.Leather silhouette coloring is usually bright and transparent，mostly in black，red，yellow，and green.Music accompaniment are four string and south string instrument；bowed instrument；four-string moonshaped instrument；drum，gong；flute；hand allegro and horn.Based on geographical localities，each place has its own unique style and characteristics in shadow figure design，music and instrument.
Features of the Shadow Puppet Show
To overcome the limit imposed when only the profile of puppets can be seen，shadow puppets use exaggeration and heavy dramatization.The faces and the costumes of puppets are vivid and humorous.The flowery color，the elegant sculpting and smooth lines make shadow puppets not only props but also artwork.A shadow puppet takes as many as 24 procedures and more than 3 000 cuts.
The design of the figures follows traditional moral evaluation and aesthetics.
The audience can tell a figure’s character by seeing his mask.Like the masks in Beijing Opera，a red mask represents uprightness，a black mask，fidelity，and a white one，treachery.The positive figure has long narrow eyes，a small mouth and a straight bridge of nose，while the negative one has small eyes，a protruding forehead and sagging mouth.The clown has a circle around his eyes，projecting a humorous and frivolous air even before he performs any act.
Modern Situation of Traditional Leather Silhouette
The rapid development of modern economy in urban and rural areas，coupled with the growing influence of television and film culture，traditional leather silhouette is almost precipitating into distinction nationwide except in a few regions in eastern Gansu and Liaoning Province.Now only some 200 leather silhouette troupes are sti1l around，down from over 1000 nationwide in the 1980s.
