When Wang Haiyan was young, her favorite toys weren't Barbie dolls. Instead, she started learning to make shadow puppets(皮影)from her father at 13. Now 43, Wang has spent 30 years practicing and spreading the art.
Shadow puppetry is a form of theater that uses puppets made from leather(皮) or paper, accompanied(伴奏) by music and singing. It was invented during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 24). It tells us about folk tales and historical stories, passing down culture and customs over thousands of years.
Shadow puppetry is all about creating the puppets and performing with them. Wang's hometown of Hua county, Shaanxi, is known as the birthplace of the folk art.
Puppet—makers must follow 24 steps to make the puppets including washing the leather, carving(雕刻) and painting, according to Wang. Carving is the most difficult part.
"We have a special carving skill—moving the leather under the knife," Wang said. It took Wang three years to master this skill. She used a brick(砖块)to strengthen her left hand while practicing. It takes about 3,000 carves to make a shadow puppet. "The complex (复杂的) steps make it hard tohand downthe folk art," she said.
But Wang has found a way to do so. In recent years, she has made shadow puppets based on some cartoon series and given a live streaming performance. She used colors like blue and purple that were hardly seen in shadow puppetry and added more sticks to the puppets to make the performance more lively. "I hope more and more young people enjoy shadow puppetry and pass it down," she said,
