Chinanews.com, Xining, December 23rd, title: Qinghai shadow puppet carving "craftsman": only by combining tradition and modernity can the world be interpreted
Author Li Jun Zhou Xiaohua
"Tell the story of the ages with one mouth, and dance with millions of soldiers with both hands." Every festival, shadow puppet artists in rural Qinghai will pull a piece of white cloth, light a green lantern, and the villain will reflect the wonderful world on the shadow puppet.
Just after the winter solstice, Jin Wenlu, a 65-year-old inheritor of shadow puppetry in Shuanggeda Village, Zaba Town, Hualong Hui Autonomous County, Haidong City, Qinghai Province, ushered in the busiest time of the year again.
Material selection, carving, and coloring... Jin Wenlu follows the traditional carving technique of the thousand-year-old shadow puppetry, and inherits this ancient skill with ingenuity.
The picture shows Jin Wenlu showing the Water Margin characters "Shadow Man" made in the early years.
Photo by Zhou Xiaohua
"When I was seven or eight years old, every festival, there would be shadow puppet performances in the village. Every time there was a performance, I would go to watch and study, copy and practice at home. Since then, I have been fascinated by shadow puppetry." Jin Wenlu recalled Said that because of his love, he started to learn Erhu and Banhu when he grew up, and finally joined the shadow puppet troupe as he wished, and often went to the countryside to perform.
To play shadow puppetry, you must first carve a "shadow man".
In his hometown of Shuanggeda Village, there is a shadow puppet master Li Yingchun.
In 2003, Jin Wenlu became a teacher of Li Yingchun, and officially began to learn the techniques and skills of shadow puppet carving.
"The raw material for making shadow puppetry is to use cowhide. When I was a child, it cost more than 30 yuan to buy a piece of cowhide. My family couldn't afford it, so I used the cardboard box of rain boots to learn carving, but the cardboard is not as soft as cowhide. It is difficult to master the degree and depth of the knife." Jin Wenlu Say.
With many years of understanding of shadow puppetry and the master's patient and meticulous teaching, Jin Wenlu can complete the work independently after one year.
In order to improve his carving skills, he went to Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County of Xining City, Huangzhong District, and even Shaanxi Province to study many times, learning from experts and masters of shadow puppetry sculpture production from all walks of life.
The picture shows the carved shadow puppet "Shadowman" in Jin Wenlu.
Photo by Zhou Xiaohua
Drawing new shadow patterns, buying leather, engraving shadow figures, and coloring shadow figures... practicing basic skills day and night, blood blisters on fingertips, sore waist and neck pain are common occurrences.
After continuous tempering and practice, Jin Wenlu has become a well-known local folk artist and is often invited to perform in various places.
"Shadow puppetry is also a handicraft. It is a 'kung fu job'. It has to go through more than a dozen processes such as material selection, carving, and coloring." Jin Wenlu said that making a "shadow puppet" requires thousands of knives. then one month.
To make a shadow puppet, the first step is to use cowhide or donkey skin, which is blistered, depilated, thinned, and polished to make the skin smooth and translucent. , and maintain a certain humidity, so that it is easy to move the knife, and then draw patterns on the leather surface, and then use a carving knife to carve a little bit.
"It is also very important to paint the shadow figures after they are carved. Transparent colors should be used for coloring. Leather glue is added to the colors to increase adhesion. It is required to have bright and thick colors, clear shapes, and highlight the decorative effect. After coloring, apply a thin layer of varnish. To achieve bright and long-lasting colors.” In Jin Wenlu’s view, each step is easy to say, but requires patience and skill to do.
The picture shows Jin Wenlu showing the process of making "Shadowman".
Photo by Zhou Xiaohua
In order to keep innovating and learning new styles of shadow puppetry, in his daily life, whenever Jin Wenlu sees these pictures, no matter whether they are on the walls of temples or vases of ancient paintings, he will take pictures, print them out, and then carefully study and ponder the expressions of the characters.
"Only by paying attention to some paintings around you in daily life and adding your own ideas can you carve out shadow puppetry with local culture and be favored by people again," Jin Wenlu said.
Jin Wenlu told reporters that the tacit fusion of lights and shadows interprets the sorrows and joys of the world, and entrusts the people's prayers for safety and well-being.
According to reports, the previous "Shadowman" had a "five-point face, seven-point figure", that is, a side face with only one eye and half a face, but his redesigned "Shadowman" changed from silhouette to Cheng Zhengying broke through the traditional techniques of shadow puppet carving.
In terms of subject expansion, he also deeply explored the base map and elements of shadow puppets, from ancient cultural materials to modern life scenes, which greatly enriched the expressive connotation of shadow puppets.
"The reason why the art of shadow puppetry has lasted for thousands of years is because it is small and flexible, and it is easy to perform everywhere. I think that only by combining tradition and modernity can we show the various forms of the world, and use the charm of culture to make it more popular. Audience service." Jin Wenlu said.
(use up)