As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, Xiaoyi had a shadow play club, and there were artists specializing in shadow sculpture, which was comparable to the capital city of Bianliang at that time. In an ancient tomb found in the northeast corner of Xiaoyi New Town at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were several children on the murals on both sides of * *, some were playing suona, and some were playing on the lawn with shadow figures.
Later, in the Ming Dynasty, Xiaoyi's shadow play developed greatly. According to records, 1508, 100 plays were held in Beijing. At that time, Xiaoyi's shadow play class went to participate in the performance. The Qing Dynasty was the heyday of shadow play. At that time, there were more than 60 shadow play clubs in Xiaoyi, with more exquisite carving skills and increasingly rich repertoire. Because the shadow play is flexible and full of magical colors, Princess Wang and Brother Wang also called the shadow play into the palace during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, invested in buying a play box and hired artists to perform for a long time. In rural areas, there are merchants from Pingyao, Qixian and Taigu counties, who employ Xiaoyi artists to talk about traditional Chinese opera, or go to Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Hebei to perform for Shanxi businessmen. For example, the artist settled in Ningxia, and Zhang Xianbao performed in Hebei, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, and never came back. He has a good reputation in Xiaoyi film and television industry and is a teacher for future generations. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Xiaoyi Shadow Play had a golden age of great prosperity, and famous artists were everywhere, such as pole workers in Wang Baodong, whose skills were hidden. Zhang Liguang's voice is full of copper and iron, and the moon surprises the stars. Jingrunyuan specializes in boudoir drama and is called "Miss Class". Li Fude is good at comedy and is called "Haha Class".
In addition, there are a large number of young artists such as Zhang Wannian, Yu, Song Guangde and Geng, each with his own strengths.
The content played by Xiaoyi is mostly adapted from well-known historical stories, myths and legends, and folklore, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Journey to the West, Yang Jiajiang, etc., which are deeply loved by people. Judging from its performance style, Xiaoyi shadow play mainly has two styles: leather cavity paper window shadow play and Qiang screen window shadow play.
Xiaoyi shadow play is divided into two factions, one is shadow play with leather cavity and paper window; Second, Qiang screen shadow play.
Xiaoyi leather cavity paper window shadow play has a long history. It is a kind of melody and singing created by folk artists who carve cowhide and donkey skin into plane images of various figures, animals and scenes as props for performances, using local languages and singing methods. It has a unique charm and is called "Piqiang", which is a vocal art born and raised in Xiaoyi.
The main musical instruments of Piqiang are small suona, sheng and flute, which are also called "the art of blowing and singing" by local people. When performing in Piqiang, the shadow play is operated by artists and accompanied by other artists.
Shadow puppets with leather cavity are generally 30-40 cm tall, slightly larger than the Qiang people in Wan Wan, but their carving and modeling are not as fine as those of the Qiang people in Wan Wan. When the shadow play is staged, the main pole is comfortable to operate the chest and waist of the shadow play person. With hemp paper as the window, that is, the screen, cowhide people stand upright on the screen with lights hanging behind the window, and people hold sticks several feet (one meter is three feet) long and the thickness of chopsticks for shadow play, making various actions, accompanied by dialogue, rap and sparring with the shadow puppeteers.
Shadow play at that time was performed with sesame oil lamps or steam lamps. The stage is small, and it is most suitable for performing in halls or small villages with more than 100 people.
Piqiang shadow play plays mainly focus on the romance of ghosts and gods and the story of Journey to the West. When performing the whole play, I added a little bit of "playing Taiwan". I didn't sing, and I rarely talked in vain, mainly martial arts. Xiaoyi's Wan Wan Qiangping Shadow Play originated in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty. Because of the famine, Shaanxi artists lived in Xiaoyi and set up a team club with the locals to make a living. Because there is a bell-shaped accompaniment when singing, it is called Wan Wan accent. Shaanxi artists are also collecting apprentices and passing on their skills in Xiaoyi.
Although the shadow play of the Qiang nationality in Wan Wan is small, it is finely carved and colorful. The window made of gauze is much clearer than that made of hemp paper. The same cowhide shadows are supported by three skewers, but the main pole is placed on the operator's shoulder, which not only makes the shadows rotate flexibly, but also facilitates operation.
The musical instruments of Wan Wan Qiang shadow play are Hu Hu, Er Xian, Qin Yue and Tong Ling, which are obviously different from the tunes and plates of shadow play, and are called "Moon Shadow" and "Moon Tune". Its beautiful and lyrical singing has also been influenced by the local middle road bangzi and leather cavity.
At that time, the court dramas such as Nine Lotus Beads, Fu Guitu and Kannonji, which were often performed, finally came to the stage and were welcomed by people.
Since modern times, due to the rise of shadow play of the Qiang nationality in Wan Wan and the increase of class clubs, the original shadow play of Xiaoyi has gradually merged into one, which has been soaked in the development of shadow play or drama of the Qiang nationality in Wan Wan.