Liu's shadow puppet carving technique (selected into the second batch of Tangshan's municipal intangible cultural heritage list in 2011) The shadow puppet industry has existed in Lin'an since the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was carved on plain paper, and then on colored sheepskin. Now the most common shadow puppets are carved on donkey skin. The founder of Liu's shadow puppet is Liu Qingyou, who was born in the eighth year of Emperor Xianfeng. The shape of the shadow puppet is closely related to the portraits of the Han Dynasty, and it also absorbs the style of the temple murals of the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is carved according to the characters in the Yuan Dynasty drama. There are major categories such as Mo, Dan, Jing, Wai, Zadang, Jia, Gu, Xisuan, Banglao, Bolao, Buer, Lai, Ci, Ban Ge, Bahe, Banergu, Hedan, Xingshou, Le Ren, Le Tan, Hunzi, Hun Tan. There are more than 470 kinds of "head ha" (character facial makeup) and as many as 181 styles of "pile" (limbs below the neck). Liu's shadow puppet carving is made of high-quality donkey skin, which is made through more than 20 processes such as soaking, scraping, degreasing, grinding, carving, dyeing, ironing, and embellishment. The shadow puppet is small and exquisite, about 33 cm high, with exaggerated and bold body shape and clever deformation. Except for some book boys and ugly girls who appear with two eyes in half profile, most of them are mainly single-eyed in profile. "The loyal ones are carved with a straight face, and the treacherous ones are carved with an ugly shape." The characters of the positive male and female roles have a pointed nose and a small mouth, and their lips are dotted with vermilion. They are charming and graceful. The characters' personalities are distinguished by flat eyebrows and upright eyebrows: flat eyebrows show the elegance and quietness of literati and scholars; upright eyebrows highlight the heroic and powerful generals of the martial arts, and the protruding forehead (called "Yanluo") shows the flying eyebrows and extraordinary spirit. The square face, big ears, broad shoulders and round waist show the masculine beauty of the positive male roles of male and female roles. "Curved eyebrows, lined eyes, cherry lips with a little red", willow eyebrows, phoenix eyes, slender waist, lotus feet show the charm and femininity of female roles. The costumes and patterns of the shadow figures are exquisite and delicate, with complete techniques. The large outline is decorated with chrysanthemums, orchids, plums, and bamboos, with words, snowflakes, fish scales, star eyes, pine needles and other patterns, which fully reflect the aesthetic tastes of the ancient Chinese people. The costumes of the shadow figures are vividly expressed by small carving knives and flat carving techniques, with a strong sense of three-dimensionality. The coloring of the shadow figures adopts the traditional painting method of fine brushwork and heavy color, with color separation by hollow lines, flat filling with inherent colors, multiple baking and dyeing, strong contrast with bright red and green, hollow lines and white, natural harmony, gorgeous harmony, simple and bright, exquisite and elegant. Each shadow figure has supreme artistic and aesthetic value and can be called an artistic treasure. Liu's unique carving method of "big knife seam" ("big knife edge") is rough and neat, and the knife is delicate. Although it is not as delicate and beautiful as the small knife edge technique, it has the characteristics of being clever in clumsiness and full of charm. In terms of color expression, he broke through the traditional four colors of black, yellow, red and green, and created a unique black, yellow, red, green, cyan, blue and purple multi-tone painting and dyeing with delicate coloring techniques. He devoted himself to studying the carving techniques of shadow puppets' heads, and advocated paying attention to the key parts of shadow puppet characters such as facial makeup, headdresses, and scarves that depict the image and reflect the character's personality. It should be meticulous and not compromised, so that the audience can see it at a glance. The third generation of Liu's brothers organically integrated the "big knife edge" technique with the delicate "small knife edge" characteristics, taking the advantages of each to complement each other. The carvings of long, square, angular and round have clear teeth and distinct curves and straightness. The push, pull, spin and cut knife methods are varied and the organizational structure is reasonable. Especially the hair of the characters is portrayed with full emotion and lifelikeness, the eyeliner is eye-catching in black and white, and the lines are bright and beautiful. The headwear, costumes, scenes, and props are diverse, and the design has a unique style. Liu Weishan, the inheritor of Liu's shadow play, won the Excellence Award in the Tangshan District Sculpture Competition in 1980. He won the second prize in the 2005 International Sculpture Exhibition. He won the second prize of the "Shen Dao Award" in the 2005 International Shadow Play Sculpture Art. In 2006, he carved "Yitangying" and more than 300 pieces for the Harbin Shadow Play Troupe. Information source: Tangshan Municipal People's Government Information source: Tangshan Municipal People's Government