Huanxian shadow puppet carving has roughly gone through three stages: dissemination, acceptance, and development. As early as the early 20th century, some shadow puppet artists from Shaanxi performed in Huanxian. Among them, there were shadow puppet carving artists and shadow puppet singing artists. Among them, the representative artist of Shaanxi West Road Shadow Puppet, Shang Xianjiang (whose name is unknown), once carved a shadow box for Jie Changchun; Jing Naidong once invited Qiao Xianjiang (whose name is unknown) to his home for three years to carve a shadow box for him; the old shadow box of Zhao Guiting in Zhao Kongxian Village, Hedao Township, was also carved by Qiao Xianjiang in the early 20th century; around the 1920s, Shaanxi shadow puppet singing artist Qu Liliu and a man surnamed He (nicknamed Lame Mule) from Shiguzhao Village, Liquan County, Shaanxi, came to Chedao and Maojing areas of Huanxian County to recruit apprentices and pass on their skills, singing shadow puppetry. At first, they mainly sang Qinqiang, and later also sang Daoqing. Their shadow puppets and boxes were all brought from Shaanxi. Among them, Qu Liliu's shadow box was passed on to his apprentice Xie Degui, and Xie Degui passed it on to his son Xie Zhengli, who then handed it over to the county museum. The shadow box of "Lame Mule" was destroyed in an earthquake when he was performing in Haiyuan, Ningxia in the 9th year of the Republic of China. He himself also died in the earthquake. Before the 1960s, some artists relied on the drivers (footmen) to buy shadow boxes from Shaanxi. Among them, the shadow box of the late artist Geng Laowu from Qintuanzhuang Township was purchased from Shaanxi. Some artists also went to Shaanxi to buy them in person. For example, the late artist Ma Zhanchuan from Hedao Township went to Bi Benfu in Dali County, Shaanxi with his apprentice Zhao Huaidi to buy a shadow box for the production team around 1958. There are many shadow boxes in this box. After several changes of hands, some are now stored in the county museum, some are scattered among the people, and some are collected by Wang Guangpu and others. Gengwan old artist Du Peiren once had three shadow boxes. In addition to one bought by Geng Haoxian, one of the remaining two boxes was purchased from an artist surnamed Wei (nicknamed Youliang) in Luopangyuan, Dingbian County, Shaanxi in 1947; the other was purchased by Du Peiren from an artist surnamed Qiang in Yanchi County. In the 1960s, Wang Qing'an bought a shadow box from Dingbian County, Shaanxi, and then resold it. At that time, artists had a saying: "To buy a shadow box, you have to go to Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, because only the works (shadow pieces) in Xi'an can be used." The shadow puppets for overseas performances that Xie Zhengli handed over to Huanxian Cultural Center were purchased by Geng Huaiyu from the home of a man named Sun (known as Sanmujiang) in Liquan, Shaanxi in the early 1980s. From the above information, the old shadow puppets originally kept by Huanxian shadow puppet troupe, except for those carved by local artists who asked Shaanxi Qiaoxianjiang and Shangxianjiang to carve, most of the others came from Liquan, Xingping, Dali, Dingbian, Shaanxi, and Yanchi, Ningxia. Some of these shadow puppets are now stored in the county museum, some were destroyed and lost during the "Cultural Revolution" campaign to destroy the four olds; some were collected by individuals or resold by shadow puppet dealers; some were kept by individual troupes, but there are not many, and most of them are in ruins. There are ruler lines and inch lines in these shadow puppets. The shadow puppet characters are diverse in shape, with an overall outline, beautiful lines, and powerful and rhythmic. Shadow puppet carving is mainly hollowed out, with appropriate retention of reality, and a combination of complexity and simplicity, and virtuality and reality. All parts of the shadow puppet characters, props, and backgrounds are decorated with different patterns and patterns. The pictures are gorgeous but not redundant, and concise but not empty. The carving techniques are diverse. Whether it is positive carving or negative carving, yin and yang auxiliary carving, or light and dark staggered patterns, they are all exquisitely skilled, skillfully cut, elegantly dyed, and colorful. Overall, they represent the style of the Western Road in Shaanxi, but are also mixed with the Eastern Road style. It can be seen that Shaanxi shadow puppet carving has experienced a glorious period of development, and then gradually declined. The excellent old shadow boxes have spread to remote mountainous areas, among which Huan County is one of the areas that has relatively completely preserved these excellent cultural heritages. The earliest local shadow puppet carving artist in Huan County is the late artist Wang Bingyun from Qintuanzhuang Township. In the 18th year of the Republic of China, Wang took his family out to paint temples to make a living due to family difficulties. He first went to Dongfengchuan in Huachi County, Gansu Province, and then to Weinan, Shaanxi Province. Because he loved the art of shadow puppet carving, he worked as an apprentice in a shadow puppet carving artist's workshop and learned shadow puppet carving. In 1962, Wang Bingyun passed on the shadow puppet carving skills to his nephew Wang Zhimin, and guided his nephew to carve a pair of shadow puppet boxes. In 1978, traditional shadow puppetry was performed. While repairing the worn-out shadow puppets, folk artists learned the art of shadow puppet carving, gradually set up family workshops, and formed a scale. Representative figures include Hao Hongxian from Haoji Village, Fanjiachuan Township, Huan County, Wang Qinzheng from Qintuanzhuang Township, and Du Jinru from Ning County. Most of them are self-taught, starting from old shadow boxes, learning carving, and serving the troupe's performances. Their carvings have gone through a process from naivety to maturity, and the overall style tends to be simple and heavy. Information source: External Propaganda Office of the CPC Huan County Committee Information source: External Propaganda Office of the CPC Huan County Committee