Travel Guide to Xi'an, Shaanxi
Shaanxi Shadow Puppetry: The beauty of a national essence passed down for a thousand years💗
📍Detailed Address: Yongxingfang • Intangible Cultural Heritage Theater in Xi'an
🔆Shadow Puppetry
The birthplace of shadow puppetry is Xi'an, Shaanxi. According to the 'Book of Han', more than 2000 years ago, after the beloved consort of Emperor Wu of Han, Lady Li, passed away due to illness, he deeply missed her😔 and neglected the affairs of state. One day, Minister Li Shaoweng went out and encountered a child playing with a cloth doll🪆, whose shadow was cast on the ground, lifelike. Thus, Li Shaoweng had an idea, he cut out an image of Lady Li👸 from cotton cloth, painted it🎨, and attached wooden rods to the hands and feet. At night, he invited the Emperor to sit and watch inside the tent, and after seeing it, the Emperor was greatly pleased. This story is considered to be the earliest origin of shadow puppetry. According to historical records, shadow puppetry🔛 began in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and was at its peak in the Qing Dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty, it spread to Western Asia and Europe, boasting a long and storied history🌊
🔆Only after learning about it did I realize that shadow puppetry🎭 is a traditional art with thousands of years of history. The performers of shadow puppetry need to manipulate multiple puppets at the same time, coordinating with lighting💡 and music🎶 to bring a variety of stories to life on the screen. This is much more complex than the shadow games we played as children, and also more vivid and interesting🥳
🔆Shadow puppetry performances usually do not have a fixed venue or time, and are mostly performed by invitation during traditional festivals or at market fairs, temple fairs, and during the joyous occasions of rural families. The repertoire of the old-style shadow puppetry🎭 mostly consists of ancient military themes and mythological legends, with more than two hundred pieces, including a large proportion from the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Three Kingdoms, and Tang and Song periods. Popular plays include 'Lintong Treasure Fight', 'Shenting Ridge', and others. There are also plays reflecting local traditional folk life and pure martial arts💪🏻
🔆In Xi'an, the performance styles of shadow puppetry🎭 are diverse, including Mi Hu, Bowl Tune, String Board Tune, Agong Tune, and Qin Tune, among others. Behind the white screen, the artists manipulate the characters of the opera while singing the story in the local popular tunes, accompanied by percussion and string instruments. The performance, rich with the breath of rural gentry🎤, makes one feel as if they are in the midst of an ancient village🛖
The shadow puppets passed down through the centuries are not just art, but also history👍
It is worth going because it is located in the east gate of Xi'an City Wall. The east gate is called Changle Gate and ranks second. Many people who visit the city wall only go to the south gate and ignore the east gate. If the south gate represents the history of Chang'an, the east gate can be said to be the Chang'an's market, and Yongxingfang is the focus of the market. In addition, Yongxingfang is a folk culture pedestrian street as famous as Muslim Street, commonly known as Hanmin Street, so it is more diverse, has fewer taboos, and has various customs.
This is the original site of the home of Wei Zheng, a famous minister of Emperor Taizong. The internet celebrity Silver Man A Shao will accompany you to take photos and check in for free. You can spend five yuan to drink a bowl-breaking wine with great passion. There are also various delicious snacks from Guanzhong to satisfy your taste buds. This is Yongxingfang in Xi'an, and it is worth your special trip for an in-depth experience!
I didn't expect anything, but I didn't expect it to be a one-to-one service. Guide Li was serious and responsible, as if he took us through more than a dozen dynasties. From the Forest of Steles to the city wall, to the food in Yongxingfang. The explanation was vivid and interesting, and my son liked it very much.
20230407 Night: 1. "Yongxingfang" is one of the most prosperous online celebrity check-in night markets in Xi'an City. In ancient times, it was one of the 108 squares in Tang Chang'an City, and it was the mansion of the famous Chenchen and Prime Minister Wei Zheng in the early Tang Dynasty. The night market is a newly built antique building complex in 2007, the overall layout is square, three horizontal and six vertical, integrating dining, non-legacy culture and entertainment, brightly lit, lively, is a good place for locals to walk their children, and is also a photo resort in Hanfu. Entering the park is free. ① Address: No. 15 Dongle Lane, Xincheng District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. ② Transportation: Direct bus access, easy to stop by car. ③ peak season: no. ④ Duration: 2 hours. 2. The main archway on the south side is the iconic welcoming landscape of the scenic spot, and the most people queue to take pictures. The creative sculpture "Nayutai" on the right hand side of the archway (East) is a photo frame. The two ancient bronze sculptures have invited tourists to sit on the desk "Nayu". The desk is a voice sensing area. It is speculated that speaking on the desk can give opinions and suggestions to the scenic spot. On the left hand side (west) is the "Shaanxi Eight Monsters" screen (8 red screens show the unique customs of Shaanxi area, that is, a strange "bench does not sit up", two strange "half-side cover of the house", three strange "girls do not go outside", four strange "papa head wearing", five strange "noodles like pants belt", six strange "pot helmet like pot lid", Seven strange "oil spicy dishes", eight strange "Qin Qiang does not sing and roar". There is a voice introduction on the screen, but the sound is small and inaudible) and a small light fountain. The nearby enlarged bowl noodles, big wontons "eat full" and other sculptures are very exciting, it is a photo point. 3. After entering the square along the archway, it is a small square "Jingjian Square". The central center of the square is a bronze mirror, to commemorate Wei Zheng who is reckless with life and death and bluntly persuaded. In the "Old Tang Book • Wei Zheng Chuan", Tang Taizong's evaluation of Wei Zheng who just died "People mirror, you can gain and lose, Wei Zheng did not, The photo frame of the costume next to the bronze mirror is very popular and is a high-popular photo spot. The northernmost is the "Yongxingfang Building", which is the largest hotel in Yongxingfang, and it is also the main building. The wine altar hill and paper-cut clothing photo frame in front of the building are all high-value photo spots. The street where it is located is the first east-west street from south to north: ① the first street, the 1:1 ratio of donkeys, the angry imitation ancient wells, etc. are all photo spots that make people stop. The easternmost is a bowl of wine, you can buy a small bowl of wine you want to pray for, drink after you fall, you can ask for wealth, luck, peace, love, etc. After you fall, you can go to the wishing wall to make a wish. The blessing red card is a photo spot for many petty bourgeoisie. With the increase of blessing cards, The length of the wishing wall is getting longer and longer, forming a street called "Fu Street". Next to the small mountain-like falling bowl fragments, there is a smoky pool, the ancient wall on the pool is covered with glass, presumably an old building. ② The second east-west street, there are brushes (can eat brushes, very creative), white fire stone soup (Shaanxi non-legacy dishes, if it is not too late, I really want to taste it), northern Shaanxi Zichang pancakes (moving the big dumplings outdoors as a seat is very creative). ③ The third east-west street is also mainly food, but not small stalls but large shops, the food is more exquisite and special... The number of words is over-limited, continue in the last picture
The performance is OK, traditional art, but the price is a bit pitted. If you directly mark the price, or don’t exchange the ticket, it’s fine, but the ticket is written on 50, but the sale is 88, and you can’t figure out what more, just say that the ticket is just a difference. The seat is just off. But if this should not show fares that do not match the actual situation, I am too lazy to toss the New Year.