Shadow Puppet (皮影) shows started in the Han Dynasty. It is old Chinese art and it has a long history. One day, a man saw(children) shadows (影子) under the sun. He got a great idea. He made a show like that.
During a shadow puppet show, (actor) stand behind a white screen (屏幕) with lights behind it. They hold the puppets very close to the screen so the people can see the puppets (easy).
Last week, we talked with Wang Weifang who is quite good playing in shadow puppet shows. He told us thatwas hard to hold a puppet." You must keep it high for the whole show. You also need (keep) your wrist (手腕) at 90 degrees (度) to make the puppet face the people." He also taught us how to do a puppet show.
These days, people often watch TV or (go) to the movies. Shadow puppet shows are not so(popular) that young people even know nothing about it. Wang and his friends work hard they want to make more people know about the art. What great players!
