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Chinese Pi Ying Xi, also called leather-silhouette show or shadow play, came into existence almost a thousand years ago. It is said in Yuan Dynasty it once spread to west Asia and even as far as Europe. The paper or leather cut silhouette is reflected onto a piece of white cloth and performers behind the scene control it to walk, dance, or do various kinds of acts by the strings connected to the joints, with companion of music and songs. Among the many types of Pi Ying Xi, the silhouette show of donkey leather in Tangshan, Hebei Province and of ox leather in northwest China are renowned for their exquisite cutting and distinctive folk music.

About its origin there is a beautiful love story. It has it that, Liu Zhe, the Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, liked all kinds of entertainment and kept many artists in his palace. Among the musicians Li Yannian was the best. Not only was he good at playing all kinds of musical instruments, but also could he improvise songs. One year the King of Qiuzi, a tribe in the northwest, came to present tribute. On the reception banquet Li Yannian was ordered to give a performance and he sang about an exceeding beauty. All the people were fascinated and lost in the graceful scene he created. Later when someone reported to the Emperor Wu that Li's sister was such a beauty, the emperor was so pleased as to call her in. And finding she was pretty beyond description, he fell in love with her at the first sight. She received great favor and gave birth to a son the next year.

But good times did not last long for she fell ill seriously afterwards. As the emperor visited her, she covered her face with quilt and said, 'I hope your majesty can take good care of my brother and son for the sake of our past.' But she refused his request of taking a last look of her, 'A woman makes up to please her lover but I am not as good-looking as before and not dressed up. Please leave me as I am.' So finally the emperor went away disappointedly. As explained to her maid she said,'His majesty favors me because of my appearance. I'm no longer pretty with illness and he will forget all my goodness at my sight. But otherwise he'll remember me forever.'

After her death the emperor missed her so much that a necromancer was summoned to call back her spirit. Though his mind racked, the necromancer found no way to meet this expectation. In the evening when pacing up and down in his room, he saw his shadow reflected on the wall. Thus an idea was hit upon out of the predicament. He copied the concubine's picture onto a piece of leather and after coloring and cutting a lifelike silhouette was made. With all the details well prepared, Emperor Wu was invited to the room. From far away, he saw his concubine's silhouette came up slowly and gracefully, knelt down respectfully and remained there. Just as he was approaching, the necromancer stopped him and said the spirit needed a respectful distance. And hundreds of years later Pi Ying Xi was passed down from the descendants of the necromancer.

Written by our column writer Hao Zhuo.

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