1. Project Introduction: Youshan shadow play is mainly distributed in Huatang Town, Baohe Township and Tonghe Township in Beihu District, with its core area in Youshan Village, Huatang Town. Although its origin cannot be verified, as early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, whenever there was a thank-you meeting in this area, there was a habit of singing shadow play during festivals. Over time, a unique style and carving characteristics have been formed. Its significant artistic characteristics are mainly reflected in carving (modeling) art, singing art and oral text art. Youshan shadow puppets use cowhide as raw material, and use thin and transparent cowhide to carve characters, and then paint them. Its carving and painting technology pays attention to exquisite knife work, lifelike modeling, and unique character modeling. In addition to character modeling, some props, tables and chairs, and scenery models are also carved to match the performance. The music and singing of Youshan shadow play are gentle and pleasant. In the long-term development process, it has gradually absorbed the essence of local operas and folk songs such as lanterns, couplets, flower drums, and fishing drums in the region, and has obvious local characteristics of southern Hunan. The band has a complete set of civil and military scenes, with a unique flavor. The lyrics and recitations in the shadow scrolls are mostly in local dialects and local folk dialects, which are friendly and humorous. Sheng, Dan, Jing, Ran, and Chou are all complete. Youshan shadow puppetry contains a lot of historical information and has extremely important scientific protection value. Its strong local characteristics, unique modeling technology, and original Xiangnan folk singing, music, shadow scrolls, lyrics format, etc. are of great value to the study of folk customs, folk customs, morality, folk sculptures, folk art, folk literature, folk drama and opera history in southern Hunan. With the impact brought by the acceleration of modern civilization and the passing of the old generation of artists, it has begun to die out. Its artistic essence is urgently needed to be inherited by future generations, and it is even more necessary for the government to include it in the protection category to rescue this precious intangible cultural heritage resource that cannot be lost. 2. Distribution area: Youshan shadow puppetry is mainly distributed in Huatang Town, Baohe Township, and Tonghe Township in Beihu District, and its core area is Youshan Village in Huatang Town. 3. Historical Origin: There is no exact verification of the formation era of shadow puppetry. According to historical records, shadow puppetry popular throughout the country reached its heyday after Song, Jin, and Qing dynasties entered the pass to the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. Many shadow puppet artists inherited their father's business and passed it down for generations, and many talented people emerged. Whether in terms of shadow puppet modeling, shadow play acting and singing, and popular regions, it has reached the peak of history. In folk villages and towns, large and small shadow puppetry troupes are also everywhere. It is not surprising that there are 20 to 30 shadow puppetry troupes in a township or a city. The source of Youshan shadow puppetry cannot be verified at present, but as early as the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there was a habit of singing shadow puppetry during festivals and holidays in this area. Whether it is a festival, a happy harvest, praying for blessings and worshipping gods, a wedding banquet, or a birthday celebration, it is indispensable to set up a stage to sing shadows. Continuous plays (serials) such as "Xue Rengui's Expedition to the West" have to be performed all night or for more than a few days. IV. Basic content: Youshan shadow play is a folk craft and traditional performing art that is deeply loved by the working people. Cow hide is used to carve shadow figures, props, etc. and dyed. During the performance, there are shadow windows and oil lamps (later developed into electric lamps), accompanied by folk instruments such as erhu, suona, fishing drums, drums, cymbals, and gongs. The civil and military scenes are complete. The actors manipulate the shadows and sing behind the curtain windows, and perform folk historical legends and newly compiled real stories in local dialects and local dialects. The content is close to the lives of the people, and the language is popular and friendly. It is the earliest form of curtain shadow art. Performance method: In the performance of Youshan shadow play, each class generally consists of 4 to 7 people, and the standard is 6 people. The performance is divided into two parts: civil and military scenes. The civil scene is blowing and pulling, and the martial scene is beating. The performance is mainly composed of four people: pulling, beating, posting, and taking. Pulling is playing the erhu, beating is playing the drum, and posting and taking are two people who manipulate the shadow figures. All participants, in addition to sharing roles, participate in singing. The performance of Youshan shadow play requires a high platform. After the three sides are covered, a shadow window made of white cloth about 8 feet long and 3 feet wide is placed on the front, with a lamp inside. The artist sings inside and manipulates the shadow figures with the light, making them move on the window, and the audience can watch the shadow play in front of the window. Roles: Youshan shadow play has a complete range of roles, including Sheng, Dan, Jing, Ran, and Chou. The characters are in various poses, the plots are ever-changing, and the scenes are colorful. Performance instruments: Erhu, Jinghu, Suona, percussion instruments include drums, gongs, cymbals, etc. Sometimes fishing drums are also used. Works: Most of the performances are based on folk legends and historical epics, such as "Water Margin", "Xue Rengui's Expedition to the West", "Yue Fei", "Shanbo Visits a Friend", "Wu Jin Ji", "Gua Pao Ji", "Fen Zhuang Lou", "Qilin Bao", "Han Feizi", "Babaoshan", "Havoc in Heaven", etc. V. Main features: 1. The puppets of Youshan shadow play are made of cowhide, with a combination of carving and painting, fine workmanship, beautiful and vivid shapes, reflecting the early style of shadow play. 2. Youshan shadow play has unique singing style because it incorporates artistic elements such as local opera, folk art, and folk music, and the accompanying instruments are relatively complete. 3. Youshan shadow play has distinct and unique folk literature characteristics. It adopts local colloquialisms in creation, and the lines are mostly folk dialects. The lyrics format is unique, mostly seven sentences, and very standardized.