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Established 15,000 B.C. |
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Volume 11, September 618 A.D.
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Those Puppet Shows |
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| One of the newest fads to hit the Tang Dynasty is a new form of entertainment known as Shadow Puppets. These puppets were made from water buffalo hide, cut into the shape of the character and intricately designed. They were supported by thin rods and in many cases had articulated arms for gesturing.
There would be a large screen suspended and a light source projected behind. The puppets would then be placed between the light and the screen, casting shadows onto the screen. The puppeteers would then manipulate the chaaracters according to the script for the story. There was also a live orchestra to play accompanying music for the play. A form of this was used centuries later by Lotte Reiniger in 1926 in her animated feature film (the second ever made), "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" |
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Egypt, 14th Century |
Sichuan, China, early 20th Century |
Thailand |
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Shadow plays soon spread across the Asian continent into Thailand, Indonesia and as far away as Egypt. | |||||||||||||||
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Java, Indonesia |
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