"But in that special period, because the whole country was in chaos, so at that time, shadow puppet art once again suffered the bad luck of 'breaking the four olds', and since then its vitality has been greatly damaged. After that, coupled with the impact of the film and television industry, the decline became inevitable. ”

Zhang Tianyuan's statement is more pertinent, the main reason is, of course, because of the impact of movies and television, of course, the fuse must have something to do with some events in history, there is no doubt about it.

"By the way, uncle, since there are so many shadow puppets in your township, and now they don't let go, instead of putting them there and letting the rats spoil them, it is better to exchange some money and preserve this art, I just want to ask, are those people willing to sell the shadow puppets in their hands? If so, I can send someone to talk to them." Zhang Tianyuan said with a smile.

"Of course I was willing, but I was afraid that I would be scolded for thinking about money and going crazy, so I didn't dare to come. We used to ask someone else to buy it, but unfortunately we were all reluctant, and they all said that it was an outdated thing, alas. The old man shook his head and sighed.

"Actually, to be honest, I was cheeky to pick up this thing, but also because there was really no way, I want to marry a daughter-in-law for the baby, and I can't get married if I can't buy a car, alas, the girl also said that she wanted an iPhone, I haven't seen it, but I heard that it's very expensive. ”

"The latest one is about five or six thousand. Mr. Li interjected: "Your daughter-in-law doesn't treat money as money, how much does the bride price cost?"

"The bride price is not much, plus the money given for the engagement, a total of 40,000 yuan, and the other is the three gold and clothes that the baby bought, which cost about 20,000 yuan, which adds up to 60,000 yuan. Not counting the money for the engagement banquet and the money for furniture. Anyway, the baby is just getting married. It will cost 150,000 or 60,000 yuan, which is good, and there are still 200,000 bride price from the other party in our village. ”

"Then don't get married, where does so much money come from?"

"Mr. Li, you are a rich person who doesn't understand the hardships of the rich, if you don't get married, do you let the baby beat the bachelor? I have lived all my life, isn't it just to make the baby live a little better. The bride price of 200,000 yuan, and the family finally went to borrow 100,000 yuan. I borrowed forty or fifty thousand yuan again, alas, I will pay it back slowly in the future. The old man sighed.

"Ahem, let's not mention marriage, since your villagers are willing to sell this thing, I will collect it in the future, let's take a look at your shadow puppets today." Although Zhang Tianyuan also has many opinions on marriage in China now, he is not a marriage expert. It's not a government department, so I don't get involved in this matter, so I forcibly pulled the topic back to the topic!

Zhang Tianyuan directly opened his mouth to buy, but he was not afraid of the other party's random asking price. This thing has a price, it depends on the craftsmanship and characters! The price of the old shadow puppet and fine workmanship is higher. Some time ago, someone found a set of "Journey to the West - Three Dozen White Bone Spirits", a total of 20 or 30. It cost nearly 10,000 yuan. This is a shadow puppet used for performances in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it is also an old thing. So of course the price is more expensive.

As for the shadow puppets in the hands of this old man, there are even more expensive ones. However, in terms of this price, it depends on his Zhang Tianyuan's mood, if he is in a good mood, he can add a little to the price if he is in a good mood, pity these people. If you're in a bad mood, then follow the market price.

What is a leak?

This is a leak, he recognizes some of the things in it as shadow puppets of the Han Dynasty, but others don't recognize them, so he won't be stupid enough to say it deliberately, this is a transaction after all, and it is no longer a simple identification.

"The family said that there are some old shadow puppets here, which may be worth some money, and I am not difficult for Zhang Expert, you can just look at it and give it a little, as long as you can keep these things well, and sell them for some money, for the baby to get married, I will be content." ”

The old man is not stupid, although he can't go online, but his son can, so when he came, he had already investigated the price of shadow puppetry, although he was not very sure, but if Zhang Tianyuan's bid was too low, then he would definitely not sell, as long as he could meet his little requirements, he would definitely sell, because he knew that this Zhang expert was a powerful person, and he was a person who could protect these cultural heritages.

The old man didn't dare to say how noble his personality was, but since it was something that had been passed down from his ancestors, he had to find a good place to live for them.

Zhang Tianyuan nodded and did not deny the other party's statement.

The concept of old shadow puppetry is very broad.

The Han Dynasty was an old shadow puppet, and the one at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China was also an old shadow puppet, so it depends on how to say it. He took out the tools he had with him and looked at them carefully.

Now he is not pretending, in addition to reading words, he also wants to appreciate something with his own eyes and have fun with it.

Shaanzhou shadow puppetry retains all kinds of traces of folk storytelling, and it is the predecessor of many local operas in Shaanzhou in modern times. Its shape is simple and simple, rich in decoration, and at the same time has the artistic characteristics of exquisite craftsmanship.

Zhang Tianyuan has looked at it carefully, the outline of these characters is summarized as a whole, the lines are beautiful, vivid and powerful, there is momentum and rhyme, and the interior of the silhouette is mainly hollowed, and it is appropriate to leave the reality, so that the complexity and simplicity are appropriate, and the virtual and the real are born. The various parts of the shadow puppet figures, props, and scenery are often decorated with different patterns and patterns, and the overall effect is gorgeous but not procrastinating, concise and not empty. Each image is not only beautiful in parts, but also beautiful in overall coordination, which is both full and vivid, forming a perfect artistic whole. In the travel diagram in the picture, the main character is prominent, both in color and shape, it is more eye-catching than the ceremonial character, and the fine and complex lines, sparse layers and meticulous craftsmanship can be seen.

In fact, in Shaanzhou, shadow puppetry is very popular among the people, and it is divided into two types: East Road and West Road.

The shadow puppet of the East Road is larger, with a nose-shaped shape carved into the sky, and the pattern is simple and generous. The shadow puppet style of the West Road is delicate and delicate, and the image is full of leopard heads and deep eyes.

Zhang Tianyuan noticed that there was a fold of the drama "Mu Guiying" in this shadow puppet, the characters were delicately carved, the tables and chairs were densely patterned, the colors were elegant, and the scene was quite spectacular. During the performance, the shadow puppet translucency effect is used to avoid overlapping images, such as Mu Guiying sitting on a chair, which is darkened due to the overlapping images, and there is no discomfort effect.

People say that Shaanzhou shadow puppetry has four uniques: one is the shadow puppet carving works are highly attained, the second is the singing skills are very deep, the third is the performer's superb skills, and the fourth is the Huaxian shadow puppet is broad and profound, and the comprehensive artistic level is perfect, which can be called the swan song of opera art.

It's a pity that today, these things are basically invisible, but when Zhang Tianyuan touched the shadow puppet, he could still faintly hear the singing voices he heard when he was a child, he didn't understand anything at that time, but now he is very emotional.

After carefully observing for a long time, Zhang Tianyuan looked at the old man and asked, "Uncle, how much do you want to sell these two boxes of shadow puppets?"

"Expert, I really don't understand this, how about you give 100,000, give 100,000, I'll give you all these things!"

The old man has actually calculated, this 100,000 yuan, you can buy a car for your son, and then buy an Apple mobile phone for your future daughter-in-law, and the rest is estimated to be not much, and after the son's house is delivered, it will be renovated, and the son's salary alone is definitely not enough, so if you can help a little, you can help a little.

He really didn't ask for much, but he was still a little worried in his heart, because he didn't know the specific price of these things, and he was timid.

"Haha, he asked me for this price at the beginning, why do you say I accept these things, so I didn't ask for it. Mr. Li smiled, shook his head a little helplessly, and said, he felt that this old man wanted a lot.

In fact, from his personal point of view, this is indeed a bit much, after all, it is a big problem for private people to buy this thing, storage and maintenance, otherwise this old man will not sell it.

Of course, Zhang Tianyuan felt that this price was actually a bit high if it was based on the price in the bank, but from a research perspective and a historical point of view, the 100,000 yuan would be too cheap.

According to Zhang Tianyuan's judgment, not to mention the others, it is just a set of shadow puppets in the Han Dynasty, about ten pieces, which can be sold for 100,000 yuan.

You know, money isn't worth much now, but this non-renewable thing is even more valuable.

He actually felt that it was less, and he was a little reluctant to go, but he couldn't take the initiative to raise the price, since the other party asked for 100,000, then he could only give 100,000 at most, and it would be good to help him with something in the future, anyway, it was all around here, and now as a rich man, it would be no problem to find a better job for this old man's baby.

"Is 100,000 yuan too much? But Expert Zhang, you also know that these shadow puppets have been handed down from generation to generation in my family, and I really have to sell them because I can't protect them. This is in the countryside, it can be regarded as sorry for the ancestors!" The old man was a little anxious.

"Uncle, you don't have to worry, I definitely want to accept this thing, it's not easy for shadow puppets. 100,000 is 100,000, but I have one condition, that is, please help me find a shadow puppet team, and I may have to perform in the imperial capital all year round in the future, rest assured, the salary will definitely not be less, what do you think?"

This may sound like a request, but it's actually a help. Although Zhang Tianyuan can't have too many people, but a shadow puppet team, to say the least, there must be more than a dozen people, everyone has their own repertoire, and more importantly, you have to let people rest, you can't let one person stay on all the time.

A shadow puppet is manipulated with five bamboo sticks, and the artist's fingers are nimble, often dazzling the audience. Not only is the kung fu in his hands superb, but he also has to speak, read, play, and sing on his lips, and he also has to brake gongs and drums under his feet. The screen for shadow puppetry is made of a piece of white gauze one square meter in size. The white gauze is polished with fish oil to become crisp and translucent. During the performance, the shadow puppets moved close to the screen, and the figures and colorful colors were really moving. The shadow puppet props are small, the performance is convenient, and the venue is not limited, and the actors do not need formal training, so they are deeply loved by the people. In areas where shadow puppetry is prevalent, people will affectionately refer to it as the art of "one dan pick".

Sounds easy, right?

But this thing, if you don't have a few years of experience, it's definitely not good to act. (To be continued......)