The Creative Research Into Shannxi Shadow Puppet Figures In Literature Book Design

A while ago, driven by the craze of Mo Yan, ones have started to pay attentionto the local Chinese literature. However, caused by commercialization, media andentertainment hypes, such a trend toward local literature becomes hazy. In order toanalyze the above phenomenon, one possible explanation is that the market share of thelocal literature shrinks as the local literature becomes more and more catering to needsof media. Moreover, influenced by the new trend of aesthetics, the book-cover design ofthe traditional Chinese literature can no longer match the tastes of the consumers in thisnew generation. Therefore, based off the designers’ aspects, we should focus onexploring the art of book-cover design, freeing the distribution and the propagation ofthe local literatures from restrictions, and strengthening the competitive advantage ofsuperior local literatures.Local literature as well as folk custom and ritual are both the cultural productswithin its locality. The Shadow Puppet Play in Shaanxi Province has always beenvenerated as a piece of gem in the realm of the folk customs and rituals. Its artistic value,both intrinsically and extrinsically, has also been venerated as the cultural heritage forits unique form of artistic representation and the design of the outline figures. Thisarticle, based on the elements of traditional folk art Shadow Puppet Play in ShaanxiProvince, attempts to explore, analysis and summarize unique features of its styles:plain yet stylish language, mild exaggeration and transformation, figurativemodernization, layered structure as well as the inner meanings of its essential elements. This article also attempts to find out the features in common between the existing localarts/customs pertaining to the Shaanxi Province and the literary creation. As a startingpoint, we use the literature masterpiece the White Deer Plain as vehicle to study theessence of Shadow Puppet Playreflected in the inserted illustration in that book. We hope our study will helpscholars to come up with breakthrough in creating artistic, ethnic and local literature. Inthe meantime, we also hope our study will provide treasury filled with elements of folkcustoms and rituals to those professionals in the field of graphic design.