“Leather-silhouette” is a general term of the products (including stage properties and sceneries) and characters used in the shadow play. The shadow play, regarded as an indispensable pearl in the treasure-house of Chinese arts, is a unique form of art that deliberately combines the folk arts and traditional operas in ancient China.

The shadow play is a kind of theatre art performed by flat puppets, the shadows of which are reflected on a white curtain in front of the audience. The flat puppets, stage properties and sceneries used in the shadow play are usually the leather products of handcrafts, knife sculptures and color paintings manufactured by folk artisans. The leather-silhouette is always made of oxhide or the skin of donkey; the oxhide is of higher value owing to its transparency, hardness and feasibility for reservation.

The shadow play is one of the earliest forms of opera in China and it boasts simple equipments, enriched tunes and attractive performance. For thousands of years it has been warmly welcomed and widely spread among the mass people. The curtain-shadow principle and the methods of performance in the Chinese shadow play promoted the invention of movies and stimulated the development of the contemporary cartoon films.