China Shadow play known as "the home of shadow play", with the longest history, the most charming images and the most marvelous techniques in performance, has exerted great influences on the world culture. The Chinese shadow play has three branches: hand shadow play, paper shadow play, and leather shadow play. First appeared in the Tang and Five Dynasties Period and flourished in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it has a history of more than 1,000 years. As a comprehensive folk art which blends painting, sculpture, music, singing, and performance, shadow play is an operetta for peasants which has developed side by side with full scale drama (human drama) for men of letters.

In Java, shadow plays are performed in villages and towns on public holidays, religious festivals, weddings, birth celebrations and circumcisions. In There was a great deal of religious connection to many forms of puppetry through out history. At 3' tall it's every bit as beautiful and intricate as its predecessors. The Far Eastern shadow puppets of Java are other fine samples of shadow puppets. They are also extremely large and ornate but made of much heavier leather with stronger support rods attached to the necks. The main difference between Indian and Far Eastern puppetry is found in the play itself. The Javanese puppet plays portrayed the history and folklore of the people. Classic tales about emperors, heroes, enemies, battles, women and lovers replaced the religious overtones of the Indian puppet plays. An interesting feature of Javanese puppetry was the coloring of the puppets. Viewers knew which characters were good or bad by the colors used. Red, white, gold, black, or blue face colors represented the puppet's state of mind and emotions. A figure might be displayed at different times during the show in different colored faces to exaggerate his emotions. Colors also identified the puppets in India. For example, women were in hues of yellow, orange and brown.

Thailand shadow puppets still practices the puppet rituals and is very highly to the culture. It is known to believe that if shadow puppets are not performed spiritually it may psychologically impair the culture and its people in Thailand. Religion overall in Thailand is heavily emphasized compared to Java, Bali and Cambodia. “Nang Talung” is the art of survival for Thailand.

The movement, size, style, manner of operation, and content of the plays gave each type of puppet its unique qualities. Men enjoyed the beauty, color and design of the characters because they watched the plays from the same side of the screen as the puppeteer. Women and children were only allowed to view the play from the back of the screen so they saw only the shadows. The Indians had a unique puppet show. It was performed outdoors behind sheets of fabric hung from bamboo. A row of coconut shells behind the sheets were filled with oil and burned throughout the show. The flickering lights probably made the character's movements seem more magical. One of the older forms of puppetry in India was the Wayang Purwa. An artist known as a Dalang put on the show. The puppeteer operates each character himself and recites each line in shows that lasted all night. The puppeteer also operated several musical instruments and sound-effect items throughout the play. These shows took a great deal of practice, determination, skill, memorization as well as talent on the part of the Dalang. These special performances were usually reserved for sp

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