It is said that two thousand years ago, King Wu of Han Dynasty was so sad of the death of his wife Mrs. Li that he couldn’t care of the affairs of state. Minister Li Shaoweng was worried. One day, when he went out, he saw a child played with a cloth doll, whose vivid shadow reflected on the ground. Then Li Shaoweng had an idea to cut the image of Mrs. Lee from silk, paint with colors, and set it with wooden hands and feet. One night, Li set up the curtains and light candles, and invited the King to watch. The King was happy and loved the shadow. The love story has been written into Han Shu, which is considered the earliest origins of the shadow.

　　Datong Shadow started in the middle and late period of Tang Dynasty or later in the Five Dynasties period (from 7th century AD to the 8th century). The late writer Mr. Sun Kaidi wrote in his works that, the shadows were used to be a metaphor for the soul of the deceased in monastery.