Shanghai animation film studio
After 38 years, a classic Chinese animated film has been re-released. On Nov 5, the 4K version of The Legend of Sealed Book came out. The film, first released in 1983, displays many aspects of traditional Chinese culture.
时隔38年，一部经典的国产动画电影再次上映。11月5日，《天书奇谭》4K纪念版上映。《天书奇谭》于1983年首次上映，是中国传统文化集大成者。
Adapted from the Chinese tale, Legends of Conquering Monsters, The Legend of Sealed Book tells the story of Yuangong who works in heaven. He finds a book with amazing tricks and wants to pass the book to humans. But three fox spirits steal it and cheat the humans after learning the tricks. Then Yuangong and a boy called Dansheng fight against them.
《天书奇谭》根据中国神魔小说《平妖传》改编，讲述在天宫当差的袁公的故事。袁公发现了一本载有惊人技艺的天书，想把书传给人类。但三只狐狸精窃取天书，并在修炼天书法术后危害百姓。后来，袁公和一个名叫蛋生的男孩一起打败了狐妖。
The film features many Chinese elements. For example, the look of the three fox spirits comes from Peking Opera makeup. The waters and mountains are in the style of traditional Chinese ink wash paintings. The gardens and palaces are inspired by China’s ancient architecture.
《天书奇谭》以诸多中国元素为特色。例如，三个狐狸精的形象来自于京剧造型。片中的山水采用中国传统水墨画的风格，园林和宫殿的造型则受中国古代建筑启发。
China’s first ink wash animation actually came out in 1960. The film Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy has all the elements of the animals, plants and rocks drawn with ink and brush.
中国第一部水墨动画片实际上制作于1960年。影片《小蝌蚪找妈妈》用笔墨勾画出动物、植物和岩石等所有元素。
The animators learned from the great artist Qi Baishi. They used different kinds of lines and shades of colors to bring everything to life.
动画制作者向绘画大师齐白石学习，用形状各异的线条和深浅不一的墨色赋予万物生命。
The film is only about 15 minutes long, but it took lots of work. Without computers, the animators had to draw everything by hand. One second of animation needed 24 pictures. To save time, the clever artists stamped the tadpoles’ bodies on paper with a special seal. Then, they drew the tails.
《小蝌蚪找妈妈》片长仅15分钟，但制作花费了大量功夫。当时并未应用电脑技术，动画创作者不得不手工绘制所有画面。一秒钟的动画需要24张图像。为了节省时间，艺术家们聪明地运用特殊的印章，把蝌蚪的身体印在纸上，然后画上尾巴。
From then on, ink wash animations became popular in China. Now, animators are combining ink wash painting with computer technology. For example, Fog Hills of Five Elements, which came out in 2020, is in the ink wash style. It’s about five elemental envoys fighting against evil.
从此，水墨动画开始在中国流行。如今，动画制作者正将水墨画与电脑技术相结合。比如2020年推出的《雾山五行》就采用水墨风格，该片讲述了五行使者抵抗妖兽的故事。
In an interview with China Youth Daily, Lin Hun, the director of Fog Hills of Five Elements, explained why he adopted such a style. “It upmost represents our Chinese animation,” he said.
在接受《中国青年报》采访时，《雾山五行》的导演林魂解释了采用水墨风格的原因，他说：“因为水墨风最能代表我们的中国动画。”
