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As the old say\u00ading goes, \u201cOne monk car\u00adries water to drink, two monks lift it, and three monks have no water to drink.\u201d These three sen\u00adtences are both strik\u00ading\u00adly vivid and humor\u00adous, direct\u00adly tap\u00adping into the weak\u00adness\u00ades of human nature. While it\u2019s sup\u00adposed to be \u201cmore hands make things eas\u00adi\u00ader,\u201d too many peo\u00adple often lead to over\u00adstaffing, no one will\u00ading to take the blame, and the result is often a messed-up job. This quip is not only found in Chi\u00adnese folk wis\u00addom, but also in Eng\u00adlish proverbs\u2014\u201cToo many cooks spoil the broth\u201d lit\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly means \u201ctoo many cooks ruin the broth,\u201d but the para\u00adphrase rough\u00adly trans\u00adlates to \u201ctoo many peo\u00adple ruin things,\u201d demon\u00adstrat\u00ading the com\u00admon\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty of human nature.<\/p>\n
There are now numer\u00adous pic\u00adture books based on these three lines, all deeply influ\u00adenced by the 1980 Shang\u00adhai Ani\u00adma\u00adtion Film Stu\u00addio\u2019s \u201cThree Monks.\u201d This clas\u00adsic ani\u00admat\u00aded film, direct\u00aded by Ada, writ\u00adten by Bao Lei, and designed by Han Yu, has won numer\u00adous awards both domes\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly and inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly. The char\u00adac\u00adters appear in the order of the Lit\u00adtle Monk, the Tall Monk, and the Fat Monk. The Fat Monk\u2019s arrival leads to a \u201cwater short\u00adage,\u201d and a rat knocks over a can\u00addle\u00adstick, caus\u00ading a fire. After the three monks work togeth\u00ader to put out the fire, they real\u00adize the need for uni\u00adty and ulti\u00admate\u00adly devise a col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtive plan to fetch water, result\u00ading in a per\u00adfect end\u00ading with \u201cThree Monks Find Water to Drink.\u201d All the pic\u00adture book ver\u00adsions I\u2019ve read have fol\u00adlowed the basic struc\u00adture of Ada\u2019s ani\u00admat\u00aded sto\u00adry.<\/p>\n
In \u201cFrom Three Sen\u00adtences to an Ani\u00admat\u00aded Film: \u2018Three Monks\u2019,\u201d Ada detailed the sto\u00adry behind his work, say\u00ading he came up with the idea after hear\u00ading Hou Baolin\u2019s crosstalk piece \u201cMonk\u201d in 1979. Com\u00adbin\u00ading this with his own obser\u00adva\u00adtions and insights, he lat\u00ader com\u00admis\u00adsioned Bao Lei to write the script. The ani\u00adma\u00adtion, devoid of nar\u00adra\u00adtion or dia\u00adlogue, fea\u00adtures only instru\u00admen\u00adtal music. Using min\u00adi\u00admal\u00adist car\u00adtoon tech\u00adniques, the film depicts the frail\u00adties of human nature with exag\u00adger\u00adat\u00aded humor, strik\u00ading a chord that both amus\u00ades and prompts reflec\u00adtion. In real\u00adi\u00adty, this isn\u2019t just a car\u00adtoon for chil\u00addren; the rich\u00ader the life expe\u00adri\u00adences of adult view\u00aders, the more deeply they will relate to it.<\/p>\n
Cai Gao\u2019s adap\u00adta\u00adtion and illus\u00adtra\u00adtion of \u201cThe Three Monks\u201d is both a trib\u00adute to the clas\u00adsic works of pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsors like Ada and a con\u00adtin\u00adued reflec\u00adtion and response. Pic\u00adture books are a unique lit\u00ader\u00adary genre, unlike ani\u00adma\u00adtion, which reach\u00ades audi\u00adences through audio\u00advi\u00adsu\u00adal media. There\u00adfore, they are not suit\u00adable for repro\u00adduc\u00adtions of ani\u00admat\u00aded sto\u00adries, much less freeze-frame excerpts. Draw\u00ading on the basic ideas from \u201cThe Sto\u00adry of Peach Blos\u00adsom Spring,\u201d Cai Gao reimag\u00adined the liv\u00ading envi\u00adron\u00adment of the three monks in her mind: a tran\u00adquil tem\u00adple nes\u00adtled in a \u201cpar\u00adadise\u201d of beau\u00adti\u00adful moun\u00adtains and rivers. A vast expanse of land in the val\u00adley, out\u00adside the tem\u00adple are pine, cypress, and bam\u00adboo forests, as well as a veg\u00adetable patch. Besides farm\u00ading, the monks also car\u00adry fire\u00adwood and fetch water, lead\u00ading a self-suf\u00adfi\u00adcient agri\u00adcul\u00adtur\u00adal life.<\/p>\n
How\u00adev\u00ader, unlike the rich\u00adly col\u00adored \u201cSto\u00adry of Peach Blos\u00adsom Spring,\u201d \u201cThe Three Monks\u201d employs a rather free\u00adhand style of tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal Chi\u00adnese ink paint\u00ading, sim\u00adpli\u00adfy\u00ading most details. Even the Bud\u00addha stat\u00adues are depict\u00aded with only a rough out\u00adline, their fea\u00adtures vague\u00adly vis\u00adi\u00adble. Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, how\u00adev\u00ader, one dou\u00adble-page spread (\u201cThree Peo\u00adple Feel Dif\u00adfer\u00adent\u201d) metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly depicts the monks\u2019 dai\u00adly neces\u00adsi\u00adties, even tooth\u00adbrush\u00ades! This vibrant sense of life helps draw the read\u00ader clos\u00ader, demon\u00adstrat\u00ading the artist\u2019s delib\u00ader\u00adate choice of sim\u00adplic\u00adi\u00adty and com\u00adplex\u00adi\u00adty. For exam\u00adple, the three pairs of cloth shoes in the paint\u00ading clear\u00adly belong to the three monks. How\u00adev\u00ader, a care\u00adful read\u00ader will notice that on the pre\u00advi\u00adous page, the fat monk is wear\u00ading straw san\u00addals upon his arrival. Mean\u00adwhile, near the oil lamp in the low\u00ader left cor\u00adner of this page, there are sev\u00ader\u00adal unusu\u00adal sewing tools, seem\u00ading\u00adly used for mak\u00ading cloth shoes. Which monk do these belong to? The tem\u00adple depict\u00aded by Cai Gao actu\u00adal\u00adly resem\u00adbles the home of three old\u00ader chil\u00addren engaged in farm\u00ading life. With\u00adout an abbot or a par\u00adent, they resem\u00adble three broth\u00aders liv\u00ading togeth\u00ader.<\/p>\n
The images of the three monks in the clas\u00adsic ani\u00admat\u00aded film have long been ingrained in peo\u00adple\u2019s minds, thanks to the inci\u00adsive char\u00adac\u00adter designs by car\u00adtoon\u00adist Han Yu. Han Yu once described his design phi\u00adlos\u00ado\u00adphy for these three char\u00adac\u00adters: the young monk is \u201csim\u00adple, intel\u00adli\u00adgent, and almost like a child\u201d; the tall monk is \u201ccun\u00adning, cal\u00adcu\u00adlat\u00ading, and oppor\u00adtunis\u00adtic\u201d; and the fat monk is \u201cgreedy, hon\u00adest, and hon\u00adest\u2026 with a round head, thick lips, and a heavy\u00adset body.\u201d In fact, in the car\u00adtoon, the tall and fat monks also pos\u00adsess a kind and sim\u00adple side, but it\u2019s pre\u00adcise\u00adly their so-called \u201cneg\u00ada\u00adtive\u201d qual\u00adi\u00adties that are most mem\u00ado\u00adrable. I believe that ani\u00admat\u00aded sto\u00adries tend to focus more on the analy\u00adsis of human nature. Cai Gao\u2019s depic\u00adtion of the three monks, how\u00adev\u00ader, leaves no such impres\u00adsion. She sim\u00adply depicts them as ordi\u00adnary peo\u00adple with dif\u00adfer\u00adent per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adties, all resem\u00adbling inno\u00adcent and sim\u00adple chil\u00addren. Per\u00adhaps in Cai Gao\u2019s mind, they were sim\u00adply three broth\u00aders who had the fate to live under the same roof.<\/p>\n
If we com\u00adpare the scene in the car\u00adtoon to the scene where the tall monk and the young monk car\u00adry water togeth\u00ader, they already engage in all sorts of pet\u00adty cal\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adtions, from the way they car\u00adry the water up and down the slope to the posi\u00adtion where the buck\u00adet should be hung on the pole. While this is indeed a very real\u00adis\u00adtic aspect, Cai Gao seems to dis\u00adlike this aspect, com\u00adplete\u00adly aban\u00addon\u00ading such pet\u00adty treat\u00adment. Her depic\u00adtion of the water-car\u00adry\u00ading scene is a col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtive effort, and in the low\u00ader left cor\u00adner of the frame, they are seen joy\u00adful\u00adly chant\u00adi\u00adng togeth\u00ader. The young monk looks up at the tall monk with a side\u00adlong smile, unable to con\u00adceal his gen\u00aduine admi\u00adra\u00adtion and affec\u00adtion. This, like the afore\u00admen\u00adtioned pair of new cloth shoes, reveals the close and har\u00admo\u00adnious rela\u00adtion\u00adship between the three monks, despite their shared tran\u00adsi\u00adtion\u00adal peri\u00adod of growth, often with\u00adout water.<\/p>\n
The same world, the same events, can be viewed with dif\u00adfer\u00adent per\u00adspec\u00adtives. You can choose to por\u00adtray a cer\u00adtain real\u00adi\u00adty with the great\u00adest pos\u00adsi\u00adble cool\u00adness, or you can add a touch of exag\u00adger\u00adat\u00aded irony, reflect\u00ading deeply through humor\u00adous self-dep\u00adre\u00adca\u00adtion and irony\u2026 but there are many more options. Dif\u00adfer\u00adent artists offer us dif\u00adfer\u00adent \u201ceyes\u201d to see the world. For exam\u00adple, Cai Gao allows us to \u201csee\u201d the world of the three monks anew. We see them enjoy\u00ading a sim\u00adple yet peace\u00adful life, rel\u00adish\u00ading the joy of labor, and main\u00adtain\u00ading phys\u00adi\u00adcal and men\u00adtal health despite their pover\u00adty. We see that as ordi\u00adnary peo\u00adple, they inevitably encounter prob\u00adlems, but they learn from their mis\u00adtakes, find ways to coop\u00ader\u00adate, improve, and make their lives bet\u00adter. You\u2019ll find that the \u201ceyes\u201d Cai Gao pro\u00advides can help us become more tol\u00ader\u00adant and peace\u00adful, allow\u00ading us to dis\u00adcov\u00ader the ulti\u00admate beau\u00adty in the ordi\u00adnary. When you \u201csee\u201d the world with such open-mind\u00aded kind\u00adness, even the heav\u00adens may come to your aid. I imag\u00adine this is some\u00adthing Cai Gao, now a grand\u00admoth\u00ader, par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly want\u00aded to say to chil\u00addren, hence why, in her retelling of \u201cThe Three Monks,\u201d she calls on the heav\u00adens to send rain to help extin\u00adguish the fire!<\/p>\n
Ulti\u00admate\u00adly, all ver\u00adsions of the sto\u00adry attempt to sub\u00advert the sup\u00adposed fate of the \u201cthree monks with no water to drink.\u201d The Ada ver\u00adsion places the tem\u00adple at the top of the moun\u00adtain, while the water source is at the foot. So, the three monks devise a com\u00adplex pul\u00adley sys\u00adtem, wor\u00adthy of the Lu Ban Prize, to hoist buck\u00adets of water from the foot of the moun\u00adtain to the top! From a prac\u00adti\u00adcal per\u00adspec\u00adtive, this falls into the realm of sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion, but giv\u00aden the con\u00adtext of the \u201cSpring of Sci\u00adence\u201d era, it also has a cer\u00adtain appeal to the gen\u00ader\u00adal pub\u00adlic. Oth\u00ader ver\u00adsions have either con\u00adtin\u00adued this scheme or opt\u00aded for more prac\u00adti\u00adcal options, such as hav\u00ading the three of them fetch water togeth\u00ader, each car\u00adry\u00ading two buckets!\u2014possibly influ\u00adenced by the film \u201cShaolin Tem\u00adple.\u201d In real\u00adi\u00adty, hav\u00ading each monk take turns fetch\u00ading water each day is a sim\u00adpler and more fea\u00adsi\u00adble solu\u00adtion; even ele\u00admen\u00adtary school stu\u00addents know how to take turns on duty.<\/p>\n
From an alle\u00adgor\u00adi\u00adcal per\u00adspec\u00adtive, the need for uni\u00adty and coop\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion is often delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly empha\u00adsized in the var\u00adi\u00adous solu\u00adtions to the prob\u00adlem, in stark con\u00adtrast to the pre\u00advi\u00adous dilem\u00adma of \u201clack of water due to dis\u00aduni\u00adty and non-coop\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion.\u201d Cai Gao\u2019s ver\u00adsion of \u201cThe Three Monks\u201d cer\u00adtain\u00adly reflects a sim\u00adi\u00adlar approach, but what\u2019s par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading is that Cai Gao com\u00adplete\u00adly alters the set\u00adting of the Ada ver\u00adsion, mov\u00ading the tem\u00adple from a lofty moun\u00adtain\u00adtop to an open area in the val\u00adley, a more suit\u00adable loca\u00adtion for dai\u00adly life. Thus, from the end\u00adpa\u00adpers onward, the three monks are busy with farm work! Giv\u00aden this rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly hos\u00adpitable envi\u00adron\u00adment, cou\u00adpled with the exist\u00ading bam\u00adboo for\u00adest in front of the tem\u00adple, the monks nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly came up with the idea of split\u00adting bam\u00adboo to divert water. This isn\u2019t some mod\u00adern tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy; it\u2019s sim\u00adply the \u201ccul\u00admi\u00adna\u00adtion of the wis\u00addom of ancient work\u00ading peo\u00adple.\u201d Read\u00aders famil\u00adiar with Cai Gao\u2019s works will rec\u00adog\u00adnize the same water diver\u00adsion device in her 2001 nov\u00adel, \u201cThe Sto\u00adry of Peach Blos\u00adsom Spring,\u201d where the beau\u00adti\u00adful and enchant\u00adi\u00adng idyl\u00adlic land\u00adscape appears at least twice!<\/p>\n
It seems that Cai Gao\u2019s ver\u00adsion of \u201cThree Monks\u201d is a return to inno\u00adcence, hap\u00adpi\u00adness and sim\u00adplic\u00adi\u00adty!<\/p>\n
Ajia writ\u00adten on Jan\u00adu\u00adary 22, 2024 in Bei\u00adjing<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Review of the New Edi\u00adtion of Cai Gao\u2019s Pic\u00adture Book \u201cThree Monks\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12],"tags":[8,5,10,6],"class_list":["post-571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-ajia-review","tag-8","tag-5","tag-10","tag-6"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/\u4e09\u4e2a\u548c\u5c1a\u5185\u9875.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":574,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571\/revisions\/574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}