Traditional Culture, The Charm of the Times (Creative Transformation and Innovative Development)

Unity is restored, and everything in Vientiane is renewed. On the occasion of the New Year, people feel strong family affection, miss a happy life, and pray for the peace of the country and the people.

The Spring Festival is a traditional Chinese festival and an important opportunity for cultural inheritance and innovation. On this festive occasion, the column of "Creative Transformation and Innovative Development" invites about 5 creators to share their experiences and experiences in inheriting innovation, get close to tradition and feel the changes with readers, and gather more creative power for the booming era.

- Editor

Years are beautiful cultural creations

Feng Jicai

The four seasons start and cycle again and again. The year is the end of the previous four seasons and the beginning of a new four seasons. Whenever we stand on this node of alternating old and new, our hearts must be full of yearning, hope and expectation for the new year and new life, so a special psychology has been produced - "Year Psychology". From the big to the Guotai people's security, the wind and rain are smooth, to the family and beauty, the body is well-being, and the life is rich. These aspirations emerge in a concentrated way during the New Year, and they are extremely strong, enthusiastic, and idealized. What is it expressed in? With culture. This cultural expression is the folklore of the New Year.

For thousands of years, because people's expectations for the year are too deep, and the expectations for life in the coming year are too sharp, in order to satisfy this "year mentality", many cultural ways and styles have been created. In addition to the brilliant social fire, there are Spring Festival, Fuzi, paper-cutting, New Year paintings, rice cakes, tangyuan, velvet flowers, pressed money and so on, which are incomparably rich. All these things seen, heard, and smelled together create a unique sight, atmosphere and charm that belongs to the year.

This is an annual cultural feast, which is a cultural creation with the participation of the whole people. It reflects the love of life of generations of Chinese: we have created a natural day into a cultural day, an ordinary day into a day full of ideal brilliance. What a wonderful, magical creation!

However, in each new year, we should not only be the enjoyers of the traditional annual culture, but also make new contributions to this festival. Folklore is a mighty river, and only when new torrents are constantly injected can we be full of vitality forever. In the era of great prospects, as a generation full of passion for life, we will definitely make this traditional festival shine more glamorous.

(The author is a writer and honorary chairman of the Chinese Folk Writers Association)

The tide of the founding era Is the essence of the present classics

Tian Qinxin

China's excellent traditional culture has a long history, how to continue to exert its value today? The cultural variety show "China in the Classics" is an active exploration of the modern "translation" of ancient classics. Pass on the scriptures of the millennium, burn the lamp of eternity; the essence of the present classics, and write a new chapter in the future. We have successively focused on classics such as "Shang Shu", "Analects", "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Chu Ci", "Shi Ji" and other classics, and strive to excavate and display the essence of ideas contained in the classics, integrate traditional aesthetic elements with television creation, and tell touching and profound inheritance stories.

"In the beginning of ancient times, who preached?" Curiosity about the universe permeates the blood of the sons and daughters of China, it makes Qu Yuan issue "Tianwen", but also lets us launch the "Tianwen-1" probe into the vast space; "things are born from nature, work open to people", explore nature, promote scientific research, ancient scientists Song Yingxing, Yuan Longping, Tu Youyou is also the same... The spirit in the texts is always passed on. On the stage, we make full use of the virtual characteristics of drama, Song Yingxing of the Ming Dynasty and Yuan Longping, the contemporary "father of hybrid rice", have achieved a handshake through time and space; the poet Qu Yuan, who wrote "Ode to Orange", was sweetened to tears by the citrus in his hometown of Jingchu more than 2,000 years later... These pictures are the crystallization of the creator's imagination and express the desire of contemporary people to find cultural roots.

Establish the tide of the times, through the changes of ancient and modern times. Reflecting the characteristics of the times is the key to the transformation and development of traditional culture. This not only requires us to go into the depths of life, listen to the voices of the people, and strive to become the wonderful narrators of Chinese stories, the powerful communicators of Chinese voices, and the excellent shapers of China's image, but also requires us to make good use of modern technology and innovative perspectives to make cultural dissemination and experience young and contemporary, so that contemporary audiences can identify with China's excellent traditional culture from understanding, and from identity to self-confidence. The new year begins, let us continue to enrich this volume of "revitalization of tradition" in a creative way on a new journey!

(The author is the director of the National Drama Theatre and the artistic director of "China in the Classics")

Let traditional opera be unique

Wang Peiyu

The ancients had a habit of getting together to watch a play during the New Year. What kind of drama to act in the New Year is also exquisite, for example, my old student drama "Royal Monument Pavilion" in this industry, the New Year performance is often written as "Golden Bangle Reunion", to get a good mouth. There is also the custom of "sealing the box" in the New Year of the drama class, performing a lively "box sealing drama" for a few days, and then putting the end of the line into the clothes box to seal it, and having a good year. The people are looking forward to singing the big drama, and the big drama is near, and the taste of the year is strong. This is a ritual with the smell of prayer, and everyone on and off the stage is looking forward to the smooth wind and rain, the peace of the country and the people.

I have seen many people listen to drama with their grandparents and fathers since childhood, and when they were young, they may not understand the words, but they are full of ears and subtlety, and one day when they grow up, they will find the answer to life from opera. The stories of loyal and affectionate lovers on the stage are easy to approach and inspire the audience. The more I came into contact with opera, the more familiar and comfortable I felt. Because it is part of our cultural bloodline, it has the beauty unique to classical Chinese culture. Friends who have not seen the play may feel that the opera is strange, but it is easy to get hooked when you really watch it, because our thinking mode, aesthetic habits, and values are all in harmony with the blood and bones of the opera. If you know more about traditional culture and art, you will feel that the whole person has a origin, a foundation, and a foundation.

China's excellent traditional culture is like the sound of the huqin when singing opera, it leads you and supports you, like some kind of impartial coordinates in this rapidly changing world. With a mighty spirit, seek a degree of progress and retreat. This "degree" is placed on the inheritance of Peking Opera, which is the balance between inheritance and innovation. For us opera practitioners, we must listen to the voice of the market, but we must not lose ourselves. This requires us to constantly temper and improve, have the correct value to lead, have the reverence for tradition, and also have the confidence to tolerate changes, and make the art of opera unique in the process of integrity and innovation, and go further and better.

(The author is a Peking Opera actor)

Forge new classics with heart

Lee early

The Beijing Winter Olympics is a national event and a stage to showcase Chinese culture. The Winter Olympics-themed promotional film "China's Ice and Snow Expansion" produced by Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio gathered the familiar animation images of Sun Wukong, Nezha, Huluwa, etc. on the ice and snow arena, which was both nostalgic and novel, causing widespread concern. With the "all-star lineup" of Chinese animation, the theme of "driving 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" is highlighted; with a piece of figure skating by Nezha and Ao Bing, the image shows the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger - more united"... These "small Easter eggs" buried in the film have been captured by netizens, who expressed their surprises in the bullet screen and messages.

To be able to contribute to the Winter Olympics is the glory of the animators. This creation inspired us to use classic IP to tell the story of the times, and Chinese animation has great potential. We have a rich family foundation, a fine tradition, the dazzling glory of the "Chinese School" of animation since the 1950s, and the accumulation of practice that has been constantly exploring and innovating over the years. More importantly, how to refine the content theme of "truth, goodness and beauty" from the rapid changes of society in the context of the new era, and enrich the expression means of "strange rhyme" from the rapid development of science and technology. Chinese animation has so many intellectual property rights, if you can give these classic IP new content, new ways, how many glittering pictures will emerge! What's more, generations of animators are still constantly creating new animation images and forging new animation classics with their hearts.

2022 ushers in the centenary of Chinese animation, and the centenary is also a new starting point for continuing to move forward. Today, more and more talented young people are embarking on the road of exploring the national style of Chinese animation, let us inherit and carry forward the glorious traditions of the older generation, and use our passion to open up a new world of Chinese animation art.

(The author is deputy director of Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio)

Trendy showcases old craftsmanship

Wang Dewen

As an old carpenter who does carpentry work, because of the Internet, I have a new identity: the video blogger "Grandpa Amu". From 2018 to now, the video of "Grandpa Amu" doing carpentry has been played 600 million times on the Internet, which surprised me: the old craft has a new place.

Netizens like my works, mainly out of interest in traditional Chinese handicrafts. My first "popular" work was a video of the Luban stool being made. A whole piece of wood can be made by sawing, planing, grinding, drilling, chiseling, cutting and other complex processes without a nail or any metal component. Some netizens were extremely surprised and shouted "impossible" in the video message.

Luban stool, arch bridge, general case... One carpentry video after another was filmed, and netizens at home and abroad paid more and more attention to me. This has made me feel a stronger sense of responsibility. Now when I record videos, I try to record the details as clearly as possible so that everyone can see more clearly. Some foreign netizens leave messages saying that they want to learn from me, or ask some technical questions, and I will respond and answer. Recently, some netizens followed my video to learn to make furniture. I believe that many traditional handicrafts, including carpentry, represent Chinese's pursuit and creation of a better life. This pursuit and creation can resonate with everyone, and also make traditional handicrafts still full of charm today.

We have caught up with a good era, the all-round well-off life without worry about food and clothing allows us to have more spiritual love and pursuit, and traditional handicrafts have changed from the skills we rely on to make a living to hobbies. This year's Spring Festival, I recorded a video of making wooden red lanterns, I believe the majority of netizens will like it. There are too many good treasures in Chinese traditional culture, and I hope that more craftsmen will embrace the network, display and inherit China's excellent traditional culture in a new way, and create a better life for themselves.

(The author is a video blogger, and the reporter of this newspaper, Li Zhong, interviewed and sorted out)

Layout design: Chen Xiaojin Gu Xuanpei

(People's Daily Media Technology Company)

People's Daily ( 2022-02-08 20th edition)