Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth
Chen Xiaobin
Publisher: Readers' Publishing House
Publication date: November 2021
On November 5, 2021, I signed the words "Printed according to this" on the sample of the manuscript of "Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth", and my heart was full of mixed feelings. When it came time to write the editor's notes, too many feelings and emotions lingered in my heart, and I didn't know how to write for a while.
Rather than spending nearly two years planning and publishing this book, it is better to say that this is a relay and tribute to the classics, and I am constantly receiving the spiritual baptism of the older generation of artists in "Silk Road Flower Rain"...
If you get the most precious treasure
Back in 2006, when I was a student, I watched the dance drama "Silk Road Flower Rain" for the first time. Like all viewers, "Silk Road Flower Rain" brought me a great shock. "Silk Road Flower Rain" spreads out the picture of the tang civilization with the friendship of a pair of painters father and daughter and Persian merchants, with a small view of the big, both simple and sincere and majestic. At that time, I was still young and lacked understanding—for a long time, I just lingered in Yingniang's unique rebound lute dance. But "Silk Road Flower Rain" is like a seed, buried deep in my heart.
On the evening of January 26, 2019, at the award ceremony of the "ICBC Cup" Longren Pride Awards Ceremony, which touched Gansu in the 40 years of reform and opening up, 18 advanced individuals and 2 advanced collectives won awards. Among them, Mr. Hu Yaquan, one of the founders of "Reader", as an excellent representative of the press and publication industry, won the title of "Proud Son of Longren"; the three generations of "Six Old Men" of Eight Steps Sand and the creation and performance team of the dance drama "Silk Road Flower Rain" won the title of "Advanced Collective". When the dance drama "Silk Road Flower Rain" broke into my sight again, I was so excited that I almost jumped up on the spot when I had just switched to book publishing— the seed began to sprout.
The beautiful S-shaped dance posture of the rebound pipa, the ever-changing multi-armed bodhisattva, the flying shape derived from the Dunhuang mural... In 1979, this dance drama work born in Gansu, "Silk Road Flower Rain", was published, and it set off a strong "Dunhuang wind" at home and abroad. "Silk Road Flower Rain" creatively integrates the rich dance movements in the murals and statues of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes into modern dance, transforms the dunhuang trick music that has been sleeping for thousands of years into "Dunhuang dance" on the stage, and awakens the spring of Chinese dance drama. In the past 40 years, this "primrose bird of China's reform and opening up" has visited more than 40 countries and regions and is known as "a model of Chinese national dance drama".
"Bounce Trick Music" drawn by Li Mingqiang
I suddenly had a bold idea to make "Silk Road Flower Rain" into a book, not a simple album, but a history of the birth of "Silk Road Flower Rain", and then hold the launch ceremony on the day of the 40th anniversary of the creation of the dance drama. However, reality poured me cold water, and I ran through all the units I could find, finding little valuable information. As soon as the seeds sprouted, they were watered, so that on May 23, 2019, the 40th anniversary of the creation of "Silk Road Flower Rain", I was absent-minded, thinking about this book, thinking about where to find a breakthrough for this topic.
Things took a turn for the better in November. In a small talk with my friend Guo Wenliang, I said that I came up with a book called "Silk Road Flower Rain", and Wen Liang patted his thigh: "I have a friend who has already written it and will publish it in "Reading Library" soon!" "Happiness came so suddenly that I immediately patted my thigh and expressed my strong desire to introduce him, and I didn't even realize that the thigh I patted was not my own."
The first time I met the author, Mr. Chen Xiaobin, was at a tea restaurant in Yantan Park. I still vividly remember the details of the meeting: although it was winter, it was not the slightest coolness that day, and the sun came in through the window recklessly, crashing into the house brightly and warmly, just as I was happy and excited. After sitting down, XiaoBin held out his treasured materials and excitedly told me the story of "Silk Road Flower Rain", telling the creative experience of Wu Jian, screenwriter Zhao Zhixun and choreographer Liu Shaoxiong and other creative personnel. This is a story that I don't know, Xiao Bin told it like a family treasure, and I listened to it like a mesmerized. "If you get the most precious treasure" - this is my biggest feeling when I see Xiaobin for the first time, not only for so much precious information he has collected, but also for him as a person.
Xiaobin was born in Tongwei, Gansu Province, grew up in Huining, loved literature since childhood, and has always insisted on writing in his spare time. Xiaobin said that writing "Silk Road Flower Rain" was his wish. In order to write something, he bought nearly two thousand kinds of materials related to "Silk Road Flower Rain" at his own expense. Xiaobin told me a detail: on May 23, 2019, that is, the early morning of the 40th anniversary of the creation of "Silk Road Flower Rain", the article was just finished. In the afternoon of the same day, he took a taxi to the entrance of the Gansu Provincial Song and Dance Theater and took a photo as a souvenir. "On that day, I sent the manuscript to the Reading Library, and on the same day, I received a reply from the editor-in-chief Lao Liu: 'Publish it as soon as possible.'" Speaking of this, Xiao Bin smiled, his eyes lit up, and his joy overflowed into words.
"You can write more and better with this article. You just write, and I'll give it to you. "I spoke what was on my mind. What I did not expect was that Xiaobin did not hesitate to agree to revise and supplement the article and submit the manuscript to the Readers Publishing House.
Crafted
Xiaobin's article, called "Feitian" (published in the "Reading Library" No. 6, 2019), is about 80,000 words, and provides a detailed description of the background, creative process and subsequent achievements of the dance drama "Silk Road Flower Rain". Behind this long article is the information that Xiao Bin has made great efforts to collect, the amount of information is huge, and not only writes the good and smooth side of the dance drama, but also faithfully restores the hardships and hardships in it, which makes the article read flesh and blood. Reading that the dance drama was finally performed and widely acclaimed after "9981 Difficulties", my eyes could not stop blushing - I deeply felt the power of reality and the power of innovation of old artists. This is a good article that can not be sought, although the writing is still rusty, but polished, it must be a piece of treasure jade. I secretly resolved that I would do my best to live up to my encounter with it.
At that time, I made a publishing plan, expanding the text, adding pictures, editing and processing, typesetting and designing, and racing against the clock in every link. The 40th anniversary of the creation of the dance drama has passed, and Xiaobin and I agree that we should catch this "last train" as soon as possible and publish it in mid-2020.
In the Spring Festival of 2020, the epidemic suddenly broke out and all work was suspended, but it gave me more time to coexist with "Feitian". How can the text be expanded? How much is expanded? What kind of work do I want it to be? A framework gradually became clear after I repeatedly read "Feitian": the value and influence of dance dramas are no secret, there are a lot of relevant materials on the Internet, and Xiaobin's article is valuable in repeating the background and creative process of dance drama creation. The material is exclusive, so the focus should be on this part of the book; having clarified the proportions of the content, I would like it to be an informative and readable work of literature.
Requirements are raised clearly and feedback is received quickly. On March 23, 2020, I received the first draft of Feitian. This manuscript is nearly double the content of the former, and it is more enjoyable to read. However, in the process of reviewing the manuscript, I found that Xiaobin mainly reconstructed and narrated the story from a large number of indirect text materials such as memoirs, documents, and reports and communications, and in comparison, there was a lack of interviews with relevant characters, so that the fullness and artistry of the manuscript were insufficient. Xiaobin also believes that at present, the manuscript only has interviews with Teacher He Yanyun and Teacher Zhang Jingdi, who played the role of Yingniang in the 1979 edition of "Silk Road Flower Rain", and a wide range of rescue interviews with the older generation of artists who are still alive, and it is imminent to obtain first-hand information. The two of us agreed to work together to complete interviews with the older generation of artists who were alive and representative of the artistic genre and to complete the manuscript as soon as possible.
Through Mr. Chen Jun of Gansu Provincial Library, we interviewed Mr. Zhou Yongli, former director of the Gansu Provincial Culture and Art Archive; through Mr. Zhou Yongli, we interviewed Mr. Zhou Wenqin, the sound effects engineer of "Silk Road Flower Rain"; through Mr. Zhou Wenqin, we interviewed Mr. Yan Jianzhong, choreographer of "Silk Road Flower Rain"; through friends in Lanzhou's collection circles, we interviewed Mr. Li Mingqiang, stage artist of "Silk Road Flower Rain"; through Mr. Yang Jianren of Gansu Provincial Cultural and Tourism Department, we interviewed Mr. Liu Yi, the son of Liu Shaoxiong, choreographer of "Silk Road Flower Rain". Mr. Lu Jinlong, former president of the Gansu Provincial Song and Dance Theater; through Mr. Lu Jinlong, we interviewed Mr. Liang Shengming, former reporter of Gansu Daily. With the help of Mr. Liu Yi, we obtained the materials and manuscripts of the crew's earliest trip to Dunhuang; under the generous authorization of Mr. Li Mingqiang, we obtained exclusive scene paintings; with the strong support of teacher Zhou Wenqin, we obtained exclusive pictures of dance dramas; in Mr. Liang Shengming's wonderful memories, we learned about the performance of "Silk Road Flower Rain" in Beijing...
Author Chen Xiaobin (right) visits Mr. Li Mingqiang (left)
According to the information obtained in the initial interview, as well as a large number of telephone re-interviews and re-interviews after knowing the old artists, Xiaobin systematically sorted out and summarized the interview content and revised the manuscript again. On January 26, 2021, the new manuscript was handed over to me. The whole book is divided into 12 chapters, including Origins, Walking through Hexi, Encountering Dunhuang, Dunhuang New Song, Resurrection Mural, Coming Out, Flying Dance, Entering Beijing, Falling Flowers and Rains in the Sky, Going to the World, Dunhuang Dance, and Colorful Flowers and Rains, with a total of about 200,000 words. In the process of communicating with old artists, I gradually clarified the three goals to be achieved in "Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth": First, to make a book with good looks. Due to the limitations of the equipment at that time, most of the pictures taken in the 1979 edition of "Silk Road Flower Rain" were not clear. To this end, I comprehensively selected pictures from Xiaobin's collection, collected pictures extensively through old artists, selected the best of the best, selected the best of the best, and selected more than 100 photographic works, paintings and precious manuscripts of work notes from the 1979 edition of "Silk Road Flower Rain", and strived to make the book a benchmark for appearance. The second is to make a book with depth. As a classic Chinese dance drama of the 20th century, "Silk Road Flower Rain" has attracted experts from all over the country to conduct research and analysis. In order to make the book more full and three-dimensional, I selected the articles of Mr. Duan Wenjie, Mr. Shi Weixiang and Mr. Zhao Zhixun on "Silk Road Flower Rain" from many research articles as an appendix to the book, and at the same time gave the comic strip "Silk Road Flower Rain" that won the national award with the book, which made the whole book appear more breadth and depth. The third is to make a book with temperature. The publishing value of "Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth" is multi-layered, and its publishing significance is not only to tell the story of "Silk Road Flower Rain", but also to find the "temperature" of the Gansu spirit through this book in the Shouzheng innovation of the older generation of artists, and to find the "temperature" of Dunhuang and the Silk Road in the context of China's five thousand years.
In the specific editing process, in order to ensure the high quality of the manuscript, on the basis of "three reviews and three proofs", we invited two external review experts and two foreign school personnel to strictly control the manuscript. After the book was prototyping, we also asked the creators and witnesses of the 1979 edition of the "Silk Road Flower Rain" dance drama to conduct a comprehensive review of the knowledge and historical facts in the book manuscript; in the binding and printing links, we also carried out strict control to ensure the quality of the book. We only have one belief in our hearts, that is, to make the book a good job, to reassure the old artists, and to satisfy the readers.
Kung Fu pays off. In just three months of publication, "Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth" won the 30th "Golden Bull Cup" Chinese American Book Binding Design Award, and was selected into the 2021 Ganban Fine Book Catalog, and the copyright was exported to Russia and Uzbekistan. The comic strip "Silk Road Flower Rain" that accompanies the book will also be released in a Chinese-English version. It can be said that this book has achieved good social and economic benefits, and its influence will continue to increase.
Spiritual baptism
On December 31, 2021, Xiaobin and I went to Teacher Li Mingqiang's house to deliver the printed sample book. After a hurried greeting, Elder Li hurriedly took out a magnifying glass, carefully browsed from the cover and back cover to the inner page and pictures, and from time to time showed a childlike innocent smile on his face, and exclaimed: "I didn't expect you to make the book so beautiful!" Both the editing and the binding design are very well done and I am very satisfied. ”
To be honest, I feel extremely honored to be the planning editor of Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth. Because of this book, Xiaobin and I have the opportunity to get to know many people who have been inspired by "Silk Road Flower Rain" and enthusiastically worked for "Silk Road Flower Rain", and everyone feels that it is a blessing to be able to contribute to "Silk Road Flower Rain". Jiang Dong, a researcher at the Dance Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts, wrote a preface: "The author Chen Xiaobin has sorted out a large number of materials, restored a real history for us, and made the advent process of "Silk Road Flower Rain" vividly remembered. I was very touched by the author's material collation, and the breadth of the information and the height of the combing gave us a sense of presence. The stories in the book are vivid and interesting, and the layers are advanced, which makes people fall in love with them. The richness of relevant knowledge and the completeness of specific matters can be described as the 'encyclopedia' of "Silk Road Flower Rain". The famous sculptor Mr. He E personally wrote a recommendation: "Tribute to the classics." I am glad to see "Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth" in my lifetime. The author, Mr. Chen Xiaobin, is a rare person who loves culture and art, and after more than 40 years of the advent of "Silk Road Flower Rain", he can still calm down for this well-known classical dance drama at home and abroad, trace back to the roots, spare no effort, visit the children of the witnesses, relays, inheritors and late pioneers related to dance drama, and strive to find the initial origin of dance drama, stitch up the trajectory of pregnancy, and restore the inheritance and innovation context. Throughout the book, browsing the Beautiful Text, I was full of emotions and awe. Young critic Wang Yichen wrote a book review: "'Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth' completes the mission of 'storytelling'. The author Chen Xiaobin uses his words to illuminate those diligent and sincere art workers, and it is precisely because of 'telling' that those lonely creative years are discovered, awakened, and will always shine in the reading of every reader. From the Mogao Grottoes to "Silk Road Flower Rain" to "Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth", the birth of this series of art classics is the spirit of Longyuan Land that has always been willing to be lonely. In the northwest corner of the motherland, between the desert and the Gobi, in the roar of the Yellow River, every historical period has such a group of artists who have persevered in loneliness. ”
What's more, in the process of contacting these old artists, their spirit triggered me to think more deeply about life. Mr. Li Mingqiang, the stage artist of "Silk Road Flower Rain", is 86 years old this year, and has won numerous awards in his life, and the comic strip "Silk Road Flower Rain" created in 1980 won the second prize of the second national comic strip painting. Until now, the old man still insists on creating every day. When we proposed to accompany the book with the comic strip "Silk Road Flower Rain", the old man readily agreed and generously authorized it. Mr. Zhou Wenqin, the sound engineer of "Silk Road Flower Rain", is 82 years old this year, and someone bought a full set of photos of "Silk Road Flower Rain" taken by him at a high price, but he was reluctant to do so, but authorized us to publish it in the book. Mr. He E, who created a sculpture for the film version of "Silk Road Flower Rain", is 86 years old this year, and his creative passion is still undiminished, and he works every day and produces good works frequently. When we made a recommendation for writing a paragraph for the picture, Mr. He E readily agreed. Mr. Duan Jianshan, the son of Mr. Duan Wenjie, is 80 years old this year, carefully reviewed Duan Lao's personal introduction and authorized us to use Duan Lao's articles. There is also Mr. Shi Weixiang's son-in-law, Mr. Jin Changming, who also authorized us to use Shi Lao's research articles...
Editor Wang Xianmeng (right) visits Mr. Li Mingqiang (left)
In the process of making the book, I have been asking, why was "Silk Road Flower Rain" born in Gansu? In the process of contacting these old artists, I slowly found the answer. These old artists all say that "Silk Road Flower Rain" is the crystallization of collective wisdom and the product of the times. From them, what I saw was the purest and true love for art, the revolutionary spirit of always maintaining the original intention and mission, and the incomparable love for the land of Gansu. The reason why "Silk Road Flower Rain" was born in Gansu is not only an accident to explore the elements of Dunhuang and tell the story of Gansu well, but also the inevitability of art and the times.
Every time I visit these old artists, I always feel that the time to stay is limited, I don't know enough things, and I reluctantly leave. The communication with them always makes me gain a lot and reminisce for a long time. Even Xiaobin said that after the publication of "Silk Road Flower Rain: Birth", I have worked harder in everything.
Maybe that's the power of the spirit. The old artists are so old and tirelessly helping Chinese culture, and as a young generation, what difficulties can we not overcome? Now whenever I encounter a problem, I always warn myself: "Think of the old artist of "Silk Road Flower Rain". "Yes, the words of the old artists always echo in my ears, and their spirit can always give me courage and encourage me to keep moving forward.