Hello everyone, I am a knife and a pen, a history buff. Today I would like to introduce you to an old animated film, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which was produced by Toei Corporation in Japan, began drawing in 1987, and completed in 1991, which is older than my age. This is a very classic animated film depicting the Three Kingdoms that once impressed me. In terms of structure, it is divided into three parts, namely "The Dawn of Heroes", "The Burning Yangtze River", and "The Vast Land", which mainly tells the whole story from the beginning of the Yellow Turban Uprising to the death of Zhuge Liang's illness and Death. From the perspective of art, the character design of this animated film is quite distinctive, to a certain extent, it refers to the character drawing of China's early comic strip version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and also affects the character image of the later Sino-Japanese cooperative animation "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The most classic and widely circulated part of this animated film may be its soundtrack, the opening song "Dawn of heroes" was once the Soundtrack of the Hong Kong version (Gu Tianle version) of "Eagle Hero", and the ending song "The Legend of heroic flowers" was also loved by many because of its beautiful melody. It can be said that Toei's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has many remarkable places. Next, I will share with you how I felt watching this animated film.
Main line: The framework is clear and clear, and the fly in the ointment is the details
The picture shows the young Zhuge Liang in the film who still has a hand in his hand during the war and chaos
Toei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms is based on the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so the protagonists of this animated film are obviously Shu Han characters. Therefore, the performance of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu in the film is particularly prominent. In the first "Dawn of Heroes", the film promotes Liu Bei's struggle and Zhuge Liang's growth process simultaneously, and foreshadows that the two will eventually join forces because of their similar interests. From the overall logic of the three components, it mainly describes the process of Liu Bei's step-by-step establishment of the Shu Han regime. Therefore, the main line of the entire animated film is very clear, that is, it describes the struggle process of the Shu Han people led by Liu Bei, and it can also be said to be a history of the struggle of the Shu Han.
Due to its age, this animated film also has some shortcomings, mainly in some details. For example, the titles (Sun Quan, Liu Zhang) appear in some names that do not conform to the historical era; for example, the biographies of the characters (Zhou Yu, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong) are handled more generally and not meticulously; for example, some events are simplified and deduced (six out of Qishan, cooking wine on heroes). The lack of detail has led many Three Kingdoms fans to point out the various errors of the animated film. But in my opinion, although the film is insufficient in details, the whole story still falls within the big framework and does not deviate from the direction of the development of the Three Kingdoms story. From today's point of view, we can naturally find many problems, but if we go back to the production situation at that time, we do not need to be harsh, but we need to examine it with a tolerant attitude.
Characters: Fictional supporters and witnesses
Different works of art have their own fictions and interpretations. This animated film is no exception. In my opinion, several of the fictions in the film are very subtle, especially the supporters of the Shu Han struggle and the witnesses of the rise and fall of the Shu Han. Here I will focus on three people.
The picture shows Liu Bei's mother's entrustment to Liu Bei on her deathbed in the film
The first character is Liu Bei's mother in the first "Dawn of Heroes". Neither in fiction nor history, Liu Bei's mother has ever appeared in a concrete image. However, in this animated film, Liu Bei's mother is an elder with an elegant temperament and a deep understanding of things, she has been silently supporting Liu Bei, and she is also well aware of Liu Bei's advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, she said to Guan and Zhang on the verge of death in Xuzhou: "This child (Liu Bei) has always held a lofty ideal, but if he can't do anything on his own, I hope that you (you) can help him complete this ideal." Although it is bitter for you, I want you to promise me, okay? This passage is full of warm instructions, which makes people very moved. It can be said that Liu Bei's mother is the supporter behind Liu Bei's struggle, Liu Guanzhang's brothers' struggle, and Shu Han's struggle, at the same time, through the words of Liu Bei's mother, we can also see the image of Liu Bei in history, compared with Cao Cao, Liu Bei's talent and strategy are indeed lacking (running around, winning less and losing more), and the reason why Liu Bei can stand is not only with a tenacious will, but also by playing the banner of righteousness and his own popularity to a certain extent, which also reflects that Liu Bei and Shu Han need the strength of everyone, that is, to get "people and" To be able to gain a foothold in a chaotic world.
The picture shows the wedding of Liu Bei and his wife Lihua in the film
The second character is Liu Bei's wife. Different from history and novels, this animated film Liu Bei's wife is named Lihua, born in a wealthy merchant family, in the early years of mashi and the young Liu Bei fell in love at first sight, because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, his family was killed by the Yellow Turban Army, he was saved by Liu Bei, after which the two were destined for life, and finally married in Xuzhou. This Lady Lihua in the film, who also serves all the contents of history and novels of Mrs. Gan and Elk, is not only Liu Chan's birth mother, but also in Changshanpo, in order to allow Zhao Yun to successfully protect Liu Chan and escape, she resolutely jumped into the well and committed suicide. In the film, Liu Bei and her have a very good relationship, and Liu Bei did not remarry after his death, which is a typical example of Liu Bei's single-minded feelings in very few works of art, and also subverts Liu Beiyun's contempt for women's image of "wife like clothes". Like the fictional Mother of Liu Bei, Lady Lihua has always been a supporter of Liu Bei and the Liu Bei brothers' struggle. In addition, a similar image of a wife in the film also includes Zhuge Liang's wife, named Xiulan (actually an image of Huang Yueying), who is a woman whose appearance is not proud but frank and generous.
The picture shows the father and daughter of Guan Yu and Feng Ji in the film
If the first two appear as supporters, the third is a witness to the rise and fall of the entire Story of the Three Kingdoms. In the film, her name is Fengji, who appears in the third part of "The Vast Land", and is the daughter that Guan Yu picked up on the battlefield and entrusted to be raised. In the film, Feng Ji teaches martial arts through Zuo Ci and eventually becomes acquainted with Guan Yu with the help of Zhuge Liang. In my opinion, the design of this character is the biggest highlight of the whole film. Guan Yu's daughter is mentioned in both fiction and history, but I don't think there is anything more plump about the design of her image than this film.
The picture shows the armed image of Fengji in the film
Feng Ji has experienced ups and downs and has complex character relationships. In the film, she has always thought that she is Guan Yu's biological daughter, but in fact, she is an orphan that Guan Yu picked up on the battlefield of Shouchun. At the same time, Feng Ji was also a disciple of Zuo Ci, possessing Ji Shi's chivalrous heart and a good martial art. Later, through Zhuge Liang's introduction, she fell in love with the young talent Ma Mo and became Ma Mo's wife. Therefore, here, Feng Ji not only has a father-daughter relationship with Guan Yu, a feeling of passion for Zhuge Liang (with the help of Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu), a teacher-student relationship with Zuo Ci, a child relationship with Ma Chen, and a family and national relationship that bears the dream of Shu Han, and the relationships and emotions of large and small sizes and emotions are intertwined, making her image three-dimensional and vivid.
The picture shows Ma Mo and Feng Ji in the film
The subtlety of the film's design is that it does not design Fengji's character too limited, but gives it multiple roles. Since she was not Guan Yu's biological daughter, Guan Yu did not want Feng Ji to carry too many burdens (the descendants of famous generals and family feelings) before her death, but hoped that she could live a carefree life of ordinary people. In order to let her come out of the sadness of losing his "father", Zhuge Liang introduced the sympathetic Ma Mo to Feng Ji, but Ma Mo's fate was linked to the rise and fall of the country. After the defeat of Jieting, Zhuge Liang tearfully beheaded Ma Mo for the sake of strict military discipline of shu Han, which made Feng Ji heartbroken and never asked about the affairs of the state. Later, due to Zhuge Liang's exhaustion in Qishan, Fengji's reappearance gave Zhuge Liang great comfort before his death, and Zhuge Liang also confessed to Fengji that the soldiers were ominous, hoping that Fengji could return to a normal life.
The picture shows Feng Ji pretending to be Zhuge Liang to scare off Sima Yi after Zhuge Liang's death
The role transformation between the heir of Shu Han's dream and the ordinary ordinary person back and forth makes Feng ji's role diverse, and after being a member of Shu Han and a famous general, she shoulders the unfinished ideals of her predecessors. As an ordinary woman, she has the honor of being a witness to the struggle of many heroes. In fact, in my opinion, the design of the role of Fengji is implied: sometimes we may not be the heroes of the times, nor are we related to the heroes, but we admire the heroes, and it is inevitable that there will be a lot of baggage on us. Feng Ji's painstaking process of confessing her father I think can illustrate this point. However, when the times tend to be stable, the hero eventually has to return to the ordinary life. That's why in the end, both Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang wanted Feng Ji to be able to live an ordinary life without worry. Heroes' struggles are usually full of hardships and even sacrifices, but they are indeed respectable. Both Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Ma Mo ultimately explained this, and Feng Ji's uniqueness lies in witnessing the process of the heroic struggle of the Shu Han Dynasty.
It can be seen that in the film, whether from the perspective of supporters or witnesses, the entire film is highly affirmed to the characters who work hard, whether these characters succeed or fail in the end, I think this is also where we are worth thinking about (not to talk about heroes in terms of success or failure, pay attention to the process).
Expression: The spirit of Shu Han
Shu Han has always been the object of praise for various works of art. For a long time, I have also been thinking about this question, what kind of spirit has prompted the Shu Han characters to be commemorated for thousands of years. Here, I would like to share my views in conjunction with this animated film.
The first is persistence in difficult situations. It cannot be denied that whether it is history or fiction, the image of the Shu Han characters headed by Liu Bei is very tenacious, although they have been running around for a long time and have no fixed place to live, but the more frustrated they are, the more they are frustrated, the more they are determined, and their faith is not extinguished. In the film, Guan Yu once used a metaphor to encourage Liu Bei when He was depressed- "This fish is called mud fish, when the river dried up during the dry period, the river dried up, they would burrow into the mud, they could endure drought for a long time, and survive." When the rainy season comes, they will drill out the mud and move, and with the rainwater flow into the Yellow River. Now we are trapped in the mud, and if we can persevere to the end, we will certainly be able to swim freely in the water in the future. "I think this metaphor is very vivid. In fact, the Shu Han regime, like this mud fish, persisted in the difficult situation, and this persistence was passed on, from Liu Bei (running around and toiling) to Zhuge Liang, from Zhuge Liang (struggling to maintain the fortunes of the country) to Jiang Wei (vowing to defend to the death). This is worth thinking about and learning from most of us (people encounter many difficulties in their lives, and they need to have the belief of not giving up, not being afraid of suffering, and being able to persevere).
The picture shows liu Bei's entrustment to Zhuge Liang on his deathbed in the film
The second is to think about people's livelihood. Undoubtedly, all kinds of works of art show the importance that the Shu Han dynasty attached to people's livelihood based on "people". This animated film also mentions liu bei and Zhuge Liang many times to establish a country where the people live and work in peace and contentment. Of course, these beautiful visions are all processed in works of art, in fact, as Mr. Zhang Zuoyao commented, the historical Liu Bei advocated rationality, but was not bound by reason, and in my opinion, the same is true of the Shu Han regime. However, the gap between history and fiction does not prevent the importance and thinking of people's livelihood that is extended with the Shu Han as the starting point. In addition, this animation also reflects on the war, that is, Zhuge Liang said to Feng Ji before his death: "From now on, don't let you hold weapons with both hands, in the next era, no one will benefit from fighting, and your destiny is to inspire this group of ignorant people..." Here at the same time, it is mentioned that it is very remarkable to replace the conquest by force with the wisdom of the people.
The picture shows the instructions of Zhuge Liang to Fengji on his deathbed
The third is to dare to love and dare to hate. It is undeniable that whether in this animated film or in the novel or even in history, the personality of Shu Han's characters is very distinct, and most of them are more emotional than rational. Such a group of characters love and hate, envy and hatred, and are naturally welcomed by people.
As I said before, As an old animated film, Toei's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has a lot of remarkable points, and everyone's feelings are different, and the above is just my personal opinion. If you want to get your feelings from it, you also need to watch it carefully and taste it slowly.
About the Author:
Knife and pen, real name Chen Si, history buff. He once published an article in the magazine "Wenshi Tiandi" entitled "Gao Rou, a judicial official who was "clear in jurisprudence" during the Cao Wei period." The author of the official team of "History University Hall" has published more than 20 articles on the three countries on the platform. "White Horse Shinichi" invited original author, is creating a series of articles on the "Three Kingdoms of the Tea House".