Wen | Chu Xi
When it comes to dwarfs, our first reaction is the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in Grimm's fairy tale. Readers who are familiar with Norse mythology may also think of the legend of the dwarf dwarf, a demigod of the same race as the elves but not the same fate in its four major lineages.
In the great literary critic Mr. Mao Dun's "Norse Mythology", this has been explained in great detail. Those demigods known as dwarves or dwarfs, maggots from the backlit face of the body of the frost giant Imir, are afraid of the sun, and they are also dark and ugly, and their personalities are also very cunning, so they do not attract the Norse gods, and they are banished to the underground dwarf country (Swartalfaheim), and they are not allowed to come to the ground during the day, otherwise they will turn into stones.
In order to be looked up to by the gods, the dwarves are in the dark underground dwarf country, always thinking about how to use underground resources, dig up treasures, make weapons and jewelry, and so on... Because of this, the dwarves made the famous Thor Hammer, Shiv's blonde hair, Odin's spear, magic treasure ship and other artifacts, gaining the impression of a skilled craftsman.
Based on this, I thought that I had a certain understanding of dwarfs, but after carefully reading the picture book "Dwarf", I found that my understanding of dwarfs was far from enough, and there were even many misunderstandings.
The picture book "Dwarf" is a classic masterpiece of Dutch writer Will Hagen and Dutch illustrator Ryan Putwood with two hands, which was published as early as 1977 and quickly swept the world and received rave reviews; it can be said to be a small book as warm as "The Little Prince".
This book is the two authors spent 20 years observing, recording, and fully painting the fantasy creatures - the daily life of the dwarfs, from the historical background and types of the dwarfs, to food, clothing, housing, household industries, language and writing, and even related legends and stories... All of this, everything you can think of and everything you can't think of about the dwarfs, is carefully written in this book by the two authors, supplemented by exquisite watercolor illustrations, which makes people very interested in reading, and unconsciously indulge in the dwarf world built by the author.
Picture Book Catalog
Frankly speaking, in the process of reading this book, I have had countless moments when I thought that the dwarfs really exist in our world, only because the details of the two authors' detailed descriptions and portrayals of the dwarf world were so precise and detailed that people were breathtaking, and I couldn't help but want to believe it
Especially at the beginning of the picture book, the author also said with a deliberate sentence, "Of course, we also got permission from the Dwarf Committee to deal with this matter - tell you, they considered it for five years before approving it."
Picture book inside page
You don't have to say, this really makes people feel a real sense of substitution. Subsequently, the book begins a comprehensive observation and record of the world of dwarfs.
The ancestors of the dwarfs date back to the early inhabitants of Scandinavia. They appeared in the Dutch lowlands around 449 AD, and the limited information available at hand can conclude that dwarfs had long since merged with our human society between 50 and 100 years before the reign of Charlemagne. The origin of the name "dwarf" is the ancient Germanic word for Kuba-Walda, which means "housekeeper" or "elf of the house".
As for the types of dwarfs, they can be divided into the following categories according to their place of residence: forest dwarfs, dune dwarfs, garden dwarfs, farm dwarfs, house dwarfs and Siberian dwarfs.
Thinking like this, the seven dwarfs in Grimm's fairy tale who were designed by her stepmother to escape to the forest are the "forest dwarfs" mentioned in the picture book, or "dwarfs in the forest", and they are also the most common dwarfs
Their appearance can also be typical of the average dwarf, i.e., they wear red pointed hats, have long beards that are never trimmed, have a blue blouse on the upper body, a belt with a tool bag hanging from the waist, and green-brown pants and shoes on the lower body. Of course, this is the male dwarf's dress, with a white face, red cheeks like apples, and smile lines all around the eye sockets.
And female dwarfs, will have some different appearances before and after marriage, here is not much to repeat, leave it to interested readers to read it on their own
Inner page of The Secret Book of Dwarves
In addition, the picture book also seriously popularizes the dwarfs and other monsters such as elves, evil ghosts, house ghosts, ugly monsters, dwarf monsters, water ghosts, forest demons, mountain demons, goblins... The difference between the two and so on can be regarded as a complete literacy for us.
Returning to the demigods of Norse mythology associated with the opening chapter, the dwarf dwarfs, and the dwarfs here are obviously not the same type. The author has written in detail in the picture book, "The dwarf monsters are only male, and they are almost extinct." The tallest is 120 centimeters, and the average dwarf monster is not so tall... They dug up gold and silver in the mines and lived together in groups. They are all very skilled metal craftsmen... None of the gnomes grow beards."
Of course, perhaps some readers will be dismissive and feel the need to distinguish so carefully? But this is precisely what the author of this book admires, with a serious and rigorous scientific observation attitude, to treat the classic creatures of European fairy tale literature- the historical record and life habits of the dwarfs.
And taking the wonderful dwelling of the dwarf as an example, let's feel the details of this part.
The first thing that catches the eye is the large illustration of the double page, which can see the entire dwelling of the dwarf at a glance; then it is guided by letters, introducing the role of each functional area one by one, and then the in-depth introduction of each area, including the process and purpose of construction.
Among them, the most ironic is the dwarf's "gorgeous decoration" of the toilet - not only will the toilet door be embedded with gems, but also when decorating the (toilet) throne, but also strive for the best in carving and paint. In the end, it is only because the dwarf goes to the toilet, never rushes, and even hides inside to do handicrafts... Sure enough, from ancient times to the present, whether it is humans or dwarfs, toilets have always been the most inspiring space?
Of course, in the 175-page 16-page picture book, the dwarves are introduced in great detail, but also their own timekeeping methods, language, entertainment and socialization, and more importantly, the dwarfs' birthday trees, love, marriage and family life, as well as the family industry, and the way they and the animals get along with each other... Wait, it's an encyclopedia of dwarfs.
If it weren't for the author's inclusion of nine dwarf-related legends at the end of the picture book, I would really suspect that I was reading a rigorous scientific book- and that there really is a small dwarf world in our big world.
As the translator of this book, Mr. Lin Liang, said in the article "Thought by the Dwarf" at the end of the picture book, "The whole thing seems to be a joke, but the pleasing picture and the knowledge of the head is the Tao will make you have to admit that you have just received a baptism of cultivation and science after reading this book."
So, aren't you curious? Don't want to read it quickly?
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I am @ Chu Xisi reading and painting, thanks for reading and looking forward to attention.