Master Mei Lanfang: More than 60 years later, technology has reunited us

The launching ceremony of the "Digital Mei Lanfang" Master Reproduction Project was recently held at the Mei Lanfang Grand Theatre, and guests from the scientific and technological circles and literary and art circles witnessed the stunning debut of the first "high-precision Peking Opera Digital Person" in China, and Mr. Mei Lanfang's "twin digital person" reappeared in a realistic form. Mr. Mei Lanfang, a 26-year-old, appeared on the big screen: "It has been more than 60 years since my last appearance, I did not expect us to meet again, thanks to the progress of science and technology, I look forward to our future meetings will have more forms." ”

It is reported that the project was jointly initiated by the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Institute of Technology, provided by Tencent, funded by the "Outstanding Young Scientists of Beijing Universities" program, and strongly supported by the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing Foreign Chinese University and other units, as well as Mr. Mei Lanfang's family and disciples. It aims to reproduce Mr. Mei Lanfang, the master of Peking Opera, through high-fidelity digital human technology, to create a twin digital person of Mei Lanfang who is close to a real person in appearance, shape, voice, performance and other aspects, to explore the innovative communication format that inherits the spirit of Chinese civilization and the national essence of Peking Opera, and hopes to build a "Chinese" digital asset library based on this model. The significance of "Digital Mei Lanfang Master Reproduction" is to give vitality and vitality to the great figures in history through modern science and technology, so that these vivid "Chinese objects" can become the spiritual totem of Chinese culture that spans time and space, transcends the country, is full of eternal charm and has contemporary value.

Professor Song Zhen, the initiator of the project and director of the High-tech Research Center for The Digitization of Traditional Drama of the Central Academy of Drama, said: The Digital Master Project adheres to the original intention of "loyalty and filial piety", "loyalty" means to be responsible for the country and the promotion of the excellent culture of the nation, and "filial piety" means to inherit and carry forward the achievements of civilization of the predecessors and the current national scholars.

In the process of promoting the project, scientists from many universities and research institutions have developed and integrated a number of high-tech technologies. The goal of the current stage of the project is to create two digital assets of Mr. Mei Lanfang's character: first, to create a digital asset of the character of the 26-year-old Mr. Mei lanfang in casual clothes; After that, it is based on his Mu Guiying hanging style to create a costume version of the character digital asset. At the same time, with the digital assets of three-dimensional characters as the core, it connects all kinds of digital data related to traditional Chinese culture, including tangible cultural data such as costumes and cultural plays, as well as intangible cultural data such as opera movements, manners, and singing voices.

As a public welfare project initiated by universities and collaborative innovation between industry, education and research, "Digital Mei Lanfang" has received strong support from all walks of life in the initiation process. Professor Zhang Wei, Director of the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, presented the project team with a 1:1 bronze statue of Mr. Mei Lanfang's head made for project research, and Mr. Mei Lanfang's grandson Fan Meiqiang composed a poem to give to the project team...

In the future, the project team will continue to iterate on relevant technologies and digital assets of characters, and continue to promote the application of "Digital Mei Lanfang Master" in the fields of national heritage inheritance, traditional culture dissemination, and art IP construction.