The Lunar New Year is approaching, and the Year of the Rabbit is getting closer and closer. People celebrate the festive season in various ways.
The festival of New Year’s goods is bustling, with colorful folk activities, popular cultural venues, hot fireworks, and a strong New Year’s flavor, and the land of China is full of vigorous spring.
--editor
"Bingdundun" transforms into "Rabbit Dundun" and integrates into the Chinese zodiac culture——
The Year of the Rabbit brings new ideas to culture and creativity
Wearing colorful auspicious cloud armor, with a pair of cute rabbit ears standing on the top of the head, the image is cute...At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, Beijing 2022 Bingdundun Year of the Rabbit special edition series products were released, and "Bingdundun" put on new clothes and transformed into "Rabbit Dun pier", which attracted a lot of attention.
"After the launch of 'Rabbit Dundun', many consumers came to buy it, wanting to send Spring Festival blessings in the Year of the Rabbit." Li Ying, general manager of the cultural and creative branch of Beijing Gongmei Group, said, "Bingdundun" is integrated into the Chinese zodiac culture , highlighting the strong flavor of the year.
Zodiac culture is a unique content of Chinese traditional culture and has become a very important theme in the design of cultural and creative products.
"The zodiac is an important theme in the Spring Festival culture, and it has a wide range of recognition and influence around the world." Lin Cunzhen, the designer of "Rabbit Dundun", introduced that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics coincides with China's most important tradition. Festival - Spring Festival, which coincides with the Chinese "Year of the Tiger", the team refined the traditional "tiger" image elements and designed the "Tiger Dundun" mascot doll.
China's "Year of the Rabbit" is approaching. The team continues to continue the concept of the twelve zodiac signs in product creation and combines it with Beijing folk culture to derive a brand-new Olympic licensed product.
In Lin Cunzhen's studio, in addition to "Rabbit Dundun", there are also some cultural and creative products related to the Year of the Rabbit on display, which are lifelike, exquisite and beautiful.
The "Rabbit Dundun" series of authorized products are divided into four categories: badges, plush toys, key chains and creative ornaments.
"This new product is based on the classic rabbit image 'Rabbit Lord' in Beijing's traditional folk customs, which has regional characteristics." Lin Cunzhen said that in Beijing, "Rabbit Lord" is a popular image and traditional folk toy, implying safety, health, Everything is going well.
The design of "Rabbit Dundun" combines elements such as clothing and rabbit ears with the distinctive characteristics of "Rabbit Master" with "Bing Dundun", reflecting the best wishes for happiness and well-being.
Combining with the cultural and creative trend favored by young people, this series of products also launched the "Rabbit Dun Dun" blind box.
"We integrated the concept of the five elements of 'gold, wood, water, fire, and earth' in traditional culture, and designed helmets of different colors for 'Rabbit Dundun' for each element, and added some creative blessings, which can be pasted on rabbits in the form of stickers. On the ears." Lin Cunzhen said, for example, the Wanghuo rabbit is red, and the blessings often reflect the prosperity of the day.
"Rabbit Dundun" carries the sincere and beautiful feelings of the Chinese people for the Olympic spirit, and also exudes a strong taste of the Chinese New Year. This is not only a cultural and creative practice of traditional culture integrated with fashion trends, but also a tribute to the upcoming Year of the Rabbit. Best wishes for the new year.
(Our reporter Pan Junqiang)
Shadow puppets staged in Huangfengtang Village, Yiyang City, Hunan Province——
Happy New Year with light and shadow
In the evening, the lights gradually turned on the beautiful house in Zhugenling, Huangfengtang Village, Yuejiaqiao Town, Heshan District, Yiyang City, Hunan Province.
On the small stage in the square, the old shadow puppet artist Liu Maosheng and a few guys began to prepare for the performance of shadow puppetry to celebrate the New Year that night.
As the Spring Festival is approaching, Heshan District has successively carried out the "Culture Entering Thousands of Households" activity, allowing villagers to experience the charm of culture at close range.
As one of the inheritors of the Hunan provincial intangible cultural heritage "traditional paper shadow making skills" - Yuejiaqiao Shadow Puppet Troupe is the main force of the performance.
"People like to watch it, and we are also happy to perform. Since Laba, the people in the troupe have basically never been idle." He Guichun, the cultural director of Yuejiaqiao Town and the convener of the troupe, said.
The cadres of Huangfengtang Village released the performance information in the villagers' WeChat group early on.
Before 6:30 p.m., the small square was already packed with spectators.
In the bustling square, there is a Chinese New Year atmosphere.
Just as he was talking, a drum sounded, followed by huqin, big gongs, small gongs, cymbals, bangus, one-character boards and other musical instruments.
While everyone held their breath and waited, a beam of light suddenly shot out, illuminating the shadow cloth.
The shadow puppet props reflected the images of tables, chairs and benches on the shadow cloth. Liu Maosheng held the sign with both hands and moved it skillfully. The kraft paper pattern became a lifelike "shadow man" and "live" on the shadow cloth.
Musician Liu Guihong opened her voice, her voice was melodious and clear—the first play of the night, "Family Happiness", started.
He Guichun said that this play mainly tells the story of a family working together, which should be in line with the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. During the previous rehearsal, he deliberately added auspicious blessings and expectations for a better life to the libretto.
The familiar dialect singing made everyone applaud again and again.
According to incomplete statistics, there were 41 official performance teams at the peak of the shadow puppet performance in Yuejiaqiao Town, with more than 280 artists, and more than 100 all-rounders who were good at performing and singing as well as playing and drawing.
In recent years, Yuejiaqiao Town has provided venues for traditional cultural performances such as shadow puppetry through the construction of beautiful houses for ordinary people to carry out cultural and entertainment activities.
"As long as there is a need, the town can form a team of shadow puppet artists with more than 20 people at any time." He Guichun said.
During the Spring Festival, the shadow puppet troupes of Yuejiaqiao Town will continue to perform many traditional shadow puppet plays.
As a local repertoire during the Spring Festival, the content of these repertoires is close to the production and living customs of the masses, and is very popular among the masses.
With the in-depth promotion of the "Culture Entering Thousands of Families" activity, during the Spring Festival this year, Heshan District will hold more than 70 cultural activities such as sending Spring Festival couplets, displaying intangible cultural heritage skills, and sending Hunan opera to the countryside.
(Our reporter Shen Zhilin)
Nanning, Guangxi held a special concert——
The new sound of national style and elegant rhyme
Pipa, Sheng, Ruan, Erhu... Located in the People's Theater in Qingxiu District, Nanning City, Guangxi, the exhibition of traditional folk musical instruments on display has attracted many citizens.
On the day of the New Year's Eve, a national tide concert called "Osmanthus and Elegance" will be held here.
At the rehearsal scene, the stage was illuminated by soft lighting, and post-90s actors in traditional costumes seemed to have traveled through ancient paintings.
Playing the zither, playing the ruan, and blowing the sheng, the melodious harmony of silk and bamboo lingers for a long time.
"The Guochao Concert will collide and integrate the excellent traditional Chinese culture and trendy music, absorbing from the tradition and inheriting from the music." said Wu Zhenjia, deputy general manager of Nanning Art Theater Co., Ltd. and chief director of "Grass of Guifeng".
One song, one landscape, one music and one story.
The stage play "Hundred Birds Clothes" created around the story of the national intangible cultural heritage project Zhuang people's hundreds of birds' clothes, the folk music "Fantasy Liu Sanjie" that integrates national culture and modern aesthetics, and "Lanting Preface" that mixes traditional Nanning drama Yong opera and popular songs , the sound and picture collection "Market", which reproduces the bustling scenes of Nanning's three streets and two alleys, and "Lexiu Bagui" depicting beautiful landscapes... Each piece of music with unique local characteristics tells the beauty of landscape and humanities.
"Chinese music, light and shadow, video, and stage space are organically integrated, not only for the audience to hear, but also for the audience to see." Tuo Qingyu, a 32-year-old Sheng performer in this performance, said frankly that she has rich stage experience. This is the first time I have participated in this form of performance. "Over the years, we can clearly feel that the audience's enthusiasm for folk music has increased. When we performed at the grassroots level, we heard familiar music, and the audience would sing and applaud along with the melody. This made us very popular. Encourage."
"Compared with the New Year's concerts in previous years, this year's performance incorporates more traditional cultural elements." Liang Jie, manager of the Marketing Promotion Department of Nanning Art Theater Co., Ltd., introduced that the main performance of the performance is instrumental music performance, with situational dance and chanting The performance is embellished, with modern dance beauty as the backdrop, and the fusion of traditional music, stories and modern expression methods. There are few concerts like this in Nanning.
"I want to experience the traditional culture more as the Chinese New Year is approaching. I am going to take my children to experience the charm of traditional Chinese music." Chen Li, a citizen who has purchased tickets, is very much looking forward to the performance.
As the Spring Festival approaches, there are still many cultural and artistic performances to be staged.
In Jiangnan District, Nanning City, young actors of Guangxi Theater Theater are walking on the stage in the rehearsal hall, rehearsing intensively the performance on the eve of the New Year's Eve-the Peking Opera "Camellia Royal History".
This repertoire was awarded the Excellent Repertoire of the 8th China Peking Opera Art Festival, showing a strong local style.
"We will perform a play every New Year's Day. The leading actors are all actors who can play the leading role. The performance has been rehearsed and polished many times. We hope to give the public a better viewing experience." Li Jing, head of the publicity department of Guangxi Theater Theater, said.
(Our reporter Zhu Jiaqi)
"People's Daily" (11th Edition, January 13, 2023)