Chinanews.com, Jinan, January 24th, title: "Rabbit King" is a hot seller in the Year of the Rabbit: Mud rhyme vividly expresses Chinese mythology IP meets folk crafts
Author Lu Yan
A small three-petal mouth, two slender ears, a golden helmet, a golden armor and a big red robe, with four flags on the back, a jade pestle in hand, and a golden bowl sitting on top of the auspicious clouds. Under the auspicious clouds, Baotu Spring, Black Tiger Spring, Wulongtan and other spring water landscapes with unique Jinan characteristics... On the 24th, in the shop of Yang Feng, the intangible heritage inheritor of "Rabbit King" in Jinan, Shandong, colorful "Rabbit Kings" were lined up neatly.
Because it symbolizes peace, health and auspiciousness, and has the beautiful meaning of curing diseases and disasters, it ushers in a hot sale in the Year of the Rabbit.
Yang Feng said that the prototype of the "Rabbit King" is the "Jade Rabbit" in Chinese mythology.
According to legend, there was a strange disease that spread to Jinan in ancient times. The Jade Rabbit, who was pounding fairy medicine in the Moon Palace, smashed the medicine cake and threw it into the "seventy-two famous springs" in Jinan. The people who drank the spring recovered quickly. So in the Mid-Autumn Festival, a clay sculpture of the Rabbit God is enshrined.
"In Beijing it is called 'Rabbit Master', while in Jinan it is called 'Rabbit King'."
The picture shows "Rabbit King Riding a Tiger".
Photo by Qi Jianyue
"Rabbit King" belongs to the art of colored sculpture in traditional Chinese folk crafts, that is, it is made of clay and decorated with colors.
Its production process is divided into more than 10 processes and more than 30 steps, such as mud mixing, tire making, mold turning, mold impression, mold opening, tire repair, white painting, and face opening.
"The 'Spring City Rabbit King' series of works I created incorporates more local characteristics and spring water elements on the basis of inheriting the tradition." Yang Feng said, including the "spring" deformed in seal script on the face of the "Rabbit King" The characters draw facial makeup, and incorporate spring landscapes, poems chanting springs, spring name seals, etc. The works carry the urban culture of Jinan.
Yang Feng said that carving the "Jade Rabbit" into warriors with golden helmets and armor, some riding tigers, lions, elephants and other auspicious animals, and some riding peacocks, cranes and other birds, this is also a bold creation of folk artists.
There is also a long rope protruding from the base of the "Rabbit King". Whenever the rope is pulled, its arms and pestle will move up and down, making rattling sounds, which is even more popular.
"My first work was bought by a tourist from New Zealand. He said that rabbits also have beautiful meanings in their country." Yang Feng said.
In 2006, he participated in a cultural art tourism exhibition in Singapore, and brought his works abroad for the first time. At that exhibition, "Rabbit King" was also brought to all parts of the world by tourists from all over the world.
"Many foreign tourists take the 'Rabbit King' back to their country as a gift. I also hope that 'Rabbit King', as a cultural carrier and symbol, can display traditional Chinese culture in a wider space."
The picture shows the colorful "Rabbit King" neatly arranged in the showcase.
Photo by Qi Jianyue
"'The Rabbit King' also embodies the colorfulness of Chinese mythology and culture. From the mythology, people create many vivid and interesting images, and concretize these images into various works to embellish people's lives. These mythical IPs also It is deeply loved by children." Yang Feng said.
"Chinese myths and stories belong to the folk literature category of intangible cultural heritage. Because of their rich content and surrealism, they have had a broad public base since ancient times, and they have provided a wealth of resources for the creation of various art forms of traditional intangible cultural heritage. The material and modeling reference.” Jiang Haitao, a professor at the School of Design of Shandong University of the Arts, said that Chinese mythology IP has distinctive characteristics that are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people from image to character, and has a huge “fan” base.
Using mythological prototypes or elements as characteristics, excavating and extracting cultural symbols that resonate with people, deconstructing and recreating them with modern aesthetic concepts, so as to reflect the spiritual and cultural meaning behind them, so that the intangible cultural heritage can truly realize the inheritance and development of the living state .
Jiang Haitao suggested that in the future, in the context of modern culture and digital technology, on the basis of respecting and protecting intangible cultural heritage skills, we can realize the transformation of intangible cultural heritage from cultural heritage to creative resources through concept innovation and model innovation, and strive to use The trendy way renews traditional customs, creates a future-oriented production and communication method, combines content, vision, quality and functionality, and creates intangible cultural heritage works and cultural and creative products with brand-new life experience and artistic enjoyment.
(Finish)