感受四百年前泥彩塑兔兒爺的非凡韻味
撰稿:吳家榕
一雙長長的尖耳朵,涂著胭脂的臉蛋上點綴著山形眉、三瓣嘴,背後插著一桿鮮艷的令旗,身披金甲,手搗藥杵,端坐在蓮花座上的兔兒爺盡顯威風。過去每逢中秋節,北京城內家家戶戶都會供奉兔兒爺,舉行祭拜兔兒爺的儀式,兔兒爺寓意和象徵豐富,坐騎不同的兔兒爺含義各不相同。作為老北京特有的文化産物,2014年兔兒爺被獲批列入第四批國家級非物質文化遺産名錄,關注和喜愛兔爺的人越來越多。
With a pair of long, pointed ears and a rouged face embellished with mountain-shaped eyebrows and a three-flap mouth, Lord Rabbit, sitting upright on a lotus seat and pounding medicine with a pestle in his hand, shows all his prestige in a golden armour, with a vibrant flag of command inserted on his back. In the past, on every Mid-autumn Festival, every household in Beijing would make offerings to Lord Rabbit and hold a ceremony to worship him. Lord Rabbit symbolizes a lot of things and figurines of different postures have different meanings. As a unique cultural product of ancient Beijing, painted clay figurines of Lord Rabbit were approved in 2014 as one ofthe fourth batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage items , and since then more and more people have shown their interest in and love of Lord Rabbit figurines.
北京市西城區楊梅竹斜的街道(注意:楊梅竹斜街的斷句應該是楊梅竹 斜街,而不是楊梅 竹斜 街)上熙熙攘攘,有這樣一家小店令人駐足,一尊尊形態各異、或坐或立的兔兒爺吸引著往來遊客。這裡也是北京第五代泥彩塑傳承人——張忠強老師日常工作的地方。無論是外國人、小孩子或者是年輕人,張忠強老師看到駐足的遊客便會親切的招呼他們,拿出一塊泥,用一根鉛筆,便能製作一個活靈活現的泥塑小動物,短暫的製作過程就讓往來遊客都感受到了泥彩塑的魅力。
Along the bustling Yangmeizhu Byway in Xicheng District, Beijing stands a small shop that attracts people to pause and have a look. In this shop, figurines of Lord Rabbit, in different shapes, with different looks, sitting or standing, fascinate tourists passing by. Here is also the working place for Mr. Zhang Zhongqiang, the fifth generation of inheritor of painted clay sculpture in Beijing. Whether it is a foreigner or a Chinese child or young person, Mr. Zhang will always greet the tourist who stops to watch in a friendly manner. He takes out a piece of clay and makes with only a pencil a vivid clay sculpture of some animal. Production in such a short time has already let tourists feel the charm of clay sculpture.
北京第二外國語學院塞爾維亞留學生優萬娜滿懷期待地走進這間小店,在參觀完形態各異、表情生動的兔兒爺後,她問道:“我非常好奇到底需要多麼高超的技藝才能創造出如此生動的彩塑,您可以告訴我關於兔爺的故事嗎?我太好奇了!”張忠強老師拿著一個兔兒爺娓娓道來了它的歷史……兔兒爺的誕生源自廣寒宮搗藥的玉兔,有一年京城瘟疫肆虐,嫦娥派玉兔下凡為百姓治病,玉兔不辭辛勞,走訪千家萬戶為其醫治,直至驅走北京城這場瘟疫,這讓玉兔的形象深入了百姓心中,從此人們創造了兔兒爺,每逢中秋節人們便會祭拜為家人祈盼平安健康。
You Wanna, a Serbian student from Beijing International Studies University walked into the shop with great anticipation. After seeing Lord Rabbit figurines with different postures and vivid expressions, she asked, "I'm very curious about what superb craft is needed as to create such vivid painted sculptures. Can you tell me the story about Lord Rabbit? I'm so curious!" Mr. Zhang Zhongqiang held a figurine in his hand and recounted the history of Lord Rabbit... Lord Rabbit derives from Jade Rabbit that pounds medicine in Guanghan Palace. One year, plague was rampant in the capital. Chang'e sent Jade Rabbit down to the earth to treat the disease. The Rabbit spared no effort to visit thousands of households and treat the sick until the plague was expelled, which helped the image of Jade Rabbit win the hearts of Chinese people. Since then, people have created Lord Rabbit. On every Mid-autumn Festival people will worship Lord Rabbit and pray for the safety and health of their families.
兔兒爺的製作過程繁複而精細,包括選料、曬料、錘鍊、加棉、塑形、修坯、打磨、彩繪、裝飾等多個環節,要從一團泥變成精美的兔兒爺,絕非一日之功。張忠強老師攥著畫筆,輕輕地在兔兒爺的臉上畫了幾筆,一個悠然淡遠、慈眉善目的兔兒爺便活靈活現的躍然眼前,優萬娜也拿起畫筆,模倣著老師的樣子,繪製一個屬於她的兔兒爺。在勾勒線條、搭配色彩的過程中,優萬娜深刻感受到了兔兒爺的魅力,對製作技藝的精湛讚嘆不已。
The production of a Lord Rabbit figurine is complicated and delicate, including the steps of material selection, sun-drying, hammering, adding cotton, shaping, repairing, polishing, painting and decoration. It takes by no means only one day's effort to change a ball of mud into an exquisite Lord Rabbit figurine. Mr. Zhang Zhongqiang held a brush and gently drew a few strokes on the face. A benign-looking Lord Rabbit with a leisurely and detached air came into view. It was so lifelike! Seeing this, You Wanna also picked up a brush and drew out a Lord Rabbit of her own by following the suit of Mr. Zhang. In the process of sketching lines and matching colours, You Wanna deeply felt the charm of Lord Rabbit sculptingand marvelled at the exquisite craftsmanship.
在交談的過程中,優萬娜了解到張忠強老師自小便於兔兒爺結緣,他説道:“我出生在這,院裏邊有很多30多戶街坊,過去誰有玩具,誰就是孩子王。我用陶土泥捏小玩意兒,我就是孩子王。”始於年少的愛好,張忠強便經常製作一些泥彩塑,捏得多了,他便開始將自己的作品作為商品出售,賣給來北京遊玩的遊客,發現深受大家的喜愛,他就開了店,當起了泥彩塑手藝人。
During the conversation, You Wanna learned that Mr. Zhang Zhongqiang got involved with Lord Rabbit sculpting when he was a child. He said, "I was born here. There were more than thirty households in the neighborhood. In the past, whoever had toys was the king of children. I kneaded the knick-knacks with clay and I was the king of children." Out of interest since his early years, Mr. Zhang often made some painted clay sculptures. As he made more of them, he began to sell his works as commodities to tourists in Beijing and surprisedly found his works deeply loved by those tourists, so he opened a shop and became a craftsman of painted clay sculpture.
在此期間張忠強也遇到過各種各樣的難題,製作、設計、經營、銷售上的困難都曾令他“頭大”,但是他並沒有放棄,而是繼續堅持做一名手藝人,希望能將兔兒爺文化傳承下去。就像他常説的:“任何做事情不遇到困難的話,那是不可能的,關鍵是當你處於困境時要有一個信念,這個信念能指引你未來的方向。”正是由於這樣的信念和堅守,他一直在慢慢打磨自己的技藝、作品,他相信當自己的作品足夠優秀時,會讓更多人喜愛兔兒爺、喜愛中國優秀傳統文化。
During this period, Zhang Zhongqiang also encountered various problems. The difficulties in production, design, operation and sales made him frustrated, but he did not give up and continued to work as a craftsman, hoping to pass on the culture of Lord Rabbit. He often said: "It's impossible to do anything without encountering any difficulty. The key is to have a faith in what you are doing when you are caught in a dilemma, which points for you the future direction." It is precisely because of such belief and persistence that he has been slowly refining his skills and works. He believes that when his works are excellent enough, more people will love Lord Rabbit and the excellent traditional Chinese culture.
作為一名非遺傳承人,張忠強經常去全世界各地進行文化交流,每當他向外國人介紹兔兒爺所蘊含豐富的文化,他們既驚嘆又敬佩,因為他們中有些國家僅有短短幾百年的歷史,而兔兒爺距今已流傳四百餘年。張忠強認為自己有責任和義務將傳統的製作工藝和方法流傳下去,將兔兒爺文化更廣泛的傳播出去。
As an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, Zhang Zhongqiang often goes to other parts of the world for cultural exchanges. Whenever he introduces the rich culture of Lord Rabbit to foreigners, they are amazed at and admire it, because some of them are from a country with a history of only a few hundred years, yet the craft of Lord Rabbit sculpting has been passed down from generation to generation for more than 400 years. Zhang Zhongqiang believes that he has the responsibility and obligation to pass on the traditional production craft and methods and spread the culture of Lord Rabbit to a wider world.
談及對於未來的規劃,張忠強説道:“現如今我的目標是要做一家北京兔兒爺博物館,讓更多的國內外遊客到北京不僅能看到科技的進步、社會的發展,還有傳統文化的延續。”他認為在社會文化多元、中西文化融合的今天,保護好、發展好、傳承好優秀傳統文化是非遺手藝人最重要的社會責任。而他也希望通過他的努力,讓更多人喜愛、了解兔兒爺文化,讓這項文化發揚光大。
Talking about the future plan, Zhang Zhongqiang said, "Now my goal is to build Beijing Museum of Lord Rabbit Figurines, so that more domestic and foreign tourists can see not only the scientific, technological and social development but also the continuation of traditional culture." He believes that in today's world featuring cultural diversity and the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, protecting, developing and inheriting excellent traditional culture is the most important social responsibility of intangible cultural heritage craftsmen. And he also hopes that through his efforts, more people will love and understand the culture of Lord Rabbit, until one day it flourishes in the wide world..
