芳草说 | 我们的《节气》The View: Stories in the Solar Terms
浮瓜沉李，鱼戏新荷，“节气”自然呈现如画的图景与情绪。动画导演陈莲华认为，“节气”寓意某种命运的转折点，而在本期《芳草说》中，他所分享的一段历时十四年，以“节气”为题的创作故事，无疑佐证了这一点。
Melons and plums float in the bucket, fish flicking around lotus buds. Solar Terms are naturally picturesque. Animation director Chen Xi believes that Solar Terms represent the turning points of fate. Through this edit of The View, it seems that his personal story also corroborates such conception.
“节气”系列是2008年至2022年期间，我和安旭合作的一个动画短片系列。这个系列的命名其实有点偶然性，在2008年我们完成第一个独立作品的时候，给这个作品起名字成了一个难题，一方面不想使用揭示主题的命名法，又感觉题目应当成为作品的点睛之笔，后来觉得应该用含蓄而有寓意的题目。我们还希望我们所做的短片能够成为一个系列，能有一个可以串联起每个独立作品的松散的概念。于是想到了用“节气”这样的概念。我们希望这个系列每个作品的主题都是那些藏在历史碎片中的中国人的情感。中国人把一年分为二十四个节气，每个节气都是时间节点。每经过一个节气，气候都会发生变化。中国人也是如此，每经过命运的拐点，人生就会发生变化。中国人的故事碎片汇成了中国的历史。
Solar Terms series consists of animated short films created by An Xu and I between 2008 and 2022. Indeed, the name of this series came almost by accident. We had difficulty coming up with a name when we finished the first independent animation in 2008. On the one hand, we didn’t want to choose a name that would have suggested the theme of the animation. Also, in our view, the name should have been the highlight: we thought it should have been meaningful and metaphorical. We hoped to develop a basic concept to combine our short films into a series. Therefore, we chose “Solar Terms” as the concept. We also hoped that the theme of each animation could suggest the emotions of Chinese people hidden behind fragments of history. The ancient Chinese divided a year into 24 equal time segments called solar terms, which indicate the changes in the climate. Like this, our life also changes after each turning point and our stories are incorporated into the history.
《冬至》2008
The Winter Solstice 2008
在他死前，他重温了旧梦。
The past came back before he died.
第一个作品是《冬至》，是用 Flash 软件制作的，我设计人物，安旭设计场景，其他的工作我们都一起完成。那时候每天早上醒来想的事情就是怎样做好这个作品，我们体会到了制作一个动画的快乐。这个作品是讲一个男人在临死前的一瞬间，忽然回顾了自己和一个女人的身心交往的生活片段。之所以命名为《冬至》，取义为一年当中白天最短，黑夜最长的一天，阴极阳生，片子最后是一声婴儿啼哭，那个男人的孩子在他死去的那一天诞生，构成了某种生命的循环，也正是这个系列的含义。
The first animation, called The Winter Solstice, was produced by Flash software. The characters were designed by me and the scenes by An Xu. All the other works were carried out by us. During that period, we were constantly thinking of how to create satisfying animations, and we were filled with happiness in creating the animation. In the story, a dying man suddenly looked back to the life he spent with his lover. The reason why we chose the title "The Winter Solstice" is that it marks the day with the shortest daylight and the longest night of the year. Chinese philosophical concepts of Yin and Yang imply the importance of changes. When Yin reaches the extreme, the next change will be the beginning of Yang and vice versa. At the end of the animation, a baby burst into tears. On the day of the man's death, his baby was born, symbolizing the cycle of life and the implications of this series.
《芒种》2009
A Clockwork Cock 2009
农历芒种这天中午，一个贪玩的男孩被年轻的女老师留在了办公室，接受单独而无声的教育，最终他决定成为一名听话的好学生。
At noon on Grain in Ear, a naughty boy was asked by his teacher to stay in the office for silent self-reflection. Finally, he was determined to have good manners.
第二个作品是2009年的《芒种》，还有2012年的《霜降》基本上延续了这样的创作方式。《霜降》这个作品的一部分工作是在日本完成的，横山夏子为这个片子制作了音乐。我和安旭有时候会有争吵，也因此更加了解对方。我们的友谊似乎因为争吵而加深。
We made the second animation - A Clockwork Cock in 2009, and Grain Coupon in 2012. Both of them reflected this creation style. Part of Grain Coupon was produced in Japan and the music was composed by Natsuko Yokoyama. During our cooperation, An Xu and I had quarrels sometimes. Yet this made us know each other better and deepened our friendship.
《霜降》2012
Grain Coupon 2012
在中国上世纪六七十年代文化大革命中，一名残疾手工艺人为了得到粮食，依靠自己画的内画壶和一个士兵换取粮票。士兵许诺给他很多粮票，让他去伪造特种邮票，他不得不接受这个任务，但他失败了，也和那个士兵闹翻，然而最后，他用另外一种方式得到了粮食。
The story is set during the Cultural Revolution from the 1960s to 1970s in China. Eager for grains, a disabled craftsman exchanged an inside painted snuff bottle for grain coupons with a soldier. However, the soldier enticed him to forge special stamps with grain coupons as a bonus. He had no choice but to accept the task. Unfortunately, he failed and fell out with the soldier. At last, he found another way to get the grains.
《谷雨》2013
Mahjong 2013
在一所中国阁楼内，四个男人正在打麻将，旁边站着一个抱着酒壶的女人。他们每个人都隐藏着各自的欲望，所有的欲望最终都指向灭亡。
In a Chinese attic, four men are playing Mahjong, a woman standing beside with a flagon in her hands. Each of them has a hidden desire which will be doomed to perish.
在2013年完成的《谷雨》，我们开始尝试在纸上绘画，然后扫描进电脑，再制作动画，这个作品借鉴了中国传统的皮影艺术风格。同时我们也开始重视在动画设计中的空间表现。比如整个作品就是设定在一个空间中，没有景别变化，甚至没有镜头移动。镜头衔接的蒙太奇叙事手法，被追光之类的舞台视觉引导手法取代，我们感觉对于动画语言的新尝试，要比墨守成规的创作方式过瘾得多。我在法国丰特沃修道院完成了人物和场景的绘制。音乐部分由李星宇完成。
When producing Mahjong in 2013, drawing inspirations from the traditional shadow play, we started to draw on the paper, scan it into the computer and then make animations. Meanwhile, we started to value the space allocation in animation design. For example, the story is set in a space with no changes in shots or camera movement. The Montage narrative technique for bridging shot is replaced by the stage visual guidance such as follow spot. In our view, the new attempt at the animation production is more fulfilling than the groovelike way of creation. I finished the drawing of characters and scenes in Abbaye de Fontevraud in France, and Li Xingyu was responsible for the music.
《处暑》2014
The Swallow 2014
三个女人，三代人，这是一个一九四零年代的没有爱的中国家庭。
It depicts the Chinese family in the 1940s, with three women in three generations, where no love grows.
《大寒》2015
The Poem 2015
一个古代男人在风雪途中寻找梅花。
An ancient man is searching for plum blossoms in snow.
后面一个作品是《处暑》，也是单一场景，在同一场景中通过遮挡表现虚实变化，在同一场景中同时出现室内室外不同空间。我们使用了中国古代版画的美术风格，和下一个作品《大寒》一样，我们先完成了动画部分，然后对着屏幕拍摄正在播放的动画，是一种两次拍摄的动画片。2015年的《大寒》这个作品，我们使用了中国古代卷轴绘画的展示方式，一镜到底，不仅仅是不同空间，把不同时间的景物也放在一起。
The following animation, The Swallow, also shows the changes between virtuality and reality, and the different indoor and outdoor spaces simultaneously by shielding light in the same single scene. Following the art style of ancient print, like another animation The Poem, we shotted twice indeed, making an animation and then shotting it in motion by targeting the lens at the screen. By applying ancient Chinese scroll painting and one-shot film technique, we combined different spaces and the scenes at different times in The Poem in 2015.
《寒露》2018
A Fly in The Restaurant 2018
在一个中国饭馆里，顾客们正在吃东西，服务员忙着打苍蝇。
The customers are eating and a waiter is busy swatting flies in a Chinese restaurant.
《白露》2019
The Six 2019
男人、女人和仙鹤，还有六个重复的场景。一种循环动画的美学尝试。
It is a new attempt at a loop animation, featuring 6 repeated scenes with the elements of women, men and red-crowned cranes.
在那个时候，非常不幸的事情发生了，安旭被检查出患有重病，他的生命进入了倒计时。他希望在他最后的时光做些他喜欢的事情，动画是其中的重要部分。我们一起计划了好几个新片，他躺在病榻上，我们在电话里面沟通，我能感觉到他对于生命有了更为深刻的理解，这些都融入到了创作当中。
Unfortunately, An Xu was diagnosed with a serious disease, so he would like to spend his last days doing something he loved. Animation is an important part of his life. As he lays in a hospital bed, we planned and discussed the production details of several new animations on phone. I could feel that he developed a deeper insight into life, which was integrated into our creation.
在2017年的时候，在《寒露》这个作品制作的过程中，安旭离开了。我在后来几年的时间是在悲伤中度过的，我要把我们计划的作品完成。在2018年完成了《寒露》，在2019年完成了《白露》。《白露》这个作品由罗可居制作声音，我在这个作品当中能够清晰地体会安旭生前的想法，虽然都是我一个人制作，但我始终能感受到我们的合作还在继续。
An Xu passed away in 2017 during our production of A Fly in The Restaurant, and I spent the next few years in grief. Yet I was determined to finish our animations, so A Fly in The Restaurant was made in 2018 and The Six in 2019. I invited Luo Keju to compose music and I could clearly feel An Xu's thoughts came alive in The Six. Though it was produced by myself, we still cooperated closely in my view.
《春分》2022
The Loach 2022
一个女人抱着一个孩子向两个男人求救，然而，祸福参半，吉凶未卜。
A woman holding a baby in her arms is asking two men for help. However, it's a mixed blessing with the fate unknown.
在2022年我完成了《节气》系列的最后一个作品《春分》，我又恢复使用矢量美术风格，好像第一个作品那样。我越发觉得，“节气”好像是命运转变的比喻，每个片子的名字逐渐不再刻意对应，反而冥冥之中自有暗合。安旭在病中曾说：做片子一切放松，和老天爷合作。如今他不在了，我对此言深有感触。这个系列一共有九个短片作品，历经十四年，也是我们两个人的私人精神和情感的历史。
I finished the last animation, The Loach, from the Solar Terms series in 2022. I reverted to apply the vector-style art, like the first animation. I find that the solar terms are the metaphor of the turn of fortune. Each name no longer corresponds with each animation. Instead, they happen to be the match. An Xu, during his sickness, once said that making an animation is just like cooperating with god, so you just take it easy. Even though he is not beside me now, I truly understand his thoughts. The series takes 14 years to be completed, reflecting the development of our inner worlds and emotional connection.
延伸阅读
本文作者及“节气”系列动画电影作品创作者
Read On
About the author and the creators of Solar Terms Series
2012年安旭和陈莲华（右）在萨哈林电影节
An Xu and Chen Xi (right) in Sakhalin International Film Festival in 2012
陈莲华（陈曦），独立动画导演，漫画家，现任教于北京电影学院动画学院。
Chen Xi, an independent animation director and a caricaturist, teaches in the Animation School of Beijing Film Academy.
动画作品曾经入围法国昂西国际动画节，加拿大渥太华国际动画节，克罗地亚萨格勒布国际动画节，日本广岛国际动画节等知名国际动画电影节；曾在日本获得广岛国际动画节国际评委会特别奖，奥地利维也纳短片电影节动画先锋国际竞赛单元评委奖，加拿大渥太华国际动画节最佳设计奖等国际奖项；
His animations were displayed in the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb, and the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, etc. Meanwhile, he obtained the Special Jury Prize of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, the Jury Prize of the International Competition Animation Avantgarde of Vienna Shorts Festival, and the Best Design Award of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, etc.
2016年在日本新千岁空港国际动画节、2017法国昂西国际动画电影节、2019俄罗斯亚太国家电影节举行动画作品回顾展；2009年,作品曾被德国斯图加特国际动画节收录年度世界最佳动画专辑；曾任2016年日本新千岁空港国际动画节终审评委,2019年克罗地亚萨格勒布国际动画节终审评委；2020年德国斯图加特国际动画节终审评委，2020年白俄罗斯 Аnimaevka 国际动画节终审评委，2020年俄罗斯乌克兰 KROK 国际动画节终审评委；曾担任2016年中国独立动画论坛“引力波”策展人；是“费那奇北京动画周”创始人之一。
Additionally, he held retrospective animation exhibitions, including the New Chitose Airport International Animation Film Festival in Japan in 2016, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2017, the IFF Pacific Meridian in 2019. In 2009, his masterpieces were collected by the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film as the Best Animated Movies of the Year. He served as the final judge for the festivals, including the New Chitose Airport International Animation Film Festival in Japan in 2016, the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb in 2019, the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film in 2020, the Animaevka International Festival of Animation Films in 2020 and KROK International Animated Films Festival in 2020. He also served as the organizer for Gravitational Wave of China Independent Animation Film Forum in 2016 and the co-founder of Feinaki Beijing Animation Week.
安旭（1977-2017），独立动画导演，艺术家，毕业于清华美院。主要作品有网络交互动画《谁杀了我》，电视系列动画《刘罗锅别传》、《解学士》等。2008年开始和陈莲华导演合作动画作品《节气》系列，曾在日本获得广岛国际动画节国际评委会特别奖等国际奖项。
An Xu (1977-2017), an independent animation director and artist, graduated from Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University. His masterpieces include an online interactive animation called Who Killed Me? and TV series animations like Supplementary Biography of Liu Luoguo and Scholar Xie. In 2008, he started to work with Director Chen Lianhua to create animated short films of Solar Terms series. He also got international awards, including the Special Jury Prize of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival.
“节气”系列动画短片电影作品
Animated Short Films of Solar Terms Series
冬至 The Winter Solstice 2008
芒种 A Clockwork Cock 2009
霜降 Grain Coupon 2011
谷雨 Mahjong 2013
处暑 The Swallow 2014
大寒 The Poem 2015
寒露 A Fly in The Restaurant 2018
白露 The Six 2019
春分 The Loach 2022
《芳草说》是一个基于侨福芳草地品牌内核开辟的随笔专栏，由侨福芳草地主办，侨福当代美术馆·北京承办，刊登于“侨福芳草地”微信订阅号，每双周更新。每一期，我们邀请一位在自身领域具有一定影响力的知名人士，就时下热点话题或近期见闻分享有价值的思考与感悟，在艺文绿洲的平台上展现独特的人文魅力。
The View is a featured column based on the brand DNA of Parkview Green FangCaoDi. Hosted by Parkview Green FangCaoDi and undertaken by The Parkview Museum Beijing, The View releases in the “Parkview Green FangCaoDi” WeChat subscription account biweekly. Each issue features an article composed by a key opinion leader in the fields of art and culture, architecture, business, etc. They are here to share the insights of their profession and the industry, observations on recent news, and valuable reflections of matters in life. This column delivers the connotation of art and culture through different perspectives.