When the shawm sounds, a hundred birds are king - for that lost shawm note

First of all, I would like to say something that surprised me. On the first few days of the movie's release, I saw almost no reviews of the movie on the front page. Since the box office went up in the past two days, all media movie reviews have been overwhelmingly attacking the trend ...... This really surprised me.

Social impatience is always a problem for people, but the more people spit on it, the more people will gradually feel numb to it. In this commercialized society, everyone will be more or less stained with the shadow of utilitarianism, which circle can not escape the miasma brought about by commercialization. This is as sad as the kernel of this movie.

But The Hundred Birds is a really good movie. Ironically, if the news hadn't come out about producer Fang Li kneeling down over the scheduling of the film, I wouldn't have known the name of the movie, wouldn't have searched for its rating out of curiosity, and wouldn't have ended up willingly buying a ticket and walking into the theater.

Yes, in the past, I was always lured into the theater by the overwhelming publicity, and this time I wonder how many people, like me, went to see Birds of Prey for such an embarrassing reason. But I think, when everyone walks out of the theater again, there is more or less a feeling of worthiness in their hearts - a good oboe maker can play the oboe into the cracks of the bones, and a good film director can shoot the film into the hearts of people.

Jiao San did it, and so did director Wu Tianming.

The movie "A Hundred Birds" tells the story of two generations of suona craftsmen who have devoted their lives to passing down the art of suona craftsmanship, but ultimately couldn't withstand the flood of reality and went into decline. The main line is clear, the vein is clear, the main embodiment of the spirit of the craftsman and the inheritance of skills, no distracting side effects appear. After watching the movie, it's easy to divide it into two parts:

The first part is about Youtianming, who learns suona as a child from his teacher, and eventually becomes Jiao San's successor, learning the most difficult piece of music in the legend: "The Hundred Birds Towards the Phoenix".

The second part of the story is about how Youtianming grew up to take over the work of Jiao San, but time has changed, and the two of them witnessed the decline of the suona industry, and the decline of the suona craftsman's status. The two witnessed the decline of the suona industry and the decline of the suona craftsman. You Tianming kept his oath to pass on the suona, and Jiao San died tragically of a serious illness.

The first part of the story, as a child, is intimate and detailed, with a large part of the story about how Yutian Ming learned the art of suona, and how he and his brother, Lan Yu, learned to make progress together. The first part of the story is about how Yau Tian Ming was learning the art hard, and how he was learning alongside his younger brother, Lan Yu. Lan Yu's talent and understanding gave Tian Ming a lot of pressure, and Tian Ming even left home because of his master, almost giving up on his apprenticeship.

Yes, it is true that Master Jiao liked Blue Jade very much, and it is also true that he did not give the position of successor to Blue Jade in the end. Everyone thought that Blue Jade would become the final qualification to play the Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix senior apprentice, but Master Jiao's heart is awake, in his choice of apprenticeship criteria, in the first place is not the skill, but the virtue and character. "The most emphasized admonition of Jiao San is that the heir to the suona needs to have a firm belief and a sense of responsibility.

In the second part of the movie, Youtianming takes over from Jiao San, and the Jiao family class is officially renamed the Youtian family class, and Youtianming works diligently with his brothers on every job. However, times have changed, the suona makers are making less and less money, and western instruments have become the new favorites, so the brothers are leaving. The last few remaining people played for the mayor of the village of Fire Village, and the "Birds Toward the Phoenix" sounded so lonely and sad.

Jiao San's body is getting weaker and weaker, and Tian Ming took him to the hospital for a checkup and found out that he has advanced lung cancer. Even though his life is still short, Jiao San is still preoccupied with the suona, "Wushuang Town can't live without the suona!" He sold his family's cows to buy a new suona for Tianming and encouraged him to revitalize the Youjia class. However, it was difficult to reorganize the disintegrated and scattered suona class. The story ends when Jiao San dies and you Tianming is left alone to play the Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix in front of his grave.

Tao Zeru, in the lead role, plays the oboe king Jiao San. Jiao San is a well-known and respected suona maker who is not only highly skilled, but also treats his disciples harshly and strictly. Everyone thinks Jiao San is serious and doesn't like jokes, but underneath his stern exterior lies a soft heart. His love for the suona was almost fanatical. Jiao San is arrogant and stubborn, but he is a man of rules and regulations, and he abides by the principles of his profession by playing the Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix only for those who have passed away and are highly respected.

You Tianming, sent to Jiao San's family to learn the art of childhood, although no talent, but willing to work hard to practice. Diligent and conscientious, down-to-earth simplicity and a sense of responsibility. Many people advised him to give up suona to find another livelihood, he choked them with a sentence: "I swore with the master." Jiao San is a man of great affection, and to him, he is a teacher once and a father always, and he knows how to be filial and thankful.

In Jiao San's mouth, we learned that in the past, the suona makers were highly respected, "sitting in the master's chair ......", they were invited to the wedding ceremonies, weddings and funerals on the guest of honor. Later, the suona craftsman's status gradually declined. This change did not start only after You Tianming took over, the first signs of it had appeared before. It is certain that before Jiao San, the oboist's status was higher, otherwise Jiao San wouldn't have been so proud of his ancestor every time he mentioned it. After You Tianming took over, the double impact of the economic boom and foreign culture on China resulted in a rapid decline in the status of the craftsmen. When he went to Xi'an to reorganize the You family, he saw a suona player begging on the street, and he had mixed feelings but no words.

How many people know that the traditional suona has fallen into disrepair

It is believed that fewer and fewer people have ever heard of suona performances in real life. Many people don't like suona, thinking that its sound is loud and harsh, but they don't realize that suona, as a traditional national wind instrument, has a history of 17 centuries in China. The sound of the suona is bright and high, both sad and happy, and people who have seen the movie should be able to appreciate the tension of the suona's expressive power.

"Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix" is one of the classic suona tunes, and there are different versions of it in different parts of the North, which mainly expresses the vibrant nature with the sound of hundreds of birds singing in harmony. In addition to this song, there are other classic suona songs such as "Carrying a Sedan Chair" and "A Flower".

Non-heritage cultural inheritance is imminent

The appearance of the last "Fu Zhengzheng" in the movie seems to give us a glimmer of hope for the inheritance of traditional culture. In the movie, Mr. Fu expresses his desire to preserve Yujiaban's "Hundred Birds Toward the Phoenix" by recording it, which Jiao San, who is ill, supports. The corresponding fact is:On May 20, 2006, the art of suona was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. There are many other related intangible cultural heritages in China that have been listed in the United Nations, such as Kunqu opera, shadow puppetry, acupuncture, Cantonese opera, Beijing opera, paper-cutting, seal-carving, etc. The heritage of suona is now facing the challenge of being passed on to the next generation. The inheritance of non-heritage culture is now facing the embarrassing situation of "people go away and lose their skills", so it is urgent to increase the protection of non-heritage culture.

I would like to conclude with a few thoughts of my own.

Although I knew the general plot of "Birds of a Feather" before I went to the theater, I still inevitably cried a lot when I watched it. After reading some reviews, some people think that the first half of the movie has a good rhythm, and the second half of the movie is a bit rushed. But I think this "rush" and the contrast with the first part of the movie confirms the director's meaning - suona artists have been inherited for a long time in the long river of Chinese history, but they have left the scene in a mess under the change of the times in the last few decades. At the end of the movie, Jiao San by the grave, after listening to the solo performance of the hundred birds towards the phoenix by You Tianming, turned away with a reluctant face, such a hasty end but gave me the biggest shock, which could barely keep calm, instantly crushed ......

At that moment, I really felt that I had lost the most valuable thing, and could not be recovered anymore. The first thing you need to do is to get rid of it.