Three Monks

Last updated
Three Monks
ThreeMonksAnimation2.jpg
Directed by A Da
Written by Bao Lei
Cinematography You Yong
Production
company
Release date
  • January 1, 1981 (1981-01-01)
Running time
20 minutes
Country China

Three Monks (Chinese :三个和尚; pinyin :Sān gè héshàng), also translated as The Three Buddhist Priests, is a Chinese animated short film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS). After the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the film was one of the first animations created as part of the rebirth period. It won the Silver Bear for Best Short Film at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.

Contents

Plot

A young Buddhist monk lives a simple life on a hilltop temple. He has one daily task of hauling two buckets of water up the hill using a carrying pole. One day, a skinny monk arrives. The young monk tries to share the job with the skinny monk, but the carry pole is only long enough for one bucket. They therefore decide to carry one bucket in the center of the pole, together. However, when they traverse the hill, the bucket shifts from one end to another, leading to uneven weight distribution; this results in an argument between the two. The problem is settled when the two monks measure the exact center of the pole and keep the bucket in position. A few days later, a fat monk joins them. The fat monk drinks all the water upon his arrival, and is told to fetch more water by himself. The fat monk brings up more water, but once again drinks it all. At this point, everyone expects the others to take on the chore, and consequently, no one fetches water despite their thirst. One night, a scrounging rat knocks over a candleholder, leading to a devastating fire in the temple. The three desperate monks finally unite and mount a concerted effort to put out the fire. By the end of the ordeal, they recognize the importance of unity and begin to live a harmonious life. The three monks create a pulley system to fetch water together with ease, while ensuring the temple never lacks water again.

Production

SAFS director A Da first came up with the idea for Three Monks in 1978 after overhearing a conversation at a party which involved the ancient Chinese proverb, "One monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but add a third and no one will want to fetch water." [1] He was reminded that this phenomenon continued to be prevalent in modern times, and would be an interesting subject for animation. A Da relayed his ideas to screenwriter Bao Lei, who came up with a script with no dialogue, but was humorous and emphasized the character's actions. [2]

The film does not contain any dialogue, allowing it to be watched by any culture, and a different music instrument was used to signify each monk. [3]

Crew

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaolin Monastery</span> Chan Buddhist temple in Dengfeng, China

Shaolin Monastery, also known as Shaolin Temple, is a monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the Songshan mountain range in Dengfeng County, Henan province, China. The name reflects its location in the ancient grove of Mount Shaoshi, in the hinterland of the Songshan mountains. Mount Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sacred mountains as early as the 1st century BC, when it was proclaimed one of the Five Holy Peaks. It is located some 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Luoyang, the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), and 72 km (45 mi) southwest of Zhengzhou, the modern capital of Henan Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Budai</span> Figure in Buddhist and East Asian religious traditions

Budai is a nickname given to the historical Chinese monk Qieci in the Later Liang Dynasty, who is often identified with and venerated as the future or Maitreya Buddha in Chan Buddhism and Buddhist scripture. With the spread of Chan Buddhism, he also came to be venerated in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Budai is said to have lived around the 10th century CE in the Wuyue kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puji Temple</span> Buddhist temple in Zhejiang, China

Puji Temple is a Buddhist temple located on the island of Putuoshan in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China.

White Horse Temple is a Buddhist temple in Luoyang, Henan that, according to tradition, is the first Buddhist temple in China, having been first established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the Eastern Han dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siong Lim Temple</span> Buddhist temple in Singapore

Siong Lim Temple, also known as Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery, is a Buddhist monastery located in Toa Payoh, Singapore, next to the Pan Island Expressway. The temple was founded in 1898, but the construction of the premises only began in 1902 by Low Kim Pong and was completed in 1907. The monastery was gazetted as a national monument in 1980 and subsequently underwent a decade-long restoration that began in 1991. The temple now boasts a seven storey gold-topped pagoda which is a replica of the 800-year-old Shanfeng temple pagoda in Fujian. The temple also consist of a columbarium for Qing Ming Festival visit.

<i>The 36th Chamber of Shaolin</i> 1978 Hong Kong film

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a 1978 Hong Kong kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-leung and produced by Shaw Brothers, starring Gordon Liu. The film follows a highly fictionalized version of San Te, a legendary Shaolin martial arts disciple who trained under the general Chi Shan.

<i>Green Snake</i> (1993 film) 1993 Hong Kong fantasy film by Tsui Hark

Green Snake is a 1993 Hong Kong fantasy drama film written, directed and produced by Tsui Hark. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Lilian Lee, itself based on the Chinese folk tale Legend of the White Snake, which depicts the love story between the female snake spirit Bai Suzhen, named White Snake is the film, and the male Human Xu Xian, named Hsui Xien in the film. Green Snake depicts the romance between the two, but features both White Snake and her sister Green Snake, originally a supporting character in the folk tale, as the two main characters.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, he embraced and promoted Buddhism. Several times he became a Buddhist monk and forced his court to purchase him back with substantial offerings to the sangha. In 517 he ordered the destruction of Taoist temples and forced Taoist priests to return to lay life. Some of his other reforms, such as the disallowing of capital punishment and of the animal sacrifices during ancestral ceremonies, conformed with his Buddhist convictions.

Shanghai Animation Film Studio, also known as SAFS, is a Chinese animation studio based in Shanghai, China, as part of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation. Shanghai Animation Film Studio was officially established in April 1957, led by pioneering animators and artists, including Te Wei, and the Wan Brothers. It has produced around 500 films with over 40,000 minutes of original animation data source, covering 80% of China's domestic animation production.

<i>Lotus Lantern</i> 1999 Chinese film

Lotus Lantern is a Chinese animated feature film based on the Chinese fairy tale, The Magic Lotus Lantern, produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Báo Quốc Temple</span> Buddhist temple in Vietnam

Báo Quốc Temple is a Buddhist temple in the historic city of Huế in central Vietnam. It was one of the three national temples of the city during the time of the Nguyễn dynasty.

<i>La Maison en Petits Cubes</i> 2008 Japanese film

La Maison en Petits Cubes is a 2008 Japanese animated short subject film created by Kunio Katō, with music by Kenji Kondo and produced by Robot Communications and animated by Oh! Production.

<i>Dinosaur Baby Holy Heroes</i> 2009 Chinese TV series or program

Dinosaur Baby Holy Heroes is a 2009 Chinese animated television series produced by Beijing Kirin Animation. The series aired on the China Central Television network and other TV networks in China for 52 episodes. The series continued until 2011, lasting for three seasons.

<i>Journey to the West: Legends of the Monkey King</i> Chinese animated television series

Journey to the West: Legends of the Monkey King is a 1998 animated series produced by China Central Television and the CINAR Corporation. It is based on the 16th-century novel Journey to the West. There are 26 episodes in total, with a duration of about 22 minutes each, along with a 75-minute prequel television film. In the Original 1998 Chinese edition of the series, there are instead 52 episodes with each segment being extended to a full half hour episode with added animation and dialogue, and the prequels making up episodes 1-7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xuecheng (monk)</span> Chinese Buddhist monk

Xuecheng is a Chinese Buddhist monk, a former member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a popular blogger. He was president of the Buddhist Association of China from 2015 to 2018 when he resigned after allegations that he had engaged in corruption and sexual assault surfaced. He was ordered to be punished by the National Religious Affairs Administration after they corroborated the allegations.

<i>Xuanzang</i> (film) 2016 Chinese film by Huo Jianqi

Xuanzang is a 2016 Chinese-Indian historical adventure film that dramatizes the life of Xuanzang (602—664), a Buddhist monk and scholar. The film depicts his arduous nearly two-decade overland journey to India during the Tang dynasty on a mission to bring Buddhist scriptures to China. The film is directed by Huo Jianqi and produced by Wong Kar-wai. It stars Huang Xiaoming as the titular character, and includes cameo or short performances by other accomplished actors including Kent Tong, Purba Rgyal, Sonu Sood and Tan Kai. It was released in China on 29 April 2016, with distribution in China by China Film Group Corporation. It was selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but was not nominated. It won the Golden Angel Award Film and the best screenwriter categories at the 12th Chinese American Film Festival and was nominated in several categories at the 31st Golden Rooster Awards.

Boris Pavlovich Stepantsev was a Soviet and Russian animation director, animator, artist and book illustrator, as well as a vice-president of ASIFA (1972–1982) and creative director of the Multtelefilm animation department of the Studio Ekran (1980–1983). Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1972).

<i>Bao</i> (film) 2018 short film by Domee Shi

Bao is a 2018 American animated short film written and directed by Domee Shi and produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It is the first Pixar short film to be directed by a female director. It was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival before being released with Incredibles 2 on June 15, 2018. The film is about an aging and lonely Chinese Canadian mother suffering from empty nest syndrome, who receives an unexpected second chance at motherhood when she makes a steamed bun (baozi) that comes to life. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 91st Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnamese numismatic charm</span>

Vietnamese numismatic charms, also known as Vietnamese amulets, Vietnamese talismans, or simply Vietnamese charms, refer to a family of cash coin-like and other numismatic inspired types of charms that like the Japanese and Korean variants are derived from Chinese numismatic charms, but have evolved around the customs of the Vietnamese culture although most of these charms resemble Vietnamese cash coins and the amulet coins of China. These "coins" were used at temples, as tokens within the imperial palace, and as everyday charms with supposed magical power such as having the ability to curse evil spirits and bogies. Some of these charms contained the inscriptions of real circulating cash coins but with added imagery.

The Monkey King Conquers the Demon is a 1985 Chinese donghua feature film directed by Te Wei, Lin Wenxiao, and Ding Xianyan and produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. The film serves as a loose sequel to Havoc in Heaven, and adapts later episodes in the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West.

References

  1. China Org. "China Org." "Three Monks." Retrieved on 2007-01-10. Archived January 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 Sun, Lijun (2020-05-27). The History of Chinese Animation II. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-000-74053-0.
  3. CCTV. "CCTV." "80 Years of Chinese animation." Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  4. "Prizes & Honours 1982". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 2021-02-18.