从歃血为盟到各怀鬼胎：家电厂商得虎口夺食？

撰稿:吴家榕  

一双长长的尖耳朵,涂着胭脂的脸蛋上点缀着山形眉、三瓣嘴,背后插着一杆鲜艳的令旗,身披金甲,手捣药杵,端坐在莲花座上的兔儿爷尽显威风。过去每逢中秋节,北京城内家家户户都会供奉兔儿爷,举行祭拜兔儿爷的仪式,兔儿爷寓意和象征丰富,坐骑不同的兔儿爷含义各不相同。作为老北京特有的文化产物,2014年兔儿爷被获批列入第四批国家级非物质文化遗产名录,关注和喜爱兔爷的人越来越多。

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.

北京市西城区杨梅竹斜的街道(注意:杨梅竹斜街的断句应该是杨梅竹 斜街,而不是杨梅 竹斜 街)上熙熙攘攘,有这样一家小店令人驻足,一尊尊形态各异、或坐或立的兔儿爷吸引着往来游客。这里也是北京第五代泥彩塑传承人——张忠强老师日常工作的地方。无论是外国人、小孩子或者是年轻人,张忠强老师看到驻足的游客便会亲切的招呼他们,拿出一块泥,用一根铅笔,便能制作一个活灵活现的泥塑小动物,短暂的制作过程就让往来游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.

北京第二外国语学院塞尔维亚留学生优万娜满怀期待地走进这间小店,在参观完形态各异、表情生动的兔儿爷后,她问道:“我非常好奇到底需要多么高超的技艺才能创造出如此生动的彩塑,您可以告诉我关于兔爷的故事吗?我太好奇了!”张忠强老师拿着一个兔儿爷娓娓道来了它的历史……兔儿爷的诞生源自广寒宫捣药的玉兔,有一年京城瘟疫肆虐,嫦娥派玉兔下凡为百姓治病,玉兔不辞辛劳,走访千家万户为其医治,直至驱走北京城这场瘟疫,这让玉兔的形象深入了百姓心中,从此人们创造了兔儿爷,每逢中秋节人们便会祭拜为家人祈盼平安健康。

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.

兔儿爷的制作过程繁复而精细,包括选料、晒料、锤炼、加棉、塑形、修坯、打磨、彩绘、装饰等多个环节,要从一团泥变成精美的兔儿爷,绝非一日之功。张忠强老师攥着画笔,轻轻地在兔儿爷的脸上画了几笔,一个悠然淡远、慈眉善目的兔儿爷便活灵活现的跃然眼前,优万娜也拿起画笔,模仿着老师的样子,绘制一个属于她的兔儿爷。在勾勒线条、搭配色彩的过程中,优万娜深刻感受到了兔儿爷的魅力,对制作技艺的精湛赞叹不已。

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.

在交谈的过程中,优万娜了解到张忠强老师自小便于兔儿爷结缘,他说道:“我出生在这,院里边有很多30多户街坊,过去谁有玩具,谁就是孩子王。我用陶土泥捏小玩意儿,我就是孩子王。”始于年少的爱好,张忠强便经常制作一些泥彩塑,捏得多了,他便开始将自己的作品作为商品出售,卖给来北京游玩的游客,发现深受大家的喜爱,他就开了店,当起了泥彩塑手艺人。

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.

在此期间张忠强也遇到过各种各样的难题,制作、设计、经营、销售上的困难都曾令他“头大”,但是他并没有放弃,而是继续坚持做一名手艺人,希望能将兔儿爷文化传承下去。就像他常说的:“任何做事情不遇到困难的话,那是不可能的,关键是当你处于困境时要有一个信念,这个信念能指引你未来的方向。”正是由于这样的信念和坚守,他一直在慢慢打磨自己的技艺、作品,他相信当自己的作品足够优秀时,会让更多人喜爱兔儿爷、喜爱中国优秀传统文化。

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.

作为一名非遗传承人,张忠强经常去全世界各地进行文化交流,每当他向外国人介绍兔儿爷所蕴含丰富的文化,他们既惊叹又敬佩,因为他们中有些国家仅有短短几百年的历史,而兔儿爷距今已流传四百余年。张忠强认为自己有责任和义务将传统的制作工艺和方法流传下去,将兔儿爷文化更广泛的传播出去。

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.

谈及对于未来的规划,张忠强说道:“现如今我的目标是要做一家北京兔儿爷博物馆,让更多的国内外游客到北京不仅能看到科技的进步、社会的发展,还有传统文化的延续。”他认为在社会文化多元、中西文化融合的今天,保护好、发展好、传承好优秀传统文化是非遗手艺人最重要的社会责任。而他也希望通过他的努力,让更多人喜爱、了解兔儿爷文化,让这项文化发扬光大。

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..