“This is the first time I know about the existence of mother-of-pearl lacquerware, an intangible cultural heritage.” This is a message from a player after the mobile game “Hundred Scenes of Jiangnan” recently released the mother-of-pearl adventure “Mo Shang Xing” and the series o

"This is the first time I know about the existence of intangible cultural heritage mother-of-pearl lacquerware ." This is after the recent mobile game " Jiangnan Hundred Scenes " released mother-of-pearl adventure "Mo Shang Xing" and the series of animated short films "Hua Jin" , a message from a player.

In the past two years, this Chinese-style game born in Shanghai has attracted the attention of many young people because of its focus on traditional culture. In the Jiangnan water town with white walls and black tiles, players get to know Dong Qichang, Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, Qiu Ying, Tang Bohu and other representatives of the "Wumen School". By setting up Jiangnan buildings, they operate Build "Yingtian Mansion", " Suzhou Mansion ", etc. Nowadays, mother-of-pearl lacquerware, literati gatherings, "Shan Hai Jing" and other intangible cultural heritage skills, social activities and ancient books have also entered the game in a new interactive way. Games are becoming a popular carrier for the dissemination of traditional culture.

Delivering Traditional Chinese Culture Aesthetics

As a national intangible cultural heritage, mother-of-pearl lacquerware is made of ground and cut shell flakes inlaid with patterns on the lacquerware. It is one of the traditional Chinese lacquerware varieties and can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. Mother-of-pearl lacquerware has flourished since the Tang Dynasty, and gold and silver flat stripping techniques, inlay techniques, gold-cutting techniques, etc. have appeared one after another. Since then, related techniques have been further developed in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the works have become more sophisticated. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, mother-of-pearl lacquerware was decorated with gold and silver foil and gold and silver shavings to make it more gorgeous.

Zhang Lan, deputy director of the Academic Committee of Shanghai History Museum and professor of Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, introduced that lacquerware civilization plays an important role in the history of the Chinese nation, no less than bronze civilization and jade civilization. Among them, mother-of-pearl lacquerware is a representative category of lacquerware craftsmanship. Both its artistic expression and craftsmanship have gone through the accumulation and evolution of several dynasties and formed its own system. It is also one of the carriers that reflects the cultural aesthetics of Chinese past dynasties.

The newly launched mother-of-pearl adventure plot of "Hundred Scenes of Jiangnan" unfolds from the perspective of Qiu Ying, a painter of the Ming Dynasty. In order to celebrate the second anniversary of Jiangnan's rebirth, he wanted to create a mother-of-pearl screen called "Sacred Beasts Offering Auspicious Treasures". While carving, he saw flowers blooming on the street and decided to go and collect them. Zhang Lan has participated in the restoration of many lacquerware cultural relics. In his opinion, the use of mother-of-pearl elements in the game is a very good idea, and it falls in the historical period of the Ming Dynasty, which also matches the development cycle of lacquerware craftsmanship. "The Ming Dynasty was an era when Chinese lacquerware was very prosperous. Basically, various artistic methods could express it relatively completely. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a book called "Painting and Decoration Records", which covered the traditional Chinese lacquerware craftsmanship."

In fact, many domestic Scholars have been looking for new media to popularize traditional Chinese culture to the younger generation, and Zhang Lan and his team have also tried this in museum spaces. "The form of game works is one of the most advantageous carriers for communication to the younger generation." He said that to let the younger generation have a strong sense of traditional culture and build cultural confidence, one of the cores of communication is to convey the aesthetics of traditional Chinese culture. "The aesthetics of the Chinese nation have gone through historical accumulation and there should be no gaps. The use of traditional intangible cultural heritage elements in games is a positive attempt worthy of encouragement. It is the conscious introduction of the aesthetics of traditional Chinese culture, and the continuation of aesthetics is inheritance Important issues of traditional culture.”

Appreciate the imagination of the ancients in the game

For the production team of “Hundred Scenes of the South of the Yangtze River”, the elements of mother-of-pearl lacquerware are no stranger. The opening animation of the work partially referenced the style of Mother-of-pearl; however, the workload this time was much greater than before.

In order to allow young users to experience the mother-of-pearl lacquerware in a more detailed way, in the design of the mother-of-pearl adventure, the production team abandoned the art effects of the original levels and made reference to the color matching habits of the mother-of-pearl lacquerware in terms of color and expression, including characters, Expressive techniques such as flowers and birds, while integrating and recreating existing architectural styles.

“We value refreshing."In the view of the production team, the inheritance of traditional culture needs to continuously provide rich content to young people; and in terms of expression, it must also pursue more detailed presentations to guide young people to explore the allusions behind it," Origin and provenance, only in this way can the true implementation of innovative forms of traditional cultural inheritance be realized. "

In addition to the elements of mother-of-pearl lacquerware, the mother-of-pearl adventure "Mo Shang Xing" also integrates parts of the literati gathering and "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". In the game, players can freely form an elegant gathering to participate in adventures together and experience the ancient literati. Fun. Legendary images such as the blue bird, Chongming bird , three-legged crow, tengu, sandgown tree, and wolfberry tree are also presented in the game. "I hope everyone can enjoy their leisure time. , fully feel the charm of traditional culture and appreciate the imagination and vision of the ancients. "The production team said.

In addition to the traditional art style, "Hundred Scenes of Jiangnan" is also interconnected with offline traditional architecture. During the Spring Festival last year, with the launch of "Songjiangfu", the familiar to Shanghai citizens Yuyuan Garden is reproduced in the game. It is worth mentioning that during the entire lantern festival, the "Yuyuan Garden" in the game is synchronized with the offline one, and the lights of the real Jiuqu Bridge are on time at 17:30. Decorated with lanterns with the theme of "Hundred Scenes of Jiangnan", there is an archway with "Hundred Scenes of Jiangnan" written on the bridge head and end.

"Hundred Scenes of Jiangnan" and Shanghai Yuyuan, Shexian fish lanterns. , Huizhou and many scenic spots in Hangzhou, Yangzhou and other places are frequently linked. The purpose is to go offline, realize the integration with local culture and tourism, and integrate and break the circle of traditional cultural consumption. "The production team said that in terms of traditional cultural inheritance, game works still have a lot of room to explore. The good inheritance of Chinese traditional culture from ancient times to the present makes cultural classics themselves have natural connection points, which provides a steady stream of creative inspiration. "It can be said that the charm of Jiangnan lies not only in the beautiful buildings and landscapes, but also in the various characters and their stories. Integrated into the game, it becomes the daily life of the water town in "Hundred Scenes of Jiangnan". "

The game "Hundred Scenes of the South of the Yangtze River" is linked with Shanghai Yuyuan

Column editor: Shi Chenlu Text editor: Shi Chenlu

 Image source: Provided by Yedao Game 

Source: Author: Zhang Yi