Three Monks

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Three Monks
Directed by A Da
Written by Pao Lei
Cinematography You Yong
Release date(s) 1980
Running time 20 mins
Country China
Language none

Three Monks (Chinese: 三个和尚, San ge he shang) is a Chinese animated feature film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. After the cultural revolution and the fall of the political Gang of Four in 1976, the film was one of the first animation created as part of the rebirth period. It is also referred to as "The Three Buddhist Priests".

Contents

[edit] Background

The film is based on 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]." The film did not contain any dialogues allowing it to be watched by any culture, and a different music instrument was used to signify each monk [2]. The film also tell the story from the aspect of the buddhist bhikkhu.

[edit] Story

A young monk lives a simple life in a temple on top of a hill. He has one daily task of hauling two buckets of water up the hill. He tries to share the job with another monk, but the carry pole is only long enough for one bucket. The arrival of a third monk prompts everyone to expect that someone else will take on the chore. Consequently, no one fetches water though everybody is thirsty. At night, a rat comes to scrounge and then knocks the candleholder, leading to a devastating fire in the temple. The three monks finally unite together and make a concerted effort to put out the fire. Since then they understand the old saying "unity is strength" and begin to live a harmonious life. The temple never lacks water again[3]

[edit] Staff

Director: A Da

Screenwriter: Pao Lei

Cinematography: You Yong

Animation: Han Yu, Ma Kexuan, Fan Madi

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ China Org. "China Org." "Three Monks." Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  2. ^ CCTV. "CCTV." "80 Years of Chinese animation." Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  3. ^ China Org. "China Org." "Three Monks Storyline." Retrieved on 2007-01-10.

[edit] External links