Three Monks

Infobox Film
name = Three Monks


caption =
imdb_rating =
director = A Da
producer =
writer = Pao Lei
starring =
music =
cinematography = You Yong
editing =
distributor =
released = 1980
runtime = 20 mins
country = China
language = none
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
mpaa_rating =
tv_rating =
imdb_id =
amg_id =

"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".

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 [China Org. " [http://www.investchina.com.cn/english/features/film/85145.htm China Org] ." "Three Monks." Retrieved on 2007-01-10.] ." 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 [CCTV. " [http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20060717/100784.shtml CCTV] ." "80 Years of Chinese animation." Retrieved on 2007-01-10.] . The film also tell the story from the aspect of the buddhist bhikkhu.

tory

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 [China Org. " [http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/film/84974.htm China Org] ." "Three Monks Storyline." Retrieved on 2007-01-10.]

taff

Director: A Da

Screenwriter: Pao Lei

Cinematography: You Yong

Animation: Han Yu, Ma Kexuan, Fan Madi

Awards

* Won the outstanding film award at China's Ministry of Culture.
* Won the Best animated film prize at the first Golden Rooster Awards in 1981.
* Won 4 international awards including a Silver Bear for Short Film at the 32nd Berlin Film Festival in 1982.

References

External links

* [http://www.cnmdb.com/title/9772/ The film at China's Movie Database]