After 38 years, a classic Chinese animated film has been re-released.

时隔38年，一部经典的国产动画电影再次上映。

On Nov 5, the 4K version of The Legend of Sealed Book came out.

11月5日，《天书奇谭》4K纪念版上映。

The film, first released in 1983, displays many aspects of traditional Chinese culture.

《天书奇谭》于1983年首次上映，是中国传统文化集大成者。

Adapted from the Chinese tale, Legends of Conquering Monsters,

《天书奇谭》根据中国神魔小说《平妖传》改编，

The Legend of Sealed Book tells the story of Yuangong who works in heaven.

讲述在天宫当差的袁公的故事。

He finds a book with amazing tricks and wants to pass the book to humans.

袁公发现了一本载有惊人技艺的天书，想把书传给人类。

But three fox spirits steal it and cheat the humans after learning the tricks.

但三只狐狸精窃取天书，并在修炼天书法术后危害百姓。

Then Yuangong and a boy called Dansheng fight against them.

后来，袁公和一个名叫蛋生的男孩一起打败了狐妖。

The film features many Chinese elements.

《天书奇谭》以诸多中国元素为特色。

For example, the look of the three fox spirits comes from Peking Opera makeup.

例如，三个狐狸精的形象来自于京剧造型。

The waters and mountains are in the style of traditional Chinese ink wash paintings.

片中的山水采用中国传统水墨画的风格，

The gardens and palaces are inspired by China’s ancient architecture.

园林和宫殿的造型则受中国古代建筑启发。

China’s first ink wash animation actually came out in 1960.

中国第一部水墨动画片实际上制作于1960年。

The film Little Tadpole Looking for Mummy has all the elements of the animals, plants and rocks drawn with ink and brush.

影片《小蝌蚪找妈妈》用笔墨勾画出动物、植物和岩石等所有元素。

The animators learned from the great artist Qi Baishi.

动画制作者向绘画大师齐白石学习，

They used different kinds of lines and shades of colors to bring everything to life.

用形状各异的线条和深浅不一的墨色赋予万物生命。

The film is only about 15 minutes long, but it took lots of work.

《小蝌蚪找妈妈》片长仅15分钟，但制作花费了大量功夫。

Without computers, the animators had to draw everything by hand.

当时并未应用电脑技术，动画创作者不得不手工绘制所有画面。

One second of animation needed 24 pictures.

一秒钟的动画需要24张图像。

To save time, the clever artists stamped the tadpoles’ bodies on paper with a special seal.

为了节省时间，艺术家们聪明地运用特殊的印章，把蝌蚪的身体印在纸上，

Then, they drew the tails.

然后画上尾巴。

From then on, ink wash animations became popular in China.

从此，水墨动画开始在中国流行。

Now, animators are combining ink wash painting with computer technology.

如今，动画制作者正将水墨画与电脑技术相结合。

For example, Fog Hills of Five Elements, which came out in 2020, is in the ink wash style.

比如2020年推出的《雾山五行》就采用水墨风格，

It’s about five elemental envoys fighting against evil.

该片讲述了五行使者抵抗妖兽的故事。

In an interview with China Youth Daily, Lin Hun, the director of Fog Hills of Five Elements, explained why he adopted such a style.

在接受《中国青年报》采访时，《雾山五行》的导演林魂解释了采用水墨风格的原因，他说：

“It upmost represents our Chinese animation,” he said.

“因为水墨风最能代表我们的中国动画。”