乐僧 MUSIC MONKS

新加坡首映  SINGAPORE PREMIERE

中国 China | 2019 | 78 min | PG

华语对白, 附英文字幕   Mandarin with English subtitles

导演：王巧丽, 罗文  Directed by Wang Qiaoli, Luo Wen

71岁的大相国寺梵乐团指挥释源德将要告别家人一样的乐团，心有太多不舍。

中国开封大相国寺建寺1500年来， 音乐延绵不绝， 曾是世界文化与音乐中心之一。一代一代乐僧，保留着中国音乐之根。

到了近代， 天灾人祸频仍，乐僧被逐出庙门，音乐戛然而止。2002年， 方丈释心广希望能够恢复寺庙的音乐传统。黄河之畔，这一缕文化血脉已细如游丝。幸存下来的只有几卷《手抄秘谱》和繁塔上二十多块古老的乐伎砖。

经过17年的努力， 乐团终于成为中国规模最大的专职乐僧团。

但随着释源德和众乐僧老去， 大家面临着新的考验：在这个时代，谁会来听他们苦心恢复的音乐？年轻乐僧该守望还是创新？

大相国寺音乐， 是一个人类文明传递与变迁的独特样本。“大相国寺的音乐， 是不屈不挠的音乐”。释源德说。它脆弱而坚韧；值得庆幸，也让人悲伤。

It is tough for Shi Yuande, the 71-year-old conductor of the Great Xiangguo Temple Buddhist Orchestra to face his oncoming retirement. He loves the orchestra deeply and still has wishes unfulfilled.

Founded more than 1,500 years ago, the Great Xiangguo Temple in Henan, China was one of the world’s most prominent cultural institutions from the 10th to 13th century. Generations of “music monks” at the temple have preserved the secret roots of Buddhist music. However, the continuous trauma of the last century has had a devastating effect on this precious heritage.

What remained were just some old musical scores and 20 ancient music bricks. The monks spent 17 years trying to bring the “lost sound of heaven” back, and it is now up to three talented young members of the orchestra to continue the work.

Can they be expected to strictly adhere to Buddhist doctrine in these modern times? Will they pass down the torches of the biggest Buddhist orchestra in China?

This documentary offers an intimate look into the music monks’ daily lives, practices and performances, and bears testament to how amazingly resistant and fragile civilisation can simultaneously be.

关于导演 DIRECTOR’S BIO

王巧丽毕业于华东师大文学院与马斯特里赫特大学文理学院，文学硕士，资深国际媒体人。自2001年从业，曾担任《新民周刊》政经特稿记者与德国公共广播电视联盟制作人等职务。 王巧丽近年活跃在中国最有影响力的电视文化节目中，作为主创或总策划，为CCTV、腾讯与广东卫视等制作了一些影响深远的节目。巧丽同时还是《北京日报》专栏作家与FT中文版的撰稿人。

Wang Qiaoli is a senior international media practitioner who graduated from East China Normal University and Maastricht University. She had been an acclaimed journalist for Xinmin Weekly in Shanghai since 2001, later as producer for ARD (German Public Radio). In recent years, she is actively involved in producing some of China’s most influential cultural programmes for CCTV, Tencent and Guangdong TV, etc. Qiaoli is also a columnist on art criticism for Beijing Daily and a contributor for FT Chinese.

罗文于中国传媒大学新闻专业毕业，从业23年，任职经历包括电视新闻记者(11年)，电视专题片、城市宣传片及纪录片导演（12年）。 获中国电视纪录片系列纪录片十佳作品、2009， 2016中国广州国际纪录片大会南派纪录片年度作品、 金熊猫社会类最佳短纪录片、《纪录中国》人文类最佳作品、中国纪录片学院奖入围作品等。代表作有央视大型人文地理类纪录片《美丽西江》、人文纪录片《来，听听我的声音》。

Luo Wen graduated from the Communication University of China and has worked as a television journalist for 23 years, and documentary director for 10 years. His productions won several prizes, including that of China Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, and Golden Panda best social short documentary. His representative works include Beautiful Xijiang, and Listen to My Voice.

导演阐述 DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

谈起他寻找“失去的天音”与活化相国寺千年乐谱，70岁的释源德师父在我面前哭得像个孩子。我被他和他年轻的徒弟打动了。他们的信仰、热情与悲伤，成了我做这部电影最初的动力。

在他们的音乐中，我听到了祖先的声音，还有无比丰富的音乐传统的召唤。但我们该如何想象它荣耀的过去、又怎样认识它对今天的价值？

做这部电影的过程遇到了很多挑战，有时很痛苦。我们的预算太低，不得不求助朋友，不得不自己投入。在我们拍摄时，不止一名乐僧、学者生病或辞世，带走了他们的知识和经验。释源德师父也不得不告假，带着未了的心愿离开。在经济增长迅速的中国，年轻的乐僧会在佛乐团留下来吗？谁会来听他们的音乐？

我在寺庙里呆了很久，和他们共同生活。深深感激他们对我打开心扉，对镜头打开心扉，分享一片灵魂。

当我还是孩子，在中国农村的小村庄里，经常梦想着看外面的世界。在欧洲定居10多年后，2017年我参观相国寺接触到这些乐僧时，才明白自己失去的是什么。一个人要走多远，才能回过头来，真正认识自己的家乡？

The 70-year-old Master Shi Yuande cried like a child when he spoke about his journey of searching for the lost “sound of heaven” and trying to keep it alive. I was touched by him and his young disciples. Their devotion, passion, and sorrows were the strongest motivation for me to make this film.

In their music, I heard the voices of my ancestors and the call of the incredibly rich music tradition. But how could we reimagine its glorious past and understand its value in today’s context?

The process of making this film was challenging and painful. The budget was low and we had to ask the help of friends and put in our own money. More than one monk or scholar got sick or passed away during the film’s making, taking with them their knowledge and experiences.

As China experiences strong economic growth, will the young generation of monks pass down the torches of the biggest Buddhist orchestra ? Does their music still have an audience?

I had stayed months in the temple and followed the monks’ daily lives. I am deeply grateful for they opened their hearts and shared a piece of their soul to me, and to the camera.

As a child in a small village in rural China, I’ve always dreamed of seeing the world. After settling down for more than a decade in Europe, visiting Xiangguo Temple in 2017 and getting to know the group of music monks, I suddenly realised what I had missed. How far must we travel, before we could understand our own home?

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Wang Qiaoli
Dutch New Salt Media
aaaqiao@gmail.com