惠山泥人的故事（英文解说词文案）

Ever since the early Qing Dynasty, Wuxi has been famous for its clay figurines. Several hundred years ago, many clay figurine shops were built near the Huishan Hill. We call these lovely clay handicrafts“Huishan Hill figurines”.According to a legend, in the spring and autumn period, a famous general and strategist Sunbing fled out of his enemy Pang Juan’s trap. He came to Wuxi and hid in Huishan Hill. There, he made a large number of clay soldiers as well as horses, and used magic power to make them alive. Finally, the general used his clay army defeating his enemy Pang Juan. So Sun Bing was said to be the ancestor of clay figurines.

Clay figurine of Huishan Hill started from the Ming Dynasty, which had more than 400 years history. Master craftsmen used the clay in the rice field around the Huishan Hill as the materials for making the figurines, and this clay is characterized by its excellent plasticity. Even 1000 years ago, a distinguished poetry Su Dongpo once came to Wuxi, he was surprised at the magic soil and wrote a poem to praise it. The most well-known clay figurine is Big Afu.(literally meaning “big fortune”)Afu is a sitting boy or girl with legs crossed. His or her head and body are joined together without a neck. The head accounts one third of the whole figure. The face is as round as a full moon, with an earring on each side of head. Ears are so big that they can reach the shoulders. Usually, A fu dons a colorful sleeveless jacket, with both arms uncovered, and wears a golden lock in front of chest. The whole image of A fu, characterized by hanging ears, a broad face and full body, colorful jacket, totally reflects people’s wishes for “good luck”.

The year 1884 was the Empress Dowager Cixi’s 50th birthday.The whole country was filled with joys and happiness.Yet officials and eunuchs in the Forbidden City had no time to enjoy it,because they were very busy with the preparation for the birthday ceremony. Actually, they had been driven crazy. People may ask why they were so hurried. It was just a birthday. Because in the history, the Empress was very serious about her birthday, she preferred holding a birthday ceremony in the Forbidden City annually. On that day, officials all over the whole empire must come to Beijing, but having your attention ,you were not allowed to come alone ,which meant you must give the Empress valuable birthday presents.However, many officials were unable to afford precious ones. Moreover, at that time, an emperor or empress’ 50th birthday as well as 60th 、70th 、80th was regarded as the most important birthday anniversary in his or her entire life. Even the common people who was at that age would take it seriously and celebrate with the whole family,not to mention the Empress.

Luckily, the officials in Wuxi finally found out a best present—the clay figurine of Huishan Hill. Here were reasons. First, big a fu was famous around the whole empire; second, it was a logo of Wuxi; third, it was a unique work of art from Wuxi. Officials invited top masters to make a large piece of clay figurine artwork named Immortality Peach Gathering. It was composed of 24 Chinese immortals that totally appeared in the legend. The top figure was the Queen mother of the West. She invited the rest to attend the Gathering for her birthday. We can see the old man’s bear, immortals’ smiling faces and body gestures, a boy trilled on a flute, and so on. The masters used their amazing techniques to make the clay figurines vividly and lively. In fact, the Queen’s face was made in imitation to the appearance of Empress Dowager Cixi which meant the Empress was as elegant as the immortal.

惠山泥人的故事 

自清初以来，无锡以泥人而闻名。几百年前，在惠山附近开了许多泥人店。我们称这些可爱的粘土手工艺品为“惠山泥人”。相传，春秋时期，著名的军事家和战略家孙膑从他的敌人庞涓的陷阱中逃走。他来到无锡，藏在惠山。在那里，他制造了大量的粘土士兵和战马，并用魔力变活他们。最后，孙膑用他的粘土军队打败了他的敌人庞涓。所以孙膑据说是泥人的祖先。

惠山泥人从明朝开始制作，已有四百多年的历史。工匠大师在惠山周围的稻田里使用粘土作为制作雕像的材料，这种粘土的特点是优异的可塑性。甚至在1000年前，杰出的诗人苏东坡曾经来到无锡，他对这种神奇的土壤感到惊讶，并写了一首诗来赞美它。最著名的泥人是大阿福（字面意思是“巨大财富”）阿福是一个双腿交叉坐着的男孩或女孩。他或她的头部和身体连在一起且没有脖子。头占整个雕像的三分之一。脸像满月一样圆滑，头上两边都有耳环。耳朵很大，可以伸到肩上。通常，阿福穿着一个五颜六色的无袖夹克，双臂露出来，并在胸前戴着金色的锁。阿福的整个形象，其特点是垂耳，宽脸庞，全身，五颜六色的夹克，完全体现了人们对“祝你好运”的祝福。

1884年是慈禧太后50岁生日。全国充满欢乐和幸福。紫禁城的官僚和太监没有时间享受，因为他们忙于准备生日仪式。实际上，他们都要被逼疯了。人们可能会问为什么他们这么急。这只是一个生日。因为在历史上，太后对她的生日很认真，她宁愿每年在紫禁城举行生日礼仪。那天呢，整个帝国的官员都要到北京去，但是你们要注意，你们不能空手而来，这意味着你必须给皇后宝贵的生日礼物。但是，许多官员都不能负担这么贵的礼物。此外，当时皇帝或皇后的五十岁生日以及六十岁，七十岁和八十岁生日被认为是他们一生中最重要的生日纪念日。即使是的普通人到了那个年纪也会认真对待，与全家人庆祝，更别提太后了。

幸运的是，无锡的官员终于找到了一个最好的礼物—— 惠山泥人。下面是原因。首先，大阿福在整个帝国中是有名的;第二，这是无锡的标志;第三，这是一个独特的无锡艺术作品。官员邀请顶尖大师制作一件名为“仙桃聚会”的泥人艺术品。它由24个完全出现在中国传说中的神仙组成。地位最高的雕像是西王母。她邀请其他人出席她的生日聚会。我们可以看到老人的胡子，神仙的笑脸和身体姿势，吹奏长笛的男孩等等。大师用他们惊人的技巧使泥人生动活泼。事实上，王母的脸模仿的是慈禧太后的，这意味着皇后与神仙一样优雅。