Three Monks

Three Monks is a 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." 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 . The film also tell the story from the aspect of the bhikkhu.

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

Staff

Director: A Da

Screenwriter: Pao Lei

Cinematography: You Yong

Animation: , 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.