ACROBATICS GOES ARTISTIC

Confucianism, as a prevailing philosophy in China for thousands of years, has never encouraged people to demonstrate the beauty of their bodies. This can be seen in the disproportionate big heads and small bodies of the ancient Chinese sculptures.

This attitude may be to blame for the suffering and hardships for those who earned a living using their physical skills alone, such as acrobats. In the new era, however, things are changing with the openness of the mind and the improvement of aesthetic appreciation. Skills will marry with the arts, and entertainment will return to its true essence.

Text by Irene Photos by Zeng Jian (or provided by the interviewees) Translation by Sonia Speical thanks to Shenzhen Fuyong Acrobatics Troupe Illustration by Haolun Zhang

特別鳴謝： 深圳市福永雜技團(tuán)

技人尚藝

中國的儒家文化從不鼓勵展現(xiàn)身體之美，這點(diǎn)從古代雕塑頭大身小的比例便可睽之一二。在這樣的文化語境之下，雜技演員等靠身體技巧生存的人難免被逼入社會底層，用自己的﹃苦﹄換取他人的﹃樂﹄。新時代，這一切隨著心態(tài)的開放和審美的提高而改變，技巧開始與藝術(shù)聯(lián)姻，娛樂也將回歸娛樂本身。

The new general of acrobats integrate acrobatics with dancing.魏葆華、吳正丹等新一代雜技演員將雜技與舞蹈融合在一起。

中國人自古以含蓄為美。笑不露齒，欲說還休，是我們熟悉的審美取向。儒家思想對以取悅觀眾為目的的表演一直“不甚認(rèn)同”，孔子好大音禮樂，以“鄭音”為代表的通俗音樂則被稱為靡靡之音。舞蹈、音樂、戲劇、曲藝等娛樂方式，在中國古代被認(rèn)為不入流，為上等階層所不齒。

雜技也是一樣，雖脫胎于宮廷，卻最終淪落為跑江湖、耍把戲的。千百年來，雜技始終代表的是一種草根文化。以家庭為單位、冠以姓氏的雜技班子，在街頭擺攤賣藝，用近乎自虐的方式，換來看客的喝彩和下一頓的飽足。尊嚴(yán)是一種極為奢侈的訴求。

雜技人的苦，不單是身體的，更是靈魂深處的。

新時代帶來觀念的改變，中國人開始敢于追求身體形態(tài)的展示，力與美一旦和鳴便迸發(fā)出奪目的光芒。雜技最終脫胎換骨，從地攤文化走向了舞臺藝術(shù)。中國雜技以高超技藝征服了西方觀眾，既為國家賺取真金白銀，又多次以文化使者的身份為外交“破冰”。中國的體操、跳水、花樣游泳等高技巧項(xiàng)目，也具備了相當(dāng)實(shí)力。中國人開始享受展現(xiàn)身體的美，享受成功帶來的自信。

當(dāng)技巧不斷挑戰(zhàn)身體極限，不論是雜技人，還是體育人，都開始反思，娛樂與運(yùn)動的本質(zhì)到底是什么，難度是不是成功的唯一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。為了不讓雜技局限于舊把戲的重復(fù)，新一代雜技人開始尋找雜技重生之路。以雜技劇《天鵝湖》為代表的雜技新作將這門古老技藝帶入了藝術(shù)殿堂，讓娛樂真正成為一種享受。五花八門的體育俱樂部也開始萌芽興起，相信未來中國體育將甩掉魔鬼訓(xùn)練的標(biāo)簽，成為普羅大眾發(fā)自內(nèi)心的熱愛。

Since ancient times, the Chinese have regarded implicit expression as beauty. They are encouraged to smile without showing teeth and leave some words unspoken. Confucius always "quite disagreed with" performances aimed at pleasing an audience. Confucius himself was fond of ceremonial music, while he considered popular music represented by "Music from Kingdom Zheng (806BC-375BC)" as decadent music. Entertainment like dance, music, opera and Chinese folk art forms were all regarded as kitschy, vulgar things and despised by the upper class in China's old times.

Acrobatics is no exception. Although born out of the royal courts, it fi nally descended to be the tricks of wandering jugglers. For thousands of years, what acrobatics has represented is a kind of grass root culture. The family-based acrobatics troupes set stalls and performed skills on the street. They earned the cheers of spectators and the next meal in an almost masochistic way. Dignity was a rather luxurious aspect for them.

The sufferings of acrobats is not only physical but in the depth of their soul.

With the change of conception brought along by the new age, the Chinese begin to dare to pursue the display of their physical form. Once merged together, strength and beauty burst out dazzling power. Acrobatics managed to remold itself and turned from the stall culture to stage arts. Captivating the western audience with their exquisite skills, Chinese acrobatics made a fortune for the Middle Kingdom. They were the diplomatic icebreakers and cultural messengers for many years. Meanwhile, China becomes a competitive player in the skill-intensive Olympic games, like gymnastics, diving, and synchronized swimming, etc. Chinese people have begun to enjoy revealing the beauty of their bodies and the confi dence brought by their success.

When skills continue to push our body to the extreme, both acrobats and sportsmen start to think about the essence of the entertainment and sports, and whether or not diffi culty is the only standard of success. In order to liberate acrobatics from the repetition of the old tricks, the new generation of acrobats have started to seek ways for a rebirth. New acrobatic works, represented by the acrobatic show Swan Lake, bring this ancient art to the palace of high-end art and make entertainment a true enjoyment. With various sports clubs sprouting up everywhere, Chinese sports will cast off the label of devil training sooner or later and become the passion of common people.

Swaying Circles, performed by Shenzhen Fuyong Acrobatics Troupe, has won the gold medal in the sixth National Acrobatics Contest.深圳市福永雜技團(tuán)的《晃圈》節(jié)目，曾榮獲全國第六屆雜技比賽金獎“金獅獎”。

WHAT IS ACROBATICS?何謂雜技？

Alias: various shows, vaudeville, jugglery

別名：百戲、雜耍、把戲

Meaning:

A performance art, which uses all kinds of stage props, takes one show as a unit and perform with highly difficult skills. In China, the word Za Ji (acrobatics) was first coined by Premier Zhou Enlai in 1950.

含義：利用各種道具，以節(jié)目為單元，以高難度技巧為手段的表演藝術(shù)。在中國，“雜技”一詞是1950年由周恩來總理創(chuàng)造的。

Characteristics: Fluently mastering all kinds of stage props.

特征：熟練駕馭各種道具。Properties: Derived

from everyday life, the most ordinary and direct living articles, such as benches and rice bowls.

道具：來源于生活，最普通最直接的生活用品，例如板凳、飯碗等。