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''A Deer of Nine Colors'' (
The original story is based on the
Taipei Tzuchi
." "Spinoff translation of the same Nine Colored Deer story but not movie plot." Retrieved on 2007-02-08. The film expands on the story. The deer is first seen rescuing small animals and insects when the tree they live in is blown down in a storm. The deer guides them to safety and persuades flowers to bloom out of season so the bees will have food. Then the deer saves a party of traveling merchants who have lost their way by magically moving the mountains to make a clear path for them. The story that a magical nine-colored deer has come to the country begins to spread among the people. Meanwhile, a man who sells medicinal spells and cures for snakebite is gathering herbs and falls into a lake. He is rescued by the deer and promises not to reveal its whereabouts. However, the vain queen of the land has also heard of the nine-colored deer and begins to pout and sulk, demanding a coat made from its fur. The king posts a huge reward for anyone who can tell him where to find it, and the potion merchant at once decides to betray his vow of secrecy and lead the king's hunters to the deer. The birds who were rescued are terrified and rush to the deer begging it to flee, but the deer is serene, saying it cannot be killed. The potion merchant pretends to be drowning again to bring the deer to the lake, but when it is surrounded and the hunters fire, the deer manifests a halo of divine light and sacred symbols surround it. The arrows turn to dust. The warriors all stand ashamed as the deer berates the potion merchant for his unfaithfulness and greed, and birds fly around him striking the man with pecks until he sinks into the lake.
The film at China's Movie Database
The China Movie Database entry Wayback Machine
at https://archive.org/web/">Wayback Machine">The China Movie Database entry Wayback Machine
at https://archive.org/web/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Deer Of Nine Colors 1981 animated films 1981 films 1980s animated short films Chinese animated short films Films about Buddhism Buddhist animation Jataka tales 1980s Mandarin-language films Animals in Buddhism Films about deer and moose
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
: 九色鹿; Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: Jiǔ Sè Lù) is a Chinese animated film produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. It is also referred to as ''"The Nine Colored Deer"''.
Background
The original story is based on the Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
Jataka
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
tale of the same name, which was discovered as cave paintings in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in Northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Dunhuang was a major ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The animated plot is essentially a spinoff.
Plot
In ancient times, a Persian merchant gets lost in a great windstorm. Suddenly, though, a spiritual deer of nine colors appears to guide the man. Later, the deer rescues a man drowning in a lake. In exchange, the man promises not to reveal the deer's whereabouts. The man reaches an imperial palace. The king insists on hunting down the spiritual deer down to make clothes out of the deer skin. The man gives in to his greed and leads an army of warriors to the spot. He falls into the river again, hoping the deer will show up to rescue him. This time, all the warriors' arrows turn into dust and the man is drowned.Taipel Tzuchi.Taipei Tzuchi
." "Spinoff translation of the same Nine Colored Deer story but not movie plot." Retrieved on 2007-02-08. The film expands on the story. The deer is first seen rescuing small animals and insects when the tree they live in is blown down in a storm. The deer guides them to safety and persuades flowers to bloom out of season so the bees will have food. Then the deer saves a party of traveling merchants who have lost their way by magically moving the mountains to make a clear path for them. The story that a magical nine-colored deer has come to the country begins to spread among the people. Meanwhile, a man who sells medicinal spells and cures for snakebite is gathering herbs and falls into a lake. He is rescued by the deer and promises not to reveal its whereabouts. However, the vain queen of the land has also heard of the nine-colored deer and begins to pout and sulk, demanding a coat made from its fur. The king posts a huge reward for anyone who can tell him where to find it, and the potion merchant at once decides to betray his vow of secrecy and lead the king's hunters to the deer. The birds who were rescued are terrified and rush to the deer begging it to flee, but the deer is serene, saying it cannot be killed. The potion merchant pretends to be drowning again to bring the deer to the lake, but when it is surrounded and the hunters fire, the deer manifests a halo of divine light and sacred symbols surround it. The arrows turn to dust. The warriors all stand ashamed as the deer berates the potion merchant for his unfaithfulness and greed, and birds fly around him striking the man with pecks until he sinks into the lake.
Creators
References
External links
*The film at China's Movie Database
The China Movie Database entry Wayback Machine
at https://archive.org/web/">Wayback Machine">The China Movie Database entry Wayback Machine
at https://archive.org/web/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Deer Of Nine Colors 1981 animated films 1981 films 1980s animated short films Chinese animated short films Films about Buddhism Buddhist animation Jataka tales 1980s Mandarin-language films Animals in Buddhism Films about deer and moose