▲ 图源：China Daily

又是一年“立春”至！

传统的二十四节气

蕴含着中国人的智慧与浪漫

而湖南籍沙画师何素丹信手挥洒

绘制出了一幅幅奇妙的

二十四节气主题沙画

不仅在国内收获百万播放量

还将“中国式浪漫”传到了海外

As the soothing music wafted in the air, He Sudan graciously grabbed a handful of fine sand and sprinkled it onto a drawing board.

In the wake of her moving fingers, the random sand quickly turned into flying snowflakes, dried tree branches and a reading girl behind a window of a farmhouse with white walls and gray tiles. It took only dozens of seconds for her to magically reveal a stunning rustic picture."It was to depict the xiaoxue (Minor Snow) solar term," says the 35-year-old who has settled in South China's Hainan province.

In recent years, He has created sand paintings revolving around the theme of the 24 solar terms on the Chinese calendar.

He's recent work on xiaoxue has garnered more than 1 million views on Xinhua News Agency and many people online commented that they had a more vivid understanding of the 20th solar term, which fell on Nov 22, 2022.

女孩在荷叶丛中赏莲

农民在金黄的田间劳作

目之所及的湖景染上绿意

“大暑”（Major Heat）

如此生机盎然

暖阳照耀着红褐色的大地

自然泛黄的秋叶滴落露珠

游人相伴着登山远眺

“寒露”（Cold Dew）

带来一片秋日意境

女子伴着寒山风景读书

皑皑白雪落在拱桥和屋顶

两三好友于冬日围炉对酌

“小雪”（Minor Snow）

别有一番人情味儿

何素丹创作的

二十四节气主题沙画

意象鲜明、富有特色

不仅挖掘不同地区的象征性

还会兼顾古代与现代元素

反映时代的变化

据何素丹介绍

制作一个节气主题的作品

通常需要一周左右

▲何素丹创作的冬至主题沙画 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

It usually takes her a week to create a single piece in the series, including filming and editing.

"First I will look up elements of the upcoming solar term and find the best of its characteristics," He says.

"Our country is vast, and expressions of the solar terms vary by region, so I have to extract the symbolic elements that everyone can identify with."

For example, Minor Snow can be better illustrated through the scenes in the north of the country, where its presence is more acutely felt through the high frequency of cold snaps and strong winds, she explains.

Modern elements have also been added to reflect the changing of the times. The goal is to reflect the positive changes the country has undergone and the advancements of the times.

而这些极具中国式浪漫的沙画

不仅在国内爆火

还被翻译成多种语言广泛传播

总浏览量超过1亿次

外交部发言人华春莹

汪文斌也曾转发点赞

Her series of works have been translated into different languages, such as English and French, and have altogether received more than 100 million views.

"I had wanted to do the solar terms series for a long time, because the related rituals have preserved the romance that belongs to Chinese people," the sand painting artist says, adding that those terms are ancient wisdom that has been obtained through constant exploration over the long course of history.

"I want to use sand painting to show the passage of time and our farming civilization," He says.

Some of her works were reposted by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying and several Chinese ambassadors abroad.

何素丹出生在

湖南的一个绘画世家

今年35岁的她

从事沙画创作已近20年

幼时家里的墙上贴满各类画作

何素丹也从小励志成为一名画家

2003年

15岁的何素丹

考入武汉理工大学动画专业

一次在长江边写生的间隙

何素丹抚弄起脚下的沙子

她发现细软的沙子

可在手指舞弄之间

随心变换出各种图样

于是乐此不疲

逐渐对沙画入迷

▲ 本科毕业时的何素丹 图源：央视新闻

Born to a family of painters in Central China's Hunan province, she started to show her talent in painting as a child. She would often doodle in the sand.

In 2003, at the age of 15, He was enrolled into Wuhan University of Technology on the back of her solid art skills and focused her attention on animation.

The idea of using sand to create images struck He in her sophomore year, when her professor asked the class to use different materials to create an animation.

She wanted to try something different from her peers, who opted for paper-cuts, clay or other conventional materials. "I remembered the sand, and found that it has a certain fluidity that allows it to be used for animation."

From then on, He focused on exploring the possibilities offered by sand painting.

4年后

何素丹如愿考上

海南大学美术专业研究生

毕业以后她便开始了

对沙画艺术的探索与追寻

起初她时常练到手指发麻

练习撒沙、漏沙

勾沙等动作时她的手指常常被磨破

但沙画技艺也在不断提高

▲何素丹沙画课堂作品 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

▲何素丹创作的哪吒沙画 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

In 2007, He continued her postgraduate studies in fine arts at Hainan University, where she got to upgrade her understanding of traditional culture and art theory. It laid a solid foundation for her own creations.

"I explored multidisciplinary interactions and various materials that could be used in the art form," she says. "They gave me more inspiration."

研究生毕业后

何素丹辗转全国各地

进行沙画表演

她时常独自背着

十多斤重的沙画台

前往演出地

为避免衣袖扫到沙子

沙画创作时

她只能穿无袖的衣服

有一年冬天

何素丹在北京的户外演出

寒冷的天气冻得她全身打颤

但出于对沙画的热爱

她还是坚持了下来

▲何素丹参加沙画表演 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

After graduation, she has started traveling around the country to give performances.

Although He often has to carry a heavy sand painting table, it doesn't tire her out. "I enjoy it too much to feel anything else, (because) each performance can be full of surprises," she says.

何素丹还在海南省特殊教育学校

开设了自己的公益沙画教育基地

把这门艺术教授给需要帮助的孩子

她说：“这群特殊的孩子

可以通过沙画表达自己的内心

我会一直坚持下去”

▲何素丹在海南特殊教育学校授课现场 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

She has also set up a sand painting education facility for children with special needs in Hainan.

"The unique touch of sand has a healing effect on the heart, and I want to help these groups of children through the art of sand painting," she says, adding that those with hearing or vocal issues, are often very smart and enlightened.

何素丹还特别解释

经常会有人称沙画是舶来品

可“其实‘画荻教子’

说的就是早在宋朝

欧阳修的母亲用芦苇秆

在沙地上教儿子写字画画的故事”

如今

沙画已经为越来越多人欣赏

但何素丹认为

有必要推陈出新

让沙画艺术承载中国故事

推动中国文化走向世界

近年来

除了二十四节气的主题

她还从各种中国元素以及

端午节、中秋节等传统节日中

汲取创作灵感

▲何素丹创作的中秋主题沙画 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

▲何素丹创作的敦煌主题沙画 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

▲何素丹创作的兔年大吉主题沙画 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

In addition to grasping essential skills, He looked into the history of sand painting and concentrated on theoretical studies of the medium as well.

The art form features the pouring of colored sands, as well as powdered pigments from minerals or crystals and pigments from other natural or synthetic sources, onto a surface to create images.

"In fact, we can find examples of sand painting as far back as the Song Dynasty (960-1279)," He says. Evidence can be found in the ancient phrase huadi jiaozi that refers to the mother of Song-era literatus Ouyang Xiu teaching her son how to write and paint on the sand with a reed, she explains.

He says she feels it is imperative for people to know that sand painting is a part of Chinese culture.

"I feel that I have achieved my original intention of bringing the traditional romance of China to the world and letting people see Chinese sand art," He says. "But it is not enough, and I will continue to create more works on the subject in the future."

 如今

何素丹回到梦想开始的地方

在武汉理工大学攻读博士学位

研究人工智能与沙画

她希望借助人工智能技术

实现机器的自主表演

从而让沙画艺术

得到更广泛的推广

▲由人工智能与艺术家合作创作的《沙画颂祖国》 图源：抖音@素丹沙画

At the moment, He is also pursuing her doctoral degree in artificial intelligence and sand painting at Wuhan University of Technology.

"The development of any art, especially modern art, is definitely the result of a multidisciplinary fusion that requires an increased acumen so that your work will have more depth and move more people," she says.

Her team has developed a control terminal that operates a mechanical arm to aid the creation of sand paintings, featuring Chinese characters and images of landmark buildings.

He has set her sights on enabling her machine to be able to realize novel creations based on the style of certain artists, demonstrative teaching and user interactions.

"It will further lower the threshold for learning sand painting and enable more people to experience its charm and fun," He says.

何素丹说

“我选择了沙画，

沙画也选择了我”

为这份浪漫十足的

双向奔赴点赞！

监制/任帅

主编/谌伟春

编辑/李蕾蕾、王涵（实习）

来源/21世纪英文报综合央视新闻、长江日报、武汉理工大学、中国日报网、抖音@素丹沙画