China News Service, Xi’an, August 19 (Dang Tianye) “Repairing light bulbs is actually not complicated. It was just fun to film this video. I didn’t expect it to be “fire”.” 57-year-old Xi’an ceramic craftsman Chai Guining said with a smile. A video of manually repairing light bulbs that he posted on the Internet quickly surpassed one million views, which was somewhat unexpected.
In Chai Guining's studio, restored vases, teapots, tea bowls and other objects were filled. Accompanying these restorations day and night are tools such as drills, hammers, and lathes of various sizes and shapes. There are thousands of them, like a small tool museum.
The picture shows Xi'an curium porcelain craftsman Chai Guining repairing light bulbs. Photo by Dang Tianye
"The glass of the bulb is thin and brittle, it will burst if you carelessly, and you need to be bold and careful to do this." More people have some interest in curium porcelain.
In front of the workbench, Chai Guining put on magnifying glasses, held a drill bit, and carefully punched holes on both sides of the crack in the bulb. Then, holding a spray gun, scissors and other tools, he made several nails as thin as a hair. After lightly tapping, the nails are inserted into the holes, and the broken bulb is ready for a "surgical operation" and is "recommended".
The reporter learned that the art of repairing porcelain has been passed down for a long time. Curium porcelain is the technique of repairing broken porcelain with metal "curium" like staples.
Chai Guining told reporters that since he was a child, he likes to repair things by hand. For repairing objects, Chai Guining believes that techniques are important, but more importantly, understanding the stories and emotions between objects and their owners, and respecting the traces left by time. This requires the restorer to understand the knowledge of psychology, mechanics, chemistry, art, etc.
The picture shows the Xi'an curium porcelain craftsman Chai Guining repairing artifacts. Photo by Dang Tianye
"If you understand this, then through various manual techniques and processes, the thing you can repair may be more suitable for its original temperament, and it will not be so obtrusive." Chai Guining believes that it can make artifacts produce new elements and at the same time. Without changing the overall structure, to achieve the effect of "repair the old as the old", this is the best state.
As she got older, Chai Guining's energy was also not as good as before. Over the years, Chai Guining has organized training courses to teach curium ceramic techniques. The tuition fee of more than 10,000 yuan is a bit expensive, but it is a "lifelong system." Students can come whenever they want to learn. Different from the traditional teaching method of "oral teaching", Chai Guining pays more attention to the popularization of theoretical knowledge in the process of teaching techniques. The temperature and expansion coefficient involved in curium porcelain restoration are the focus of his teaching.
“Many masters know how to do it, but they don’t say that the only way for apprentices to learn techniques can be through repeated imitation and comprehension. Teacher Chai’s lessons are more intuitive, and all procedures are supported by theory, so they can learn faster.” A student on the scene said, This teaching method similar to university courses is obviously more suitable for young people.
Chai Guining said that whether it is to attract attention with "refilling light bulbs" or to open training courses, his purpose is to let more people understand and get in touch with curium porcelain techniques, so that this traditional technique can advance with the times and be passed on. (Finish)