This post-95 "skillful hand" talks to ancient craftsmen
Whenever the UP host of station B updates the video of "Short Talented Talents", the barrage is cheering "Return of Missing Persons".
Every time between "disappearance" and "return" means that he has spent another period of time in his workshop.
The basement of the suburban residence is a quiet space that he specially chooses and builds without being disturbed by the outside world.
Surrounded by a room full of tools and materials, this post-95 boy seems to be living in the past.
He used wood to re-engrav all kinds of anime swords; made flint and steel into Tang knives; DIY made Sanxingdui gold masks and Sanxingdui gold sticks with traditional crafts.
"Small talents with little learning" whose real name is Wang Shenge, is a young craftsman.
In his eyes, the way of pure handwork can feel the mental journey of craftsmen thousands of years ago to create each gorgeous utensil, and talk to the ancients.
The love for handcrafts gave him the courage to pursue his dreams
Wang Shenge's hobby of making handicrafts began in elementary school.
He went to boarding primary school and only went home once every two weeks, so his usual entertainment was doing handicrafts.
Wang Shenge saw that there is a "trick box" in the costume drama. When the box is opened, an arrow will be shot out, which fascinates him.
So Wang Shenge relied on his imagination to make a mechanism box by himself.
In 2017, Wang Xinge saw many UP masters sharing their interests and hobbies at station B, and he had more spare time in college. He also taught himself editing and shooting, and recorded the process of manual work and uploaded it to the Internet.
On July 21, 2017, Wang Xinge uploaded the first video "Bishop Bishop, You Make a Confession Artifact—Red Sandalwood Inlaid Silver Comb", and began to share his handmade stories online.
In the early days of becoming a manual UP master, Wang Shenge used a stand to support the mobile phone, recorded the whole process of production, and studied various professional editing software for this.
The price of buying handmade materials is more expensive, so he saves money in life.
After graduating from university in 2019, Wang Shenge went to Shanghai alone to become a full-time UP owner—"I think it is my love for handcrafts that gave me the courage to chase my dreams."
But at first, few fans paid attention.
He admitted frankly that at that time it was difficult to pay the rent due to unstable income, but he never gave up with the mentality of "I will insist on doing what I want to do by hand", and he is optimistic about the prospects of the self-media industry.
Finally, a video of "Make a Knife with Purple Sandalwood, Test How Strong It Is" received an enthusiastic response, which ushered in a turning point in Wang Shenge's self-media career.
In the video, Wang Shenge made a knife out of purple sandalwood and tested how sharp the knife made of wood can be.
Combining handcraft and two-dimensional animation IP became a path he explored at that time that suited him.
"A lot of handmade ideas are inspired by my attention to the objects in my life. Traditional Chinese crafts have also given me a lot of ideas. For example, when I make oil-paper umbrellas, fans, goldware, etc., I will refer to intangible cultural heritage crafts."
Create a "feeling of connectedness" with the ancients across time and space
After breaking the "dimension wall", Wang Shenge became a follower of traditional Chinese culture.
On March 20, 2021, the results of a new round of archaeological excavations were announced.
More than 500 cultural relics were unearthed from 6 sacrificial pits at the Sanxingdui site, and a fragment of a gold mask was unearthed from pit No. 5.
This fragment weighs about 280 grams. According to expert research, the weight of the gold mask is about 500 grams.
As soon as the news came out, Wang Shenge was shocked by the grandeur of this golden mask.
"There is a feeling of masks appearing when watching anime. It is very trendy and cool. I was fascinated at once."
Unfortunately, only half of this golden mask is incomplete.
"At that time, everyone was guessing what it would look like when it was complete. I also like to do handicrafts very much, so I wanted to try to restore it in my own way."
Wang Shenge admitted frankly that the plan was not favored at the beginning.
Originally, he made more weapons of "Benxian" in the two-dimensional animation, and he was already very popular. People around him felt that "young people might not like you to make unearthed cultural relics" and "won't it be worth spending so much money?"
"But I like it very much." Wang Shenge decided that since he insisted, he must choose materials that can achieve the best effect, regardless of cost.
First, go to the bank and buy a 500-gram gold nugget.
Wang Shenge's savings were not enough to pay for such high-priced materials, so in order to realize this handicraft that he wanted to complete so much, he borrowed money to purchase it.
The gold nuggets were hammered over and over again by him with a 1.8 kg hammer and calcined simultaneously.
After tens of thousands of beatings, the gold nugget becomes a thin gold plate with a thickness of only about 0.4 mm.
Wang Shenge checked the existing information and "brained" the incomplete part of the golden mask.
Tapping, shaping, polishing... The nose, eyes, and ears of the mask are gradually revealed.
15 days of production, presented in a 12-minute short video.
In April 2021, Wang Shenge released "15 days spent 200,000 yuan, using 500 grams of gold to hammer tens of thousands of hammers to create a Sanxingdui gold mask by hand", which became popular all over the Internet.
Zhu Yarong, deputy curator of Sanxingdui Museum, praised him and called him to work in the restoration museum; "Henan Museum" also called out: "Consider specializing in cultural relics restoration?"
Wang Shenge said with a smile that after learning more about it later, his DIY gold mask was still not rigorous enough.
"But I have a lot of emotion during the production process. Back then, the ancients spent so much time and energy, hammering hammer after hammer to make the golden mask."
After making the golden mask, with the encouragement of netizens, Wang Xinge spent another 4 months DIY making the golden staff unearthed from the Sanxingdui site.
Wang Shenge said that every time he explores, he can't help but imagine whether the ancient craftsmen also went through the same process, so he can always have a "feeling of connectedness" with the ancients across time and space.
In the age of the Internet, asking about the past and asking about the present "following the footsteps of our ancestors"
Whenever Wang Shenge uses traditional techniques to gradually polish the original materials into the shape of utensils, netizens post barrage saying "Magic is forbidden in front of Muggles"; whenever the stunning finished product is finally shown at the end of the video, netizens will gather in groups Sending the word "group photo" is like checking in to visit the beautiful exhibit in a real museum.
In Wang Xinge's eyes, the greatest charm of handwork lies in the sense of accomplishment after the work is completed and the ability to control every detail of it.
"Even if it has been a long time, when I see the handmade works, I can still recall the ideas and ideas at that time. For me, the handmade works are the crystallization of that period of time."
Hobbies and life have long grown together.
Wang Shenge likes to follow his heart to freely explore his own curious time and space, and is willing to overcome many difficulties to realize all his whimsical ideas into real handmade works.
In addition to doing handicrafts and recording videos on weekdays, Wang Xinge spends a lot of time searching for and purchasing materials.
He will patiently search for a piece of material with a suitable size for a whole year; he will also act first when he sees a material with "interesting intuition".
"When I went to unpack the express delivery, I couldn't wait."
"I feel like I'm following in the footsteps of my ancestors." Wang Shenge opened the column "Knowing the Past and Asking the Present" on his personal page.
With his own hands, he built a bridge of time between the past and the present.
Before going to Beijing to record a program, Wang Shenge visited the Palace Museum in his spare time, and was attracted by the filigree inlay technique.
After 3 months, Wang Xinge made the "Chinese Space Station" with filigree inlay technology.
Wang Shenge said that the craftsmanship of the Forbidden City collection is the handicraft ceiling. It is a very interesting thing to combine such a peak of traditional Chinese handicrafts in ancient China and the peak of China's modern industry.
After completing the whole process of high-energy, hard-core production, Wang Xinge is still not satisfied.
"The most beautiful moment of the space station should be when it faces the earth and its back faces the stars."
He "created another piece of the universe" for this particular space station.
This year, Wang Shenge also launched a "big plan" - a live broadcast of the re-enactment of the Crystal Cup of the Warring States Period.
He said with a smile that the crystal cup of the Warring States Period seemed out of place in the historical background at that time, and its shape was too modern, like a "traveling cultural relic".
The production of the Warring States Crystal Cup is expected to take more than a year. Wang Shenge hopes to witness the creation process of this "traveling cultural relic" together with netizens.
He is even recently inventing a tool that can "free his hands" in certain links, so that he can have more energy to chat and share with netizens during the live broadcast.
Regarding his "new career" as a manual UP master, Wang Shenge said that he is a beneficiary of the Internet age.
"A lot of my manual knowledge and video editing and shooting skills are learned online. Some bloggers have contributed to the popularization and dissemination of Chinese culture, and many people can benefit from sharing their hobbies. I hope that the Internet industry can be active and healthy. Continue to develop." Wang Xinge said.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Shen Jiequn Source: China Youth Daily