"My grandfather's generation has already begun to make leather goods in Shengjing, and I am already the fourth generation." Fang Zhensheng after "40" said.

Fang Zhensheng, who is nearly 80 years old, still creates and produces relief sculptures every day, which has long become his daily routine.

  Material selection, design, drafting, carving, shaping... No matter how noisy the outside world is, as the only representative inheritor of carved suitcases in the country, Fang Zhensheng, who is nearly 80 years old, always does not panic, carving with one hammer and one hammer. His understanding of life. Born in a family of cobblers, Fang Zhensheng is the fourth generation inheritor of Fang’s traditional luggage carving skills. He was influenced by his father’s ears and eyes since he was young, and he has a deep connection with luggage carving.

Fang Zhensheng will regularly maintain the works

Embossed and carved leather painting "San Yu"

The relief painting "Wen Yuan Tu"

  The craft that Fang Zhensheng is good at is called embossed leather carving. The carving knife is applied to the thin leather material, and the pattern is only carved out of the leather. The leather is swollen through a special process and presents a relief-like effect. It is embossed. When carving, in addition to leaving clear lines, the leather cannot be cut through or broken to keep it original strength and elasticity. In addition, after the leather is shaped and raised, it can permanently maintain a fixed shape without shrinking , These are the magic of embossed leather carving art.

The moon is finishing the leather

This is Fang Zhensheng's home, where Moon has lived since childhood, and also their studio.

  In 2015, Fang Zhensheng came to a new partner, the granddaughter Moon, who grew up next to him since he was a child. After graduating from university, the Moon joined the intangible heritage project of Fang’s traditional luggage carving skills. This is a pretty girl born in the “90s” who has studied dance since she was a child and added her art design major. The addition of the moon has injected a lot of fresh ideas and inspirations into Fang Zhensheng’s creation. Fang Zhensheng’s works have made breakthroughs in styles, carvings, and coloring. Inherent in a century of tradition, it has incorporated many innovative ideas and fashion elements. Grandpa said that Moon is a very talented child who is making rapid progress. The Moon said: "Like Grandpa, I grew up smelling leather and listening to the sound of leather products."

Fang Zhensheng instructed the moon to trim the embossed leather painting. Fang Zhensheng said that this leather painting is a dowry for the moon.

  On the eve of the Chinese New Year in 2020, Fang Zhensheng and the moon have added a new year picture to his home. Hope to keep the family safe. This new year picture adds color elements to make it more vivid

  "Handmade luggage carving techniques have a long history. As a traditional folk technique, under the concept of'craftsmanship is a rice bowl','historical officials are not recorded, actual records are not collected, art is not spread, and folks are hard to find.' This makes its history and craftsmanship fresh. There are written records." For hundreds of years, leather carving techniques have been using traditional methods of word of mouth. Fang Zhensheng recalled that when he was studying with his father, he was afraid that he could not remember and wanted to write down the two ancestral pasting secrets and leather processing techniques on paper, but his father was angry: "Keep it in your heart, you can't keep words! "Today, in order to better develop and pass on this intangible cultural heritage, Fang Zhensheng, with the help of the moon, systematically organizes the 108 manufacturing processes of luggage carving and puts them into writing.

Fang Zhensheng took out the heirloom once again, and the grandfather and grandson looked at it with gusto, hoping to find new inspiration from it

  This small suitcase was left by Fang Zhensheng's grandmother (grandmother's mother). Due to the age of the small suitcase, some parts are very old. The surface of the suitcase is also very mottled, but the carved patterns are still clearly visible.

  In the 1970s and 1980s, qualified families had to wear a pair of suitcases when the couple got married. Now the suitcases have been replaced by cars and houses, but the "囍" boxes made by Fang Zhensheng are still very popular.

  "As the saying goes, it's hard to look at fairies if the leather is ripe." This is Fang Zhensheng's most common saying. After the leather is processed through the ripening process, it is difficult to distinguish between good and bad. Choosing a good piece of leather is a key step in making a suitcase. Fang Zhensheng’s embossed leather sculptures usually use cowhide as the material, because sheepskin is too soft, pigskin is thick and lacks toughness, and cowhide not only has fine texture and moderate hardness. , Which is more conducive to carving and shaping. "After a piece of leather is opened, which part is suitable for what to do and what should be done, this is the key." Fang Zhensheng said.

The moon showed the reporter the dyed "囍" suitcase, which is also the most popular leather suitcase

  For a leather case, the material of the box body and the corner of the box should be distinguished. In order to enhance the wear resistance of the box corner, the harder spine leather is usually selected for this part, while the box body is made of relatively softer Cowhide, and avoid the scars that the cowhide itself cannot modify.

The grandfather and grandson checked the drawings before the draft

  Drafting is the second process of making leather suitcase carvings. Since the moon joined, the two will carefully check and modify the drawings before the drafting. Before drawing patterns on the leather, you must first soften the leather. Spread water evenly on the leather. The leather will become soft after absorbing water, and will become hard again after losing water. Flatten the drawing on the leather, and trace the pen tip along the line on the sulfuric acid paper. The pressure of the pen tip leaves a shallow scratch on the surface of the leather under the paper. Sulfuric acid paper is waterproof and hard, which can prevent pen and ink from directly scratching the leather, keeping the leather clean, and a piece of sulphuric acid paper can be used repeatedly until it is scratched.

Carving with professional tools

  After the pattern is drawn, the leather must be softened again. When the leather slowly recovers and hardens to a certain extent, it can be carved. Painting on leather is a technique that cannot tolerate modification, so the 108 processes can not tolerate the slightest sloppy.

The moon is going to lock the handle of the suitcase

Mini cosmetic bag made by Moon

  "When I first started sewing the suitcase, my fingers were often punctured. I can't remember how many times," said the moon. Moon learned to dance since he was a child. He once had a dream of a dancer, but he had to give up this childhood dream after being injured in an accident. From a smart dancer to a quiet craftsman, from the body From the dance of the dance to the dance of the hands, the moon transforms movement and stillness just right. "It is because I love it inside that I can sink my heart to do this." She said.

Moon takes care of the suitcase. She named this suitcase "Flower and Full Moon", which is also one of her favorite works.

Moon’s latest work "Flying Heaven" combines Chinese classical culture with delicate dyeing

  The moon and his grandfather Fang Zhensheng are 50 years old, but they have the same dreams and hobbies. They live and work together, and use the generation gap in embossing to create different sparks. "We often have different sparks. There was a fierce discussion about the idea. It turned out that Grand Guild was relatively tough and asked me to follow his ideas. There have been great changes in the past two years and will accept my opinions and adopt my ideas." Moon said.

The lipstick box created by Moon is compact, stylish and functional

  Dyeing is the longest dispute between the two. Fang Zhensheng has been making suitcases in accordance with traditional techniques, pursuing the inherent texture of the leather itself, while Moon hopes to break through traditional techniques, innovate boldly, and add fashion elements that young people like.

  With the constant insistence of the moon, Fang Zhensheng gradually accepted the idea of ​​the moon and provided a lot of technical support for the moon. After several attempts and research, the two finally succeeded in practice. "Now, in the studio of our grandparents and grandchildren, there are not only traditional embossed leather bags and colorful embossed bags, but also gradient colors and transition colors, which cater to the public's aesthetics and are very popular in the market." Speaking of which, Fang Zhensheng Very proud.

  Grandpa’s suitcase and the moon’s suitcase, the contrast between tradition and fashion, they will take it every time they travel abroad. Now, the moon has its own independent studio and devotes all body and mind to the creation and creation of suitcase carvings. making.

  "I hope to create my own brand and promote the "Fangjia Bag" to overseas markets and become a luxury brand in China." Moon said, "This is my grandfather's wish and my wish!" As Fang's traditional luggage carving skills As the fifth-generation heir to, Moon has a long way to go. This is her mission and responsibility.

  Inheritance is not just a leather suitcase, nor a craftsmanship, but a figure of an old cobbler who is more than ancient and rare and a little cobbler born in the "90s" lying on the desk together, sculpting the figure with one hammer and one hammer. , Inheritance is an endless craftsman spirit.

  Author: Wang Yi Lin