China News Service, Yongzhou, April 20 (Tang Xiaoqing, Jiang Xiaoguo, Wu Dongmei) "Why do you want to carve a dragon ball? Double dragons grab the ball and make it look good. If you carve a tongue, it will be ugly. This dragon ball is quite refined and it is rare for someone to do it well." Hunan Zhou Chengyun, a resident of Shuinan Community, Shangguan Sub-district Office, Daoxian County, is painting the dragon boats in his small workshop, rushing to make a batch of small dragon boat crafts reserved by tourists.
A small dragon boat carved by Zhou Chengyun.
Photo by Jiang Xiaoguo
Daoxian County (called "Daozhou" in ancient times), Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, is known as the "Hometown of Dragon Boats" and has a long history of dragon boat culture.
The Daozhou Dragon Boat Race began in the Song Dynasty and has been passed down for more than a thousand years. Each dragon boat has a fixed name, and the bow is carved with dragon, tiger, phoenix, eagle, cat and other different signs.
During the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of May, the Xiaoshui River is full of gongs and drums, and dragon boat races attract hundreds of thousands of people from the surrounding areas to watch the race.
In December 2020, the Daozhou Dragon Boat Race was included in the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
Zhou Chengyun studied woodworking with his grandfather and father when he was 16 years old, mainly making dragon boat "dragon heads" by hand, and he has deep affection for dragon boats.
"My family has been carpenters for several generations. Influenced by my parents, I particularly like carpenters, especially carving." Zhou Chengyun said.
More than ten years ago, Zhou Chengyun first tried the water to make a small dragon boat that was "not decent" and could not be sold for a price, but he did not give up, instead he devoted himself to studying and pondering slowly.
Small but complete.
A small dragon boat is completed by hand from more than 10 crafts including selecting the bottom bone, leveling, making the big side, setting the dragon intestines, polishing, and painting.
Zhou Chengyun is carving.
Photo by Jiang Xiaoguo
"From the selection of materials to the glazing of the finished product, the process is cumbersome. You need to be patient and meticulous in hand-carving with a single knife. Even the oars and small gongs and drums must be meticulous, and every process must not be neglected." Zhou Chengyun introduced, making a small dragon boat must choose The material with less pimple, the more pimple does not look good.
Decades of woodworking experience has trained Zhou Chengyun to accurately control the details, and the small dragon boats he carved are vivid and vivid.
In his workshop of less than 20 square meters, there are more than 10 small dragon boats that have been made, all of them are vivid, vivid and beautiful in shape. The hull is also equipped with war drums, which is very exquisite and can be viewed and displayed. Collection value.
Zhou Chengyun said that making small dragon boat carvings is not only a technique, but also an art and culture. This craft is not easy to learn, and you must have enough patience. "Most young people now like city life and are neither willing to learn nor patient. Until now, they have not found a suitable candidate to inherit this craft." Zhou Chengyun is willing to teach young people to learn this craft for free. (Finish)