Chinanews.com, Lanzhou, December 3rd (Yang Na) An ordinary blue brick was handed by Shen Zhanwei, a national model worker and provincial intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Linxia brick carving. The peony "blossomed" and the bird "singed". On the streets of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in the province, colorful brick carvings can be seen everywhere on buildings.
Brick carving artists use carving knives as pens and green bricks as paper to "recreate" the world.
Linxia brick carving, also known as Hezhou brick carving, is a practical art that is closely integrated with buildings. It matured in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and absorbed the artistic features of painting and wood carving in modern times, making this folk art form more perfect.
On May 20, 2006, Linxia Brick Carving was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Shen Zhanwei, who loved painting since he was a child, collected all the tools that could be used for painting, and used simple crayons and picture books bound in cigarette cases to draw what he saw and heard.
In the years when he was forced by life, Shen Zhanwei insisted on learning skills from the old brick carvers in his family when he was working as a mason.
Beginning to formally learn art from a teacher, Shen Zhanwei began by polishing bricks and sharpening knives for his master, just to learn brick carving skills.
"I have a good foundation in painting, and I am good at conception and design before carving. As long as I can draw on a brick, I can carve it." Shen Zhanwei believes that how to carve a satisfactory work on a brick is very important.
According to Shen Zhanwei, the engraving process includes eight procedures including grinding, composition, engraving, fine grinding, watering, numbering, splicing and installation, and decoration. The production tools include folding ruler, saw, plane, shovel, chisel, and carving knife. Chisels, chisels and engraving knives are divided into several types according to the requirements of the process, such as weight, size, length, width and thickness of the cutting edge.
He said that a mature brick carving craftsman has his own ideas and opinions from the beginning of choosing a suitable brick.
As far as he is concerned, he can tell whether the brick is suitable for carving by knocking on the brick body only by the sound.
"If the bricks are not selected properly, half of the subsequent carving will crack, and the craftsmen will waste all their previous efforts."
In 2006, Linxia brick carvings were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
The picture shows Shen Zhanwei carving.
(Data map) Photo by Zhao Yongzheng
"Sculpture techniques mainly include negative line engraving, concave line engraving, convex line engraving, shallow relief, high relief, hollow-out openwork and other types." Shen Zhanwei believes that this is the essence of Linxia brick carving art. A brick carving is often composed of three or four pieces. It is composed of layers of patterns, overlapping and overlapping, which has a strong three-dimensional effect.
Over the years, on the basis of concentrating on researching the innovation, design and carving of Linxia brick carvings, he pioneered the development of removable brick carvings and a series of Linxia brick carving micro-carving works.
One of his works "Bogu Frame" adopts difficult techniques such as hollow carving, round carving, deep relief carving, and flat carving of Linxia bricks. It takes peony, lotus, tripod, Ruyi and other rare treasures as the theme, implying "harmony and peace"" It must be as you wish", exhibited as an exhibit at the 100th China Import and Export Fair.
In addition to improving his own skills, Shen Zhanwei, as the provincial representative inheritor of the Linxia brick carving project, actively carries out inheritance activities and strives to cultivate successor talents.
In December 2006, he served as the manager and art director of Linxia Shenyun Brick Carving Co., Ltd., taking the production workshop and the front line as his own classroom, and preaching to more people who love brick carving art.
In 2015, with the approval of the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Gansu Province, the "Shen Zhanwei Provincial Skills Master Studio" was established, and Shen Zhanwei became the leader.
In 2020, the studio will be promoted to a national skill master studio.
Shen Zhanwei believes that the establishment of the skill master studio provides a platform for this thousand-year-old skill to be passed on, and it can gather good designs and ideas and do a good job in talent training.
However, the number of "high imitation and counterfeit" brick carving products has increased, making the market for brick carving products uneven. Shen Zhanwei worries that this skill will be lost in the near future.
Shen Zhanwei said that there are a large number of brick carvings produced by machines and cement in large quantities on the market, and the quality is uneven.
The mass-produced "fake" brick carving works have seriously affected the brand of Linxia brick carvings, making craftsmen who often need several months to carve a work extremely helpless.
"The craftsmanship must be passed on, and the craftsmen must be able to support their families with this skill. If the market is not organized, the craftsmen will have no enthusiasm for creation, and it will be impossible to talk about inheriting this time-consuming and labor-intensive skill." (End)