Chinanews.com, Guizhou Dafang, December 25th, title: "Second generation" of intangible cultural heritage takes over a century-old skill: everything can be "painted"
Author Zhou Yanling
When he saw Gao Yan, the "second generation" of intangible cultural heritage, he was busy introducing to customers the tableware made by Dafang Yi nationality's lacquerware painting skills.
It is unbelievable that the seemingly "heavy" utensils on the table are as light as chrysanthemums, as bright as a mirror, and as delicate and smooth as a baby's skin.
"Dafang lacquerware is naturally environmentally friendly and non-toxic. It has the characteristics of no heat conduction, no odor, and no decay when used as food." Gao Yan picked up a lacquer bowl and said that every piece of lacquerware has to go through a long time of baptism. The longer it is, the more lustrous it will be.
The picture shows craftsmen making Dafang lacquerware.
Photo by Qu Honglun
China is the first country in the world to use lacquer to make utensils. From the red lacquer wooden bowl in the Neolithic Age in Hemudu, to the prosperity of Chu and Han lacquer culture, until the peak of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Chinese lacquer art has gone through a long and glorious course of 7,000 years.
Gao Yan's hometown, Dafang County, Guizhou, is known as the "Hometown of National Lacquerware". The lacquerware craft has a history of more than 600 years.
The picture shows Gao Yan's father, Gao Guangyou, making Dafang lacquerware vases.
Photo by Qu Honglun
"Fang lacquer is as clear as oil, and you can see the beauty's head; shake the tiger spot color, and lift the fishing hook." It is a vivid portrayal of the excellent quality of Dafang lacquer.
Gao Yan, who was born in the 1980s, grew up in a lacquerware factory. His father, Gao Guangyou, is a provincial representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage Dafang Yi ethnic lacquerware painting technique and a senior craftsman in Guizhou Province. He has been with lacquerware for more than 30 years.
The picture shows Gao Guangyou, Gao Yan's father, making a generous lacquerware vase.
Photo by Qu Honglun
Affected by his family, after graduating from university in 2012, Gao Yan returned to Dafang to start his career as a "lacquer" artist.
As an inheritor of the new generation of intangible cultural heritage, Gao Yan has his own views on Dafang lacquerware, that is, the application scenarios of lacquerware should be more varied, and everything can be "lacquered".
"When I first came back, almost all the Dafang lacquerware made by my father were decorations and ornamental products. I hoped that Dafang lacquerware could be integrated into the lives of ordinary people, and explore the connection between traditional skills and pyrotechnic life." Gao Yan explained that lacquerware has returned to public life. , in order to obtain a broader market.
After continuous research and experimentation, Gao Yan and his father combined Dafang lacquerware with wood, bamboo, porcelain, pottery, etc., and made them into daily necessities and tourist crafts, including bookmarks, mobile phone cases, tea pots, bracelets, and jewelry. Boxes, as well as lacquer paintings, screens, lacquer trays and other products, not only have national characteristics, but also home decorations that conform to modern style decoration, and are very popular in the market.
"In 2022, the order income will be 6 million yuan. We are currently rushing to make an order from a Taiwanese company to make lacquerware crafts for guzhengs." Gao Yan said that Dafang lacquerware has a unique and complicated process, mainly including lacquer making, tire making, Gray base, lacquer base and other processes, a piece of lacquerware must go through more than 50 processes before it can be completed.
The picture shows a plate decoration of Dafang lacquerware.
Photo by Zhou Yanling
Hidden flowers are a unique skill of Dafang lacquerware. The reporter saw that craftsmen cleverly hide various patterns between the lacquer and the embryo, faintly visible, and its shape is like a deep lane, a quiet shadow and a sinking wall; its shape, lines The decoration is natural, swaying freely, like flowing clouds and flowing water.
In terms of color, it is now also changed from the original hidden stone mahogany color to coral color, etc., which enriches the color surface even more.
The innovation is not only the form but also the production technique. In order to shorten the production cycle of lacquerware products, Gao Yan and his father also introduced machines from outside to mass-produce standard embryos, such as wooden bowls and wooden plates. Inexpensive and high-quality, let lacquerware "let down your figure" and enter the homes of ordinary people.
The same color paint is gorgeous, and the same rhyme paint is immortal.
Gao Yan’s lacquerware craft factory is also open to the public. The public can understand the complicated process of lacquerware production and feel the charm of lacquerware. “Before the new crown pneumonia epidemic, three or four thousand people would visit the factory every year to watch the lacquerware production process. .”
The picture shows screens, vases and chairs of Dafang lacquerware.
Photo by Zhou Yanling
"The 'national trend' that has emerged in recent years has also made intangible cultural heritage more and more popular among young people, just like lacquerware jewelry boxes are very popular." Gao Yan said frankly that the rise of the 'national trend' has broadened the scope of intangible cultural heritage. The path of productive protection and active inheritance also allows more young people to see, touch and use intangible cultural heritage, helping to protect and inherit intangible cultural heritage.
China is an ancient civilization with the largest amount of intangible cultural heritage in the world. In recent years, whether it is the "second generation" or "third generation" of intangible cultural heritage, young intangible cultural heritage inheritors are constantly "activating" intangible cultural heritage through innovation and starting cross-border cooperation. In this way, take over the baton and play the "international model" of intangible cultural heritage.
(use up)