Lacquer painting screen work "Heavenly Song". Sun Manting, a master of lacquer art in Fujian Province, added hand-painted color paint to the traditional "carving and filling" technique, so that the picture of grinding and pushing out the light was more layered and more three-dimensional. Image source: Fujian Pictorial
Fuzhou lacquerware is the inheritance of ancient Chinese excellent lacquer culture developed, together with Beijing cloisonné, Jiangxi Jingdezhen porcelain and called the "three treasures" of traditional Chinese crafts.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the lacquer painter Shen Shao'an found in a temple that although the wood of the gate had decayed, the bottom embryo of the lacquered ash summer cloth was intact. The careful Shen Shaoan was inspired by this, and after returning home, he continued to ponder and experiment, restored the long-lost Han Dynasty "sandwich" technique, and innovated in techniques and materials, and created the original "birth-taking" technique. Since Shen Shao'an, Fuzhou's lacquerware decoration skills have been passed down through inheritance, and skillful craftsmen have emerged, and they have gradually become famous all over the world.
"Exquisite sigh processing, exquisite life of all things." Or fine and so on, or huge over the hills. Lift one feather lightly, and regard it as nine Ding Wu. Flowers bloom in the spring, and the fruits are happy at will. The world is unparalleled, and the world is doubtful. Guo Moruo's poem tells the beauty of fuzhou's lacquerware. Its variety is second to none in the national lacquerware industry, with flexible shapes and forms. Large ones such as lacquer painting large screens, painted large vases, and large bronze lions displayed in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, such as smoking utensils, tea sets, bowls, plates, plates, cans, etc., have a total of more than 1,200 varieties of colors in 18 categories. Its texture is strong and lightweight, the shape is unique, the decorative techniques are rich and diverse, the colors are bright and harmonious, and it can be described as a collection of beauty in one, with extraordinary artistic charm.
In 1898, Fuzhou's lacquerware works participated in the Paris World Exposition and won gold medals, and since then they have emerged in the international arts and crafts industry, and have won awards at the 1911 Health Exposition in Berlin, Germany, the 1912 Turin Games in Italy, the 1915 Panama International Exposition and the 1934 Chicago World Exposition. In 2006, Fuzhou lacquerware was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection list.
The lacquer, which contains the aura of heaven and earth, interprets the colorful music of Nirvana's rebirth. Photo by Chen Weikai
Fuzhou's traditional lacquerware decoration techniques have nearly ten kinds, which are the result of inheritance, innovation and development of generations of artisans and masters for more than 200 years. Each ingenious artist will have his own unique skills in their lacquer art practice, with large or small unique creations. Because of this, Fuzhou's lacquerware culture can be like a river with tributaries flowing into it, rolling forward and growing. Taking the "flash" technique as an example, Sun Manting, who has been practicing for more than 50 years, on the basis of being proficient in traditional classic techniques such as "Red Treasure Flash", "Glaze Change", "Table Flower" and "Printing Brocade", continues to write a new chapter in Fuzhou's lacquerware decoration technique with wisdom and feelings.
Sun Manting lacquer art works. Photo by Chen Weikai
The innovative "Emerald Flash" technique is Sun Manting's bold breakthrough on the basis of traditional techniques. "Emerald Flash" is also known as "Lotus Leaf Red Treasure Sand" technique. Originally, the practice of mr. Li Zhiqing, a famous artist, was to tear the dead lotus leaves into pieces, stick them evenly to the wet paint surface, scrape off the dead leaves after the paint surface dried, and then use turpentine to clean the dead leaves, and the paint surface will show a natural and beautiful pattern.
In order to seek a breakthrough, Sun Manting spent more than two years and repeatedly experimented with various materials. Finally, the loofah is used as a tool, and the paint pigment is the base material of the paint texture, and the texture made has high, medium and low concave. Aluminum foil powder is applied to this lacquer texture, covered with green transparent paint, polished and pushed, that is, a magnificent floral ornament, like a deep glittering emerald. The difficulty of this technique is that the paint surface cannot be worn, and the texture of the pattern is hidden under the paint layer while refracting to show a high, medium and low level effect. Therefore, the process is required to be interlocked, and the technical difficulty is extremely high. At the 2016 China Contemporary Arts and Crafts Biennale, Sun Manting's "Emerald Glitter" gall bottle lacquerware was widely acclaimed and collected by the National Art Museum of China.
Sun Manting Fuzhou lacquerware innovation works: Emerald Sand Square Bottle (left), Glazed Saffron Vase (middle), Emerald Glitter Bile Bottle (right). Photo by Chen Weikai
Sun Manting's "Green Light Flashing Treasure" process:
milling. Photo by Chen Weikai
Sticker silver foil. Photo by Chen Weikai
Dip fine gray to push the light. Photo by Chen Weikai
burnish. Photo by Chen Weikai
Push the light. Photo by Chen Weikai
A very ordinary loofah is used to express the classic zhangli technique, and the flexible texture effect is transformed. Photo by Chen Weikai
Covered with green transparent paint. Photo by Chen Weikai
Colorful and colorful, ingenious. Photo by Chen Weikai
Fuzhou's lacquerware skills have been passed down by word of mouth, very few have been written down, and some skills have been almost lost. Sun Manting witnessed the gradual departure of the old artists in the lacquer art industry, and strongly realized that it was urgent to record the history of Fuzhou lacquer art evolution with words. While devoting herself to creating lacquerware works, she began to devote herself to finding, collecting and recording historical materials, technical processes and material recipes for the development of Lacquer Art in Fuzhou, and wrote treatises such as "Fuzhou Lacquerware and Lacquer Painting" and "Process Interpretation". "It is my mission to record the historical materials of lacquer art in the form of words, but I am unable to accept students anymore," Sun Manting said.
During the day, Sun Manting dances with lacquer to create classics; in the evening, Sun Manting works tirelessly and records history. Photo by Chen Weikai
"The road is long and the road is long, and I will seek up and down." Fuzhou lacquer artists with persistence and innovation, watching the highland of Fujian people's lacquerware skills.
Source: Learning Power Fujian Learning Platform, Fujian Pictorial
Editor: Yang Yi
Review: Liu Weicheng, Lin Fang