Text: Temperature Chronicle
Han Tong departed at 7 o'clock in the morning, took Metro Line 5 to Dongsi Station, took a 20-minute bus to Shenwu Gate, and then arrived at his work unit, the Palace Museum.
He found a bicycle in the courtyard and rode along the root of the city wall, with the wind in his ears, and the red walls and yellow tiles slid past him in turn.
Born in 1993, Han Tong is a photographer and a librarian at the Palace Museum's Department of Cultural Conservation and Science and Technology. Whenever he enters the office area, Han Tong has a feeling of "traveling" - from a highly developed international metropolis, slowly step by step into the ancient buildings hundreds of years ago.
Here, the cultural relics restorers work and live on the scale of "ten years", and everyone's time slows down in this Forbidden City.
And Han Tong recorded these people in his own way.
In April this year, Han Tong's new book, "Hand to Heart: The Story of the Palace Museum's Restorer", was published. "I'm a porter, and the book is full of the words of the restorer." He positions himself this way.
"Just hearing the name makes me feel like a novelty"
At the beginning of 2016, 21-year-old Han Tong was in his senior year of photography major, and the documentary "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City" produced by CCTV was on the air. After watching the documentary, he longed for the Forbidden City.
In September of that year, after an examination and interview, Han Tong joined the Palace Museum. In the first two days of work, just in time for the overhaul of the Heart Cultivation Palace, the director directly told him: "Go to the Heart Cultivation Hall tomorrow." ”
And sometimes, the place of work will also be in Yuhua Pavilion, or gather in front of Shenwu Gate, or Shuangsongzhai for lunch, Jianfu Palace for a meeting...... "Just listening to the name, you will feel different, very special." Right? Han Tong, who had not been working for a long time, felt extremely novel.
Han Tong in the Forbidden City
When photographing ancient buildings to be repaired, Han Tong's novelty is even more obvious. For example, he wonders, "Why are the stairs so narrow?" "He wears size 43 shoes, and when he goes up the stairs, at least a quarter of his feet are dangling.
Some palaces are magnificent, with large interiors, but small bedrooms and small beds. If a person with a height of 1.8 meters lies down, there must be a calf that cannot be put down. "Maybe the ancients paid more attention to concealment and privacy in rest." He guessed.
When it was time to get off work, like the students on duty in the class, there were colleagues on duty to check each room every day.
"Are the lights off?"
"It's off."
"Did the gates pull out?"
"Pulled."
Since there are often cultural relics in the office area, no one is left in the house after work. Turn off the lights, pull the gate, close the window, and the staff on duty will check the circle to ensure safety, fill in the form and sign, lock the door, and hand over the key to the key room.
In that bungalow, there are the internal security department, the security office and the key room - there is no sign at the door of the key room, so people who go to the key room for the first time may not even be able to find the door. The key room is manned 24 hours a day, and at 7 o'clock the next morning, it is the turn of colleagues to receive the keys, and the reciprocating cycle starts a new day's work.
The Forbidden City photographed by Han Tong
The Forbidden City is a wooden structure, and fire prevention is a top priority.
Smoking is not allowed in the office area, even outdoors. If you really want to smoke, you have to drive out of Shenwu Gate or Xihua Gate, a few hundred meters out of the Forbidden City wall, park the car on the side of the road to smoke, and come back after smoking.
During the filming, Han Tong sometimes encountered interesting things.
For example, when repairing the Palace of Nourishing the Heart, the staff found a Qing Dynasty opera program in the crack of the wall.
For example, a wooden stupa has not been moved for many years and has fallen into ashes. One day, several people moved together. After moving away, everyone looked down and saw that there were more than a dozen foreign coins on the base, some Soviet and Yugoslav coins, most of which were minted in the eighties and nineties of the last century.
"Foreigners don't necessarily understand pagodas, but they make wishes like throwing a coin into a fountain."
Han Tong felt that cultural relics once again connected with the world, and it was not static, but constantly generating stories.
In January this year, Han Tong went on a business trip to Yangzhou. At that time, there were samples of Han tombs unearthed in Yangzhou. Before leaving, the Yangzhou Museum entrusted them to bring an iron sword back to Beijing for testing. This iron sword is more seriously corroded, about fifty or sixty centimeters long.
Qianlong Garden, Han Tong/photo
After entering the high-speed rail station, the security personnel did not allow the iron sword to board the train, on the grounds that it belonged to the "controlled knife".
"Who would want to cut fruit with it?" , Han Tong was puzzled. He and his colleagues hurriedly took out the letter of introduction prepared in advance, and the accompanying Yangzhou Museum staff also explained to the security personnel. In the end, Tiejian got into the car smoothly.
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"It's very tiring to engage in casting, and you have to grind every day, and there is a very hard oxide film on the outside of the bronze casting, and you have to polish the new copper inside by hand. This grinding work is actually to practice your hands, and you have strength in your hands after training. Wang Youliang was born in 1964 and is exactly 60 years old this year, and is still engaged in the restoration and conservation of bronzes.
When he first joined the work, he had to grind one piece a day, and he spared no effort to do the work, and his fingerprints were gone. If you catch up with the summer, you will sweat all day and be covered with the smell of copper. In the sunlight, invisible metal dust burrows into the nose.
"According to Master, the bronzes are all unearthed from ancient tombs, which are somewhat harmful to the body, and drinking some wine can promote blood circulation and help metabolism." Wang Youliang recalled that he had just entered the Forbidden City. It was 1983, and he was still a young man, more than 40 years later.
Wang Youliang explained that in the past, the gilding process used to repair bronzes would be exposed to mercury, which was indeed harmful to the body - the gold decoration part on the corner tower of the Forbidden City was gilded, "Now the restoration is all gold-plated, and we basically do not touch mercury." ”
Portrait of Wang Youliang, taken by Han Tong in 2020
Wang Youliang's master, Zhao Zhenmao, also has the habit of drinking liquor to "detoxify". Wang Youliang recalled: "My master drank one or five taels of liquor at noon every day, and later the apprentices had to follow suit, but they didn't dare to drink it at noon, so they drank a few after work." ”
After the master retired, Wang Youliang took over the bronze group, and he also began to accept apprentices.
In 2001, Gao Fei, who graduated from university, entered the Forbidden City, studied under Wang Youliang, and began to study the restoration, protection and reproduction of metal cultural relics.
In this generation of young people, restoration techniques and ideas have changed. Goofy loves to play basketball and "enjoys the feeling of sport and confrontation." Usually, he rarely drinks liquor, and if he doesn't drive, he will accompany his master to drink a little, "to have a happy and lively life".
In the 80s of the last century, Yang Zehua worked in the Open Management Office of the Forbidden City, and usually did not have direct contact with cultural relics. Coincidentally, the Forbidden City cooperated with a bronze casting company in United Kingdom, and it was expected to copy 1,000 bronzes, and finally 1,800 pieces, due to the large workload of the project, Yang Zehua was recruited into the bronze group.
"At that time, there were no good conditions in China, and most of them still used the sand casting process. At that time, we used the most advanced technology in the world, and after the copper was turned into a mold, we cast it ourselves. At that time, the domestic military industry did not have such good conditions. Yang Zehua felt fortunate that it was the first time he learned about the "silicone rubber casting process".
Yang Zehua repaired the "Qianlong Imperial Pen "Dabaozhen" Paper Hall Screen in the studio
After the bronze was cast, Master Zhao Zhenmao took everyone to polish and make it old, according to the original, and every rust spot, including particularly fine patterns and scratches, had to be completely copied.
A group of vocational high school students from Gulou Middle School and 205 Middle School have come to the project one after another, and there are about a dozen people, and it is at this stage that Wang Youliangzheng entered the bronze group.
When it came time to deliver, the bronzes arrived at the airport and were stopped by customs. "At that time, the staff at the airport had never seen this situation, and they thought that the originals were being shipped abroad." Yang Zehua and his colleagues had no choice but to show the square seal at the bottom of each replica one by one, which was engraved with the words "Palace Museum Reproduction".
Finally, after some tossing, the cargo was finally transported to the plane.
The impact of technological development on the restoration of cultural relics is not only reflected in the restoration and reproduction of bronzes, but also in the restoration of calligraphy and painting.
After the end of the project, the bronze group does not need so many people, and they are assigned to stay according to their personal wishes. Yang Zehua liked calligraphy and painting framing very early, and successfully went to the calligraphy and painting framing group and studied under Xu Jianhua.
Born in 1951, Xu Jianhua is an expert in the restoration of ancient calligraphy and paintings, and in 1974, he was assigned to the Forbidden City, where he participated in the restoration of the Five Oxen and engaged in the restoration of ancient calligraphy and painting for nearly 50 years.
"The restoration of calligraphy and painting mounting is a comprehensive technology, first of all, paper, silk and other materials must be proficient. In the early years, there was no testing instrument, it all relied on hands and eyes, what materials to see, and hands to touch to know in mind, these all rely on the usual accumulation of experience. ”
In his introduction, the "common diseases" of ancient paintings and calligraphy include moth-eaten, cracking, missing, damaged wrinkles, cracks, mildew, stains, hollowing, and some of the damage cannot be easily detected by the naked eye. Because of this, the older generation of cultural relics restorers have to make judgments based on feel and experience.
With the development of technology, translucent photography technology has made the "injury" of ancient calligraphy and painting visualized.
For example, on the wall of the Buddha Hall of the Xinuan Pavilion of the Yangxin Palace, there was a word "Shou" with an unknown author. If you shoot in a conventional way, the restorer will not be able to see the damage inside.
Han Tong was photographed with translucent photography, and the image of the calligraphy was X-rayed - it was thick and had a large number of small holes around it, and there were different degrees of cracking and mechanical damage on the top of the picture.
"The word "Shou" sticks down" through the light Han Tong/photo
According to the analysis of the restorer, the thick edges are due to the paste. The paste is made of starch, and the small holes are eaten by insects.
The development of technology provides a detailed and reliable basis for the staff to judge the "injury" of cultural relics and formulate a scientific restoration plan.
In the ceramics group, Ji Dongge, a doctor of fine arts, as the head of the ceramic restoration group, believes that the difficulties of ceramic restoration are different, "the lack of wood can be carved to make up for the wood, and the lack of lacquer can be blocked with lacquer, but it is difficult to repair ceramics with ceramics, because after firing at a high temperature of more than 1200 °C, this artifact has been changed." ”
In the past, asphalt, lacquer, and wax were used to restore ceramics. With the advancement of technology, the staff found some new materials to simulate ceramic materials. "It's similar to plastic surgeons and dentists, and it's more integrated with materials science." Ji Dongge explained.
The master-apprentice relationship is purer
The restoration of cultural relics has a historical context, taking bronze as an example, it can be traced back to a eunuch in the Qing Dynasty "crooked mouth Yu", and then passed from the palace to the people.
Wang Youliang's master Zhao Zhenmao was born at the beginning of the last century, he grew up in the old society, and began to learn bronze restoration in the Liuli Factory at the age of 15, and became an apprentice after 8 years. Because of the good craftsmanship, the Forbidden City hired Zhao Zhenmao to do cultural relics restoration work in the 50s of the last century.
"My master is very good, and he is kind to everyone, but he is strict with our apprentices, and he is not allowed to talk when he is working. Later, as I got older, I was much kinder, and I would joke and chat with us. Wang Youliang recalled.
Zhao Zhenmao restored a bronze horse of the Han Dynasty, and later this cultural relic was named "Horse Stepping Feiyan" by Guo Moruo. And the replicas he made have been stored in the warehouse, and after decades they have not lost their color at all, and they are exactly the same color as the originals.
The veteran craftsmen of that era had a sense of crisis of "teaching apprentices and starving masters". At first, Zhao Zhenmao did not change his concept, and when it came to key steps such as "stuffy rust", he always opened the apprentices, closed the door, and made it alone in the small dark room.
After a long time, Zhao Zhenmao has changed his thinking and taught his apprentices a lot of real skills. In the Forbidden City, the years passed in a flash, and later Wang Youliang took over the bronze group and inherited the master's craftsmanship.
In the matter of taking apprentices, Wang Youliang knows everything, "I just know what to teach." Gao Fei often communicates with his master, "Because they are all very specific needs in the work, these questions are particularly accurate, and I basically understand them when he says them simply." ”
Gao Fei restores the cultural relics unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Haiyang in his studio
The master and apprentice often pondered together how to make the cultural relics better.
For example, some of the fragments have been severely mineralized and cannot be welded by conventional means. They learn new materials and methods, and use new adhesive materials to maximize the protection of cultural relics.
The Forbidden City photographed by Han Tong
In daily life, the relationship between master and apprentice is also good. Gao Fei said, "Master is very protective of me and cares about me. ”
One year, Goofy contracted gastroenteritis and had a low-grade fever and took a few days of sick leave. The master was not relieved, so he went to see him after work and brought him food that was easy to digest.
When the "personal attachment relationship" of the old society is stripped away, the master-apprentice relationship is more pure, and the energy is more focused on the restoration of cultural relics.
"Do a line" and "Love a line"
Now, young people are slowly joining the ranks of cultural heritage restoration.
"A big impression is that the apprentice's cultural level is getting higher and higher. In the past, the master could only work, and the level of education was not high. Everyone asks when they meet: Have you read 'high primary' or 'junior primary'? Teacher Xu Jianhua explained that "junior primary" refers to not reading to the third grade of primary school, and "upper primary" refers to reading to the third grade of primary school or above.
In 1974, 23-year-old Xu Jianhua returned to Beijing after serving in the Air Force for five years. The engineering team, the service department, and the cultural relics restoration and reproduction factory are all recruiting, and he was recruited into the cultural relics restoration and reproduction factory.
At that time, Xu Jianhua was very young and had no concept of work. Before joining the company, he wanted to know what the factory does, so he bought a ticket and went to the Forbidden City to inquire.
A master surnamed Luo told him, "It's a good place to learn skills." "Nothing else. Hearing this, Xu Jianhua returned home with peace of mind.
As for which group to go to, Xu Jianhua has his own plans: "First, my father repairs clocks, so I want to learn clock repair; Second, I wanted to go to the carpentry group, because at that time, if a person could carpenter and make furniture, it was very respected and welcomed. ”
Later, Xu Jianhua was assigned to the framing studio.
His father said to him, "It's good to frame, and I work in the house in the afternoon no matter how windy it is, and I don't have to be exposed to the wind and sun." Xu Jianhua was also very satisfied, "We were obedient to the assignment at that time, we knew very little, and we didn't have so many ideas, just love and dedication, do a line of love." ”
When Xu Jianhua went to the painting studio, he was just in time for his master to repair "Qingming Riverside Picture" and "Lady of the Kingdom of Qiu". He started from the beginning, followed the master, learned by doing, and restored many national-level ancient masterpieces.
Xu Jianhua instructs his apprentices to restore calligraphy and painting, taken by Han Tong in 2023
As Xu Jianhua said, young people who now enter the Forbidden City to "work" have higher academic qualifications. From the perspective of career choice, this generation of young people is more "loving and doing one line" and has stronger initiative.
This is the case with Ji Dongge of the ceramics group, who studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts as an undergraduate, and chose to major in cultural heritage because she was interested in the protection of cultural relics since she was a child.
Later, she was admitted to the graduate school of the Chinese Academy of Arts, interned in the ceramic archaeology project of Peking University, and also did some unearthed ceramic restoration work at the Academy of Social Sciences.
Ji Dongge's work photo Han Tong/photo
In 2012, Ji Dongge graduated and entered the Forbidden City as a fresh graduate. At that time, many units had the need for ceramic restoration, and the entire industry was relatively short of people.
"There are about 360,000 sets of porcelain artifacts in the Forbidden City, covering ceramic artifacts of various eras and categories, and there is no better place for those who study ceramics than the Forbidden City." ”
epilogue
When he was a child, Han Tong had a camera at home. When he's not working, he likes to play with it. When he grew up, Han Tong studied photography and engaged in photography.
When the novelty of work passed, Han Tong, like most young people who stepped into the workplace, was also anxious. Especially when he was "floating" in the metropolis of Beijing, he sometimes felt lost.
Among the students of the same major, some people enter fashion magazines to shoot films for celebrities; Some people open studios and shoot commercial posters and promotional videos; There are also people who enter large factories and get high salaries as soon as they enter the industry, and their wages double after two or three years of work.
The world outside the walls is full of fire. The world inside the walls is as calm as water.
In the end, he chose to write a book.
Han Tong's book for the restorers of the Forbidden City
In the work area of the Forbidden City, many staff members ride bicycles through it. Some bicycles also have plastic chairs installed in the back seat to pick up children. Time is like going back to the seventies and eighties of the last century.
Wenhua Hall Han Tong/photo
The social clock, which emphasizes "efficiency", has slowed down here.
After working for a long time, the tranquility of cultural relics and the rigor of restoration work gradually infected Han Tong. He found: "When the time dimension is stretched large enough, many small problems in life may not be a problem. ”
During the days of "part-time work" in the Forbidden City, his mentality became calmer.