European Times special reporters Ling Yun, Zhao Xu, and Li Xuefeng reported in Beijing that craftsmen originated from the handicraft industry. Workers rely on their skilled skills to create products and do things to perfection. This is the original face of craftsmen. With the changes in lifestyle, traditional handicrafts are facing inheritance problems. How to attract young people to enter the industry has become a topic that people in the industry are thinking about. Old craftsmen are also worried. They are not sure whether young people who grew up playing with computers and iPads are still interested in traditional crafts.
The emblem of the Beijing Olympic Games, the emblem of the Shanghai World Expo, and the national gift of the APEC Beijing Summit - the "Peace of the Four Seas" cloisonné vase, these works are all created by Guo Ming and his design team. (Picture source: The pictures in this article are all from the Italian version of European Times)
“Traditional handicrafts have never gone far”
Guo Ming, chief craftsman of Beijing Gongmei Group Co., Ltd., is deeply involved in Gongmei Having been in the industry for decades, in his opinion, "traditional handicrafts have never gone far."
Guo Ming said, "The so-called craftsmanship spirit means that you cannot be impetuous, you can endure loneliness, endure hardship, and stick to your duties."
Today, the development of the art industry is " Walk on two legs. In Guo Ming's view, traditional handicraft products will not be mainstream mass products in society. A handmade cloisonné or lacquer vase should be a product that meets the needs of high-end customization and personalization. Modern handicrafts need to conform to modern lifestyles and aesthetic tastes.
“Chinese style and Chinese elements have become a world trend. Cloisonne jewelry and handicrafts have become representatives of people’s aesthetic and cultural tastes.” Zhang Ying, the inheritor of Zhang’s cloisonne, was delighted to find that more and more people are paying attention to Chinese traditional culture loves and appreciates the beauty of traditional handicrafts.
With the development of industry and social progress, traditional handicrafts are facing inheritance problems. Guo Ming said frankly, "Most of the young people who enter this industry come from their own interests. The more young people like this, the better this industry will be." The development is more promising. Unlike old craftsmen, young people no longer have to rely on craftsmanship to enter this industry, and companies also give them more design space, giving them the opportunity to use their imagination and creativity. ”
Zhang Ying, the inheritor of Zhang's Cloisonne, said, "This industry has always been slowly inherited and developed, but the energy of young people has revitalized the old industry."
Zhang Ying said , "In order to retain young people, companies on the one hand improve their quality of life and on the other hand encourage them to try and innovate. At the same time, the model of masters leading apprentices is also gradually changing, with old masters passing on their own understanding and cultural stories To young people, let them be interested in taking root here."
"Traditional industries are entering campuses more and more frequently. We hope that more young people will understand this industry from an early age, and some will even like it and develop it in the future. At the same time, we also organize some experiential activities to let ordinary citizens understand the art industry and traditional handicrafts.” Guo Ming believes that with the promotion of China’s relevant policies on the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, there will always be opportunities. Young people can settle down.
From "Craftsmanship" to "Literati Fan", the legacy is passed down
Song Zheng, who was born in 1983, paid tribute to the intangible cultural heritage "Woodwork Braiding and Handmade Folding Fan" this year. 》The inheritor Zheng Gao is his teacher. More than 30 years ago, Zheng Gao became a disciple of Hong Juntao, an expert in fan culture and a collector of folding fans, allowing the northern fan-making skills to be passed down and promoted.
A styling knife may be the beginning of the inheritance of fan-making skills.
“Fan” came about by chance and interest
Every weekend, Zheng Gao always comes to the store to drink tea and chat with friends who love fans. The fan above the tea seat with the words "Benefiting Wind and Smooth" expresses the mood of a fan lover, and these words were written by cross talk artist Ma Ji.
Ma Jiyi wrote 29 fans for Zheng Gao. The meeting between the two was purely accidental. This is just like Zheng Gao's experience of learning to make fans - it was purely accidental.
Zheng Gao, who has carpentry skills, tried to buy fans made of wood in his spare time and sold them in Liulichang.
Someone gave a discarded old fan to Zheng Gao, who was running a street vendor at the time, and he gradually became obsessed with the fan-making skills from imitation. "What's so difficult about making a small fan? But if I had known it was so difficult, I might not have had the courage to go in."
In order to buy materials for making fans, Zheng Gao accidentally met Hong Juntao , after worshiping him as his teacher, he devoted himself to learning fan making. "I seem to be pushed forward step by step by others, and pushed forward step by step by life."
After Hong Juntao passed away, Zheng Gao organized an exhibition for him in Rongbaozhai in 2008. I got acquainted with Cao Xiaodi, a fan-making master of the Southern School, and became his disciple to continue learning the fan-making craft. Different from his master Zheng Gao, his apprentice Song Zheng learned to make fans entirely out of his own interest.
Song Zheng has been keenly interested in making handicrafts since he was a child. After trying to make guqin and purple clay pots, he finally chose to make fans. "Making purple clay pots is like a process of constant addition, and making fans is more like a process of constant stripping and removal." Song Zheng likes bamboo and prefers the feeling of carving.
After graduating from civil engineering, Song Zheng entered a design institute to engage in design work, where he worked for eight years. "The idea of ??wanting to be a craftsman and trying something I like kept popping up. I quit my job at the end of 2016."
"I really hope to inject my own ideas into utensils." Song Zheng said, "Young people have a stronger ability to obtain information. I started self-study and have a lot of internal motivation. Doing design work has taught me a good idea. If you want to make an object, you need to start with its materials. ”
For nearly a year, Song Zheng traveled to Hunan and Guilin to look for good materials and understand the characteristics of bamboo; he went to Suzhou and other places to visit famous artists and learn about the fan-making process.
“When we are interested in something, we will continue to absorb knowledge through reading, visiting, etc., and then summarize it. We are more inclined to express our thoughts in works, and here In the past, I needed to constantly hone my skills. Skills and ideas were incompatible." Song Zheng believes that he has a "literary spirit".
Skills accumulate over time
"A few simple processes don't sound complicated, but they are not easy to master." Song Zheng said that this is a continuous practice of movements process.
Nowadays, Song Zheng is learning to make fans while working. "Every fan I make is the limit of my ability at that time, and it is a work that is invested regardless of time. I hope that each work can be made according to the hand shape, characteristics and needs of the customer, and I hope they can hold the fan in their hands You can feel the appropriate feeling of 'softness and hardness'."
Song Zheng said frankly, "The improvement of quality must be accompanied by the price you pay. At every stage, there are problems that need to be solved. ”
When Zheng Gao felt this way, 30 years had passed since he learned to make fans. "It wasn't until recent years that I dared to say that I could make a good fan."
Painting, calligraphy, sculpture and other traditional Chinese culture and crafts can be displayed on fans. Zheng Gao believes that fan-making skills Never ending.
Inheritance "I hope someone can really sit down"
In Zheng Gao's view, "the fan can be opened and closed with a certain degree of freedom", inheriting positive energy and wisdom of the ancients.
Song Zheng believes that a small fan is a moving scroll, which implicitly expresses oriental aesthetics and interest.
"Such a beautiful thing naturally needs to be inherited and developed." When Zheng Gao took over the traditional fan-making tools from his master, he understood that inheritance is a heavy courage. He has had more than ten disciples over the years. "Some people come and go, some are eager for success, and some hope to use machines and equipment to replace traditional handwork. Naturally, there are cognitive differences and contradictions between the new generation and the older generation in inheritance."
"I don't charge a fee and I don't set a threshold. I believe there will always be some of them who really like the craft of fan making and can really sit down and study hard." Zheng Gao said that when the weather gets colder, he will go into the mountains to look for bamboo. Good bamboo is rare. Likewise, he is also waiting for more young people like Song Zheng who truly love fan making.
When Guo Shigang was working on innovative creations, he would often discuss them with his father. The picture shows his father Guo Jianjie giving Guo Shigang guidance and advice on mooncake facial makeup.
The "Father and Son Soldier" that adds creativity to traditional art
Facial makeup is a painting on the faces of traditional Chinese opera actors and is used as a makeup art for stage performances. Different characters will be equipped with different patterns. In the eyes of outsiders, facial makeup is just a colorful face, but in the eyes of Guo Shigang, a facial makeup enthusiast born in the 1980s, the traditional art that has been passed down for thousands of years can be "very trendy". Today, his creations have made many young people gradually understand and love facial makeup art.
Guo Shigang said that his love and persistence in Facebook originated from his father. "Dad Guo" liked to write and draw when he was a child, and made his own hand-painted kite masks and other folk toys. Later, he met friends from the Peking Opera Troupe at work and picked up his childhood hobbies again, engaged in facial makeup painting and innovated the shapes. I made many homemade facial makeup shapes that are loved by people, and I relied on this good craft to support my family.
Guo Shigang has been surrounded by his father since he was a child, and fell in love with this craft unknowingly. With his love for facial makeup, Guo Shigang has been painting for more than 20 years. He also studied art under the master Fu Xuebin. During this period, he created many stunning works, some of which were collected by the China Art Museum of Arts and Crafts.
Today, he is still the inheritor of facial makeup painting in Xicheng District, Beijing.
“I particularly like this old craft. I am a person with a bit of wild ideas. I often like to innovate on tradition and do some new exploration and research?” Guo Shigang said. In his creation, he often comes up with some "new tricks". The older generation thought that facial makeup should be symmetrical, so he suddenly had the idea to create an asymmetrical 3/4 face mask. After the work was completed, he found that the effect was great. As a result, he successively created half-painted facial masks, incomplete facial masks, and even made new attempts on different carriers.
It is his bold attempts that have injected new sources of inspiration into traditional facial makeup painting, turning it into a non-traditional form of expression favored by young people. Guo
Shi Gang also created a series of works that combine Chinese and Western styles. He said, who said you can't paint a "painted face" if you have a high nose bridge and deep eye sockets? As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, he bursts out with new inspiration and makes mooncake facial makeup.
When talking about future creation, Guo Shigang said with a smile, "I want to let more young people understand the traditional art of facial makeup through my persistence and innovation."