The author Luo Yicheng (right) takes a photo with the craftsmen
"Seeking Common Ground and Preserving Art" is divided into six chapters according to the types of traditional handicrafts, namely: pottery , traditional lacquer art, printmaking , stone carving, sword casting and weaving. The author Luo Yicheng began preparations at the beginning of 2019, and spent another half a year conducting in-depth interviews with 12 craftsmen from 6 groups on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It took two years to polish the book. It uses the introduction of crafts, the life experiences, challenges, experiences, achievements, and emotions of the craftsmen. They dig into the dimensions layer by layer, depicting and showing their "similarities" and "differences" in adhering to and pursuing superb skills.
Luo Yicheng said that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same roots, and common culture and memory connect the Chinese nation, which makes the traditional handicrafts on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have many similarities; however, the life experiences and environments of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are different, and each group The stories of the craftsmen are interesting in comparison.
Chapter 1: Making pots out of clay
Changsha Tongguan kilnNational inheritor Liu Kunting vs. Tian Chengtai, the first person in "Taiwan wood burning"
"My name is Liu Kunting. I am 56 years old. I have been engaged in ceramics for 42 years." As the third generation inheritor of "Clay Figure Liu", Liu Kunting, the inheritor of Changsha Tongguan Kiln firing skills, has been engaged in this skill for more than half a century. In addition to
's superb technology, the most touching thing is this taciturn craftsman's rich inner world and pure love for craftsmanship. Influenced by him, his son Liu Jiahao also chose to engage in ceramics. The father and son used the spirit of ingenuity to adhere to tradition and have the courage to innovate to protect the longevity of China's thousands of years of ceramic culture.
Liu Kunting
Liu Kunting Tang Yun texture pot
68-year-old Tian Chengtai is known as the first wood-fired person in Taiwan. Last year, he fired a total of six kilns.
Therefore, he gives us the impression that he is very leisurely. He seems to have a lot of time besides burning the kiln. He spent most of his time drinking tea, playing with his precious gadgets, and spending time with his lover, quietly, sometimes not even bothering to say a few words.
Quiet people are always seen as idle. Besides, he does look very idle. When
asked him later, I found out that he kept playing with the teapots and cups he made, just to keep looking at them and feeling them, and to see which problems needed to be corrected in the next kiln. After all, utensils need to be used by people. Teacher Tian Chengtai keeps playing with them, and he is also checking the future owners of these utensils. Someone once said that the standard for evaluating an artifact is: good-looking includes easy to use. Of course, good-looking also includes good-looking.
During the “idle” time when Teacher Tian is not burning the kiln, he often drives out with his wife to take pictures of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and feel the creativity of the beauty of nature. This creativity infects him and feeds back into the artifacts he creates.
Tian Chengtai
Tian Chengtai Chai Kiln Collection·Xi'an
Chapter 2 Qin Se He Ming
Chinese arts and crafts master and Chu-style lacquer art inheritor Liu Bijian VS Taiwanese lacquer artist and piano player Wang Tianyin
Liu Bijian
Liu Bijian Xiang Zhangmu Sika Deer
was born in Wuhan Teacher Liu Bijian, when he was a child, he followed his father to the Laohekou in the upper reaches of the Han River. That's where he grew up, and his father arranged for him to be an apprentice in a factory making folk musical instruments. In the late 1970s, the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng was excavated, and more than 150 musical instruments were unearthed. This is a standard band system.
At that time, Hubei Provincial Museum needed a group of people to carry out rescue excavation and protection of unearthed cultural relics. Teacher Liu Bijian was transferred to the museum as a progressive young man and stayed here for decades.
"Five body throws to the ground." He recalled the first time he saw these cultural relics unearthed from Zeng Houyi's tomb, and said that he finally understood what "five body throws to the ground" meant, which was a reflection of the skills of our ancestors 3,000 years ago.
Teacher Liu got into the ancient musical instruments represented by qin and se through lacquer art . He said that in the past, lacquerware and ancient musical instruments were generally ritual vessels , which were different from practical utensils for daily life, so making these utensils required a number of comprehensive technologies. Read He can only get more information. He talks to the ancients through lacquerware every day, pursues the ancients' philosophy of ritual utensils, and makes each other a close friend.
However, repairing and replicating lacquerware is an extremely inefficient job. In Teacher Liu's field, a person can only spend his whole life and can do very little.
Therefore, teacher Liu Bijian, who is nearly 70 years old, still maintains the enthusiasm and drive of his youth. Only in this way can he try to change the scale of time.
Wang Tianyin
Wang Tianyin makes pianos
Teacher Liu Bijian, who has been a lacquer ware all his life, is good at making zither, while Taiwanese lacquer artist Teacher Wang Tianyin likes to use his lacquer art to make pianos. The two craftsmen played the piano and the harp, singing in harmony across the air.
Teacher Wang Tianyin said that the process of learning lacquer and making pianos changed him. He learned lacquer from Mr. Wang Qingshuang and his son, a family of Taiwanese lacquer artists who are famous for their maki paintings. This 97-year-old man is still persisting in lacquer art creation, passing on What gave him was not just the lacquer art itself.
After learning paint, Mr. Wang learned that his teacher, Mr. Wang Qingshuang, had been sketching almost every day from the age of 13 to 90. This incident alone had a profound influence on him and made him start to try it every morning. Get up and play the piano - So far, Teacher Wang Tianyin has played the piano for at least one hour in the morning without stopping. Teacher Wang has a background in science and engineering. Painting and making pianos not only give him some traditional literati-like sensibility, but also allow him to develop his professional strengths. For example, he can design a set of constant temperature for drying lacquer. The constant humidity system often combines lacquerware with new technologies and materials. The bracelet he wears is a combination of lacquerware
and Taiwan's EasyCard , with electronic payment embedded in the lacquerware. With the chip, you can take the MRT, bus, or train by wearing it. This is actually giving new life to traditional craftsmanship.
Chapter 3 is described in detail
Kaifeng National inheritor of woodblock New Year paintings Ren Helin VS Taiwanese printmaking master Lin Zhixin
Ren Helin
Ren Helin prints
Teacher Ren Helin, national inheritor of Kaifeng woodblock New Year painting project, is now over 70 years old. He passed the exam in 1965 He went to Henan University . When he was in school, he had no interest in New Year paintings at all. However, after graduation, he was transferred to the New Year Painting Publishing House and kept in touch with those old artists and time-honored brands.
Through decades of work and research, he has gone from not liking it to becoming obsessed with it. He even mobilized his sons and grandsons to get in touch with traditional woodblock New Year paintings . He said that it was because he had a deep understanding of the history of New Year paintings that he became obsessed with them. He fell in love with this craft more and more and never tired of it. Through the process of studying and collecting, talking to each New Year picture, appreciating the craftsmanship of fine carving and printing, he became more and more in awe of the generations who created these New Year pictures in the past. New Year painting craftsman.
If you go to Kaifeng now, you can see a pair of giant door gods in prominent places on several towers. This is the work of teacher Ren Helin, which comes from his meticulous carving skills day after day.
林志信
林智信
Taiwanese printmaking master Mr. Lin Chi-xin, who is in his 80s, still likes to drive around in his car when he has nothing to do. If you want to praise him for how awesome he is, his son will definitely tell you: We have repaired my dad's car several times. . Such an active old man once had to sit in his house for 20 years because of a piece of work.
Lin Zhixin Mazu Prints
That work is Ying Mazu Prints, with a total length of 124 meters and a 3 feet by 6 feet woodblock. A total of 68 woodcuts were carved, which broke 1,500 carving knives of teacher Lin Zhixin. The opportunity for Teacher Lin to engrave Mazu prints was that he suffered from asthma for 20 years between the ages of 20 and 40. No medicine could cure it. Once he made a wish in the Mazu temple, hoping that his disease would get better. He was willing Spend time and energy doing things related to Mazu.
Mazu has an irreplaceable position in Taiwanese people’s belief system. Teacher Lin Zhixin creates prints out of gratitude for Mazu’s protection. However, these 20 years of printmaking are nothing short of a long spiritual practice in life. He bought back 2,000 carving knives regardless of the cost, asked the customs for special permission to purchase boxwood plywood for wood carving, inquired about suitable mineral pigments, and brought back custom-made 40-knife handmade sandalwood paper from Anhui one by one.
Moreover, in the process of creation, I often slide the knife, and I often get injured. Once, Teacher Lin suddenly slipped the knife and cut a long wound in his thigh, which was bleeding profusely. Later, he went to the hospital to have 12 stitches. Needle.
At this time, he was reflecting on himself. A small injury is a small mistake, and a big injury is a big mistake. If he suddenly suffered such a big wound, there must be something wrong with the engraved content, so he asked the local folklorist Mr. Cai Caoru for advice. Sure enough, It was discovered that he had misplaced the position of one of the guardian gods behind the god. Starting from the age of 40 to completing it as scheduled at the age of 60, Teacher Lin has been doing this for 20 years. The first exhibition was exhibited at Taipei Fine Arts Museum . Teacher Lin said that his admiration for Mazu made him recover from his illness, and completing this work fulfilled my wish.
This work also has a greater significance, which is that it can leave some spiritual heritage for Taiwan’s religious culture. This meaning is more important than creating a large work.
Chapter 4 This stone is at this moment
Shaanxi stone carving skill inheritor Gao Shufei VS Taiwanese stone carving master Huang Yingquan
Gao Shufei
Gao Shufei carving
Shaanxi stone carving skill inheritor Gao Shufei, who has been carving kang-head stone lions for 30 years, has a bad memory. He couldn't remember many things he had experienced. When I asked him some questions, most of the answers he got were: Ah, I can't remember this.
However, as long as it is a stone lion with a kang head that he has seen, he can remember it once.
In northern Shaanxi, many people no longer remember the "Kangtou Stone Lion". In miz, Li Zigui, an old man who lives in a cave dwelling, has a kang-headed stone lion that has been passed down for nine generations; teacher Zhe Xiaojun, who grew up with a kang-headed stone lion, has devoted almost all his financial resources and energy to it in the past 20 years. They are all used to collect and study the Kang-head stone lions.
He said: In the past, every county in northern Shaanxi had a stone lion with a kang head. Folk customs have this emphasis on tying children with stone lions to protect their descendants. In the past, people in northern Shaanxi believed that the stone lion on the kang head could ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters and bless peace, so they regarded it as the "patron saint" of dolls. They put stone lions on the kang head to "tie the dolls", which is related to praying for and protecting children.
In the past, northern Shaanxi was a border fortress with constant wars, inconvenient transportation, backward medical care and other reasons. New lives would be challenged by many uncertain factors in their growth. In the belief of the common people, there was a strong reliance on Kangtou stone lions. . Today, there are fewer people living in cave dwellings and fewer kangs in northern Shaanxi. If a child has a problem, they believe in medical technology more. The folk custom of tying dolls with stone lions is gradually being remembered in people's memories on the Loess Plateau disappear.
In the newly built Northern Shaanxi Folk Museum, there are thousands of stone lions collected by Teacher Zhe Xiaojun. He, Gao Shufei, who has a bad memory, and the old man Li Zigui who still lives in the cave, are helping us, and Our descendants retain some memories of Kangtou stone lions.
Huang Yingquan
The kangtou stone lion is the patron saint of the people in northern Shaanxi, and the owl is the patron saint of Taiwan's aboriginal people, including the Paiwan and Thao people.
Huang Yingquan, a Taiwanese stone carving artist who has carved more than 2,000 owls in total, said that his original intention for carving owls is that he likes to sleep in the morning until he wakes up naturally, and at night, he often has to work until two or three in the morning. Just a typical night owl.
Teacher Huang’s life is slow. After waking up during the day, he would walk around the streets, find a restaurant to have something to eat, and then start working.
The stones he used to carve owls were all picked from the beach. He would spend a lot of time going to the beach to find stones, pick them up and put them in his yard, wash and dry them.He would also spend a lot of time tidying up the courtyard, and then let his mind settle down while tidying up the courtyard. He would pick up a stone and play with it. During the process of playing with it, he would wait for it to slowly emerge into its shape, and then think about how to carve it. This stone was originally supposed to look like this. Teacher Huang just removed the excess parts.
Teacher Huang’s daily life is probably like this. When he stayed up late, these carved owls, large and small, also watched over him and accompanied him.
works at sunrise and never stops at sunset.
Chapter 5 Swords in Dreams
Cold weapon grinder Yan Min VS Taiwanese swordsmith Guo Changxi
Yan Min
Yan Min
Only with determination can wisdom be generated, and you need to focus on one place. However, this process of generating concentration requires reaching a state of inner purity, and it is precisely this state that is the most difficult to endure.
On the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, there is an inconspicuous hut with no windows on all sides and the door is closed all year round. More than 30 years ago, Teacher Yan Min quit his official job in the arsenal. After several years of work, he devoted all his energy to the grinding and repair of cold weapons. The industry is extremely cold. In order to grind cold weapons, Mr. Yan spent more than 400,000 yuan just to buy grindstones. The money came from selling a house in his family in the 1990s. Because of this, his lover got angry with him and hid the money.
Once, he saw a sword at an antique market. After negotiating the price, he returned home and went to the cabinet to get the money. The money was gone and was hidden by his lover. He had no choice but to ride a motorcycle to find his neighbor, take the money and take the sword back. Finally, it was verified that the sword was from the Republic of China period, and the sword was signed "Sword presented by Liu Yunfeng". Liu Yunfeng was the commander of a regiment under General Cai E.
Teacher Yan started repairing this sword in 1996, and it was not completed until 2016. Because the scabbard is completely broken, the blade is rusty, the wooden handle has rotted, only a small piece is left, the gold wire on the outside is gone, and the tortoiseshell leather is gone...it all depends on repairing it bit by bit, bit by bit. welding. After
entered this field, Teacher Yan discovered that grinding cold weapons not only sharpens swords and swords, but also sharpens people. Sometimes it takes a year and a half to learn how to wrap a sword hilt. Starting in 1984, with more than 30 years of accumulation, the veteran craftsman Mr. Yan Min has developed his own group of die-hard fans and loyal consumers in this small circle.
Back then, he didn’t care about gains and losses, and his road went to the dark side. Once the door was closed, he was trapped in a cocoon for 30 years. However, only he could see the ray of light between the cracks in the door. This ray of light was as thin as cicada wings, but sharp as iron.
Guo Changxi
Guo Changxi
The blacksmith shop of swordsmith Guo Changxi is next to the seafood market on the edge of the harbor. Once, director Lee Ang, who was preparing to shoot "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", came to the fishing port to buy seafood. By chance, he commissioned him to shoot the Qingming Sword in Li Mubai's hand in the film.
Teacher Guo’s family has been blacksmithing for three generations. From his grandfather to his father, none of them thought about the potential of blacksmithing. When he was blacksmithing with his father when he was young, he would hear his father say those slang words every day, which roughly means "the first factory is blacksmithing. You hold up a hammer and hit the iron rod until you are sweating like rain. You don't know when you will get ahead." That is to say, blacksmithing is very hard, and I don’t know when I will get ahead.
In the early 1960s, there were no electric fans, so the blacksmiths would get up at 3:30 in the morning and start hammering until 10 in the morning. When the weather got hot, they would start sorting out the things they hammered in the morning, shoveling them, and doing heat treatment. Due to the impact of industrialization, there were fewer people farming in rural areas. Teacher Guo, who had no hope of blacksmithing, was only thinking about transformation. He decided to go to Japan to learn how to make katana .
However, the Japanese will never pass on samurai swords to outsiders except their sons or important relatives. For eight years before and after he went to Japan, Mr. Guo swept floors, sharpened knives, and just did some chores for his younger brother. Really I couldn't learn kung fu at all, so I had to return to Taiwan and continue blacksmithing.
Forgery Guo Changxi was determined to transform into weapons. He knew that Longquan Sword had a long-standing reputation. Before the mainland was opened, he went to Longquan after many twists and turns to inspect. He remembered clearly that at that time, it was first When you get to Hangzhou, transfer to Yiwu , then Yiwu to Lishui , and Lishui to Longquan.
After more than 20 years, he frequently traveled between mainland China, Taiwan and Japan, switching his main focus from agricultural tools to weapons, making knives and swords by himself, and collecting old weapons from the past bit by bit from various places. He even built a weapons museum specifically for these weapons.
Thanks to the craftsmanship, we can make each other cross the Taiwan Strait, regardless of each other
Chapter 6 Weaving with good intentions
Ningxia hemp weaving representative inheritor Zhang Jing VS Taiwanese bamboo weaving master Lu Jingzhi
Zhang Jing
Zhang Jing Camel
Life is a ball of hemp.
According to Zhang Jing, Ningxia hemp weaving inheritor, there is nothing in life that cannot be solved by hemp. She has inherited the gene of hemp weaving from generation to generation in her family, and also inherited the ability of using local materials passed down to her by her grandmother. As long as she has hemp on hand, a branch, a wooden board, and an iron ring, she can improvise beautiful and beautiful things. Durable items come.
To outsiders, these tangles seem to be entangled and no clue can be found. However, Teacher Zhang is not afraid of trouble. She can pull out the cocoons from the myriad of clues and use them for her own purposes.
Craftsman Zhang Jing is still working on another more troublesome thing, which is to use technology to help the poor.
In Crescent Lake on the outskirts of Yinchuan, many of the folks here immigrated from Xihaigu. Xihaigu was one of the several places that was once recognized by the United Nations as unfit for human habitation. These immigrants have limited land. , the skills that can make money are also very limited. Teacher Zhang came here just to teach the fellow villagers here through her hemp weaving skills, how to use the weaving, braiding, hooking, splicing and other techniques commonly used in hemp weaving, according to different people. Focus on teaching them how to accept it, so that these fellow villagers can stay at home and have an income with their own hands.
Teacher Zhang’s busy work is not only to come to teach them, but also to regularly deliver the raw materials for hemp weaving, take back the finished or semi-finished products made by fellow villagers, tell them the acceptance criteria, and provide them with quality and quantity. They paid remuneration to the fellow villagers, who were not very literate, so Teacher Zhang also had to teach them to write their names like the private school teachers in the past.
After returning from meeting Teacher Zhang that time, Luo Yicheng posted this sentence in WeChat Moments: "Teacher Zhang uses craftsmanship to help the poor. Although this is very difficult in my opinion, I believe Teacher Zhang can do it because she wants to do it." "
Lu Jingzhi
Lu Jingzhi
Among the 12 craftsmen corresponding to these 12 titles, Ningxia hemp weaving inheritor Zhang Jing and Taiwan bamboo weaving master, 74-year-old teacher Lu Jingzhi, are the only pair of female craftsmen. people. The two of them also have one thing in common, that is, they are kind and loving, and they always want to help those in need through their crafts.
Teacher Lu has lived in a small temple in Guanmiao for 19 years. She also upholds the virtues of traditional Chinese women, retains goodwill and normalcy towards people, and teaches her skills to her children and grandchildren. Through her Crafts help surrounding neighbors in need.
Whenever she saw some people with poor family conditions coming to her, she would bring them back some of the bamboo weaving she had made, and also teach them how to make bamboo weaving, telling them: If you can do it, you can do it. You can give me your stuff and sell it to me, or you can sell it to others if you don’t want to sell it to me, as long as you can make some income through it.
Teacher Lu grew up in an atmosphere of bamboo weaving. When she was young, almost every household in Guanmiao made bamboo weaving. Dad went to the mountain to collect bamboo and cut it open. Mom was responsible for trimming it down until it was small enough to be used for weaving. My brother was responsible for laying the foundation. She and her sister were doing the center section. After finishing, mom was finishing it... Here we are. At around five o'clock in the afternoon, buyers will come to collect and pay.
When Lu Jingzhi was a child, her mother would give her a dime every day after helping her family with bamboo weaving work. She would use the dime to buy four pieces of orange candies, keep two pieces for herself, and give one piece to her mother and one piece to her sister.
She has been reaping rewards through her hands all her life, and she has been willing to share the rewards of her craft all her life. Although she once lost all her money due to a large foreign trade order exported to Japan, after she recovered, her love for bamboo weaving and her love for sharing love still did not change.
With love, Teacher Lu is free from all difficulties.
Thanks to technology, both sides of the Taiwan Strait can be connected, regardless of each other.
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