This is the story we tell about the 541st real person.
Portrait silhouette is a long-standing traditional folk craft in my country and is now a well-known intangible cultural heritage . With a pair of scissors and a piece of paper, craftsmen can cut out a human silhouette that is both physical and spiritual in 10 seconds.
There is no shortcut to learning silhouettes. Only decades of hard work and persistence can you develop real skills.
I am Yajie, born in the 1980s in Pengzhou, Sichuan. I am a typical "Sichuan girl". I now live in Shenzhen and am a "silhouette" craftsman.
I was born in a silhouette family. I have been an "unwanted" child since I was a child, and I often depended on others. In college, I was admitted to Wuhan University of Geosciences and dealt with noble, luxurious and colorful jewelry every day.
I originally thought that as soon as I graduated from college, I would fly far away, work in the jewelry industry, and start my own gorgeous career life. Unexpectedly, a performance changed my life. From then on, I decided to take over the ancient silhouette business and become a successor. After
took over Silhouette, he was constantly questioned because he was too young; and under the influence of the times, craftsmen were in a difficult situation and struggled to survive... Where should I go in the future?
(I teach children to learn silhouettes)
Pengzhou is a small county, and our home is located in a small village in it. In order for me to get a good education, my parents sent me to school in the city. Therefore, I have to get up very early every day and walk 40 minutes from the village to school in the city.
Our family is a silhouette family. silhouette art is a kind of "intangible cultural heritage" and is passed down from generation to generation from my great-grandfather. My grandfather is the second generation, my father is the third generation, and I am the fourth generation.
There are only two brothers and sisters in our family. Besides me, I also have a younger sister. From the day I can remember, my father has made a living from the craft of silhouette, traveling all over the country and participating in various temple fairs, lantern fairs and flower fairs. Wherever there is "meeting", there is my father.
Sometimes, my parents would take me to attend these "meetings". I was only three or five years old at that time. Every time I wait for them not far away, sitting under a tree or on a rock until dusk.
Later, with the encouragement of his grandfather, my father left his hometown in the 1990s and went to Shenzhen with his mother.
After my parents went to Shenzhen, I became an "unwanted" child. Sometimes I lived with my grandma, sometimes with my aunt, and sometimes I stayed with my teacher - I stayed with my Chinese teacher and then my math teacher. During the holidays, other children would have their parents accompany them to have reunion dinners, but I could only live with someone else.
Every time there is a parent-teacher meeting in school, my parents are absent, and my classmates laugh at me: "Her parents don't want her anymore!" I am very unhappy every time I hear this!
(I attended the "Silhouette" skills training conference with my father)
On rainy days or when the weather gets cold, the school gate is always full of parents who want to send warmth. Whenever I see other mothers anxiously waiting for their children to appear, or smiling and waving to their children from afar, I always feel envious and sad. How I wish my parents were standing among them.
In my 6 years of primary school, I have never been picked up or dropped off by my parents. No matter it was windy or rainy, cold or hot, I would always walk home alone.
I was very unhappy without my parents around me, and I became less talkative. After junior high school, my academic performance was so-so. Anyway, I am just a very ordinary girl.
In 2003, when I was in high school, my parents finally took me to Shenzhen to go to school. I saw my parents once or twice in the past year and always missed them. After coming to Shenzhen and living with them every day, I became reserved and didn't know how to express my emotions.
In school, I couldn't play with the local children. They spoke fashionable Cantonese, but I always felt that I was a child from a small place, with low self-esteem and introversion, and I didn't dare to speak.
I spent the entire first year of high school adjusting myself.When I was in my second and third year of high school, I started to play a lot with them and made many good friends. We talked with them every day - I even had a few best friends, and we still keep in close contact with them.
(I cut out the portraits for everyone at an event)
It was in high school that I began to learn silhouettes under the influence of my father. As days passed, I became more and more accustomed to life in Shenzhen, slowly regained my confidence, and my grades gradually improved.
In 2006, I passed the Wuhan University of Geosciences with excellent results. In college, I majored in jewelry design, and I had to deal with many priceless jewelry every day. I grew up in a simple environment. Suddenly I saw so many noble, luxurious and colorful jewelry in college. I couldn't help but be fascinated and excited. In the
class, we will look at a lot of diamonds, grade them, draw pictures, design and identify them, and observe the composition and structure of rubies under a microscope. During the winter and summer vacations, the teacher would take us to Yunnan to see jade, understand the jewelry market, and learn the color, water quality, and various techniques of jade.
The colorful university life makes me full of expectations for the future. At the same time, I also kept in mind what my father told me and practiced silhouette art diligently.
My father once told me: "Even if you don't engage in silhouette work in the future, you still have to learn it, because this is a craft passed down from your ancestors. You can't forget it, let alone throw it away." Therefore, in college, without delay After school, I spend an hour every day practicing silhouettes. Cut out some animals and plants, or use your classmates in the dormitory as models and cut their heads.
(My silhouette work "Strong Army Series" was exhibited at an event in Shenzhen)
During the four years of college, I cut all the classmates on the same dormitory floor as me, not to mention the classmates in the same class. I also often perform on stage at school's orientation or graduation parties.
To this day, my classmates still have fresh memories of my skills. Sometimes when chatting in the group, many students will say with interest: "I still have the headshot that Yajie cut for me back then!" Every time at this moment, I always feel very proud.
Day after day practice and accumulation have allowed me to excel in silhouette art, but I never thought that like my father, I would make a living from such a "niche" craft in the future. In my second year of college, I passed the exam to become a jewelry appraiser early, and I fully expected to fly away and explore the world of jewelry as soon as I graduated.
However, life is like a marathon. No one knows how it will end until the last moment, and things can change at any time.
I remember that during the winter vacation of my junior year, I went home. During the Lantern Festival, my father was invited to two events at the same time and couldn't attend to them. When he was in dilemma, I said I could go.
My father looked at me suspiciously: "Can you do it? Don't screw it up for me!" My father's doubts made me very unconvinced. I said, "Your daughter, I performed on stage every day in college, so I have a lot of experience." !" My father felt relieved when he saw how confident I was.
(I was invited to attend various silhouette events)
I arrived early on the day of the event. At the beginning, I was a little unsure. The first few headshots I cut were all so-so, and I was so nervous that my palms were sweating. Fortunately, I practice more frequently, and the cuts become smoother and smoother, and more and more people line up.
Among the more than a dozen "intangible cultural heritage" projects that came that day, the other projects were all neglected and left the scene early. Only his "silhouette" was the most popular. People lined up in a long line, applauding and cheering constantly. Until the last moment of the event. The success of
's performance gave me a sense of accomplishment, and my reputation was spread a little from this event.
In 2010, I graduated from college. I didn't have time to wait to get my diploma, so I went online to look for opportunities, submitted my resume, and prepared to start my gorgeous career life.
However, at this time, my mother thought that my four years in college had been too smooth, my life had been too comfortable, and I had never experienced the sufferings of the world. So through a friend's relationship, they arranged a job for me in a cosmetics factory in Guangzhou, saying that I would go there to exercise and experience other people's lives.
Of course I was unwilling to do so: I was assigned to work in a factory, but what about my "jewelry dream"? After a lot of resistance, I finally realized that "it is impossible to violate my mother's destiny", so I had no choice but to face the difficulty. The
factory is located in a remote place. I first took a bus from Shenzhen to Guangzhou. When I arrived in Guangzhou, I transferred to a bus and then a scooter. It was a bumpy journey and after many twists and turns, I finally reached my destination.
(Me and my silhouette work)
When I got to the factory and saw it, I almost collapsed. We live in a dormitory with steel wire beds and bunk beds. When we eat, we eat in the dining hall and eat those big dishes. When you go to work, you have to go into the workshop and do some repetitive and mechanized work on the production line. After work, I had to participate in training with the workers...
I was so sad at the time: Why is my mother so cruel to send me to a place like this?
has been here for more than a year and has listened to many people’s stories. I thought I had suffered enough, but when I heard other people's stories, I burst into tears, and I realized that his life was really not easy.
A year later, I have grown a lot and suddenly understood my mother’s good intentions, and therefore cherish my current life even more.
Just when I was hesitating whether to continue looking for jewelry-related jobs, the opportunity of silhouette came again. Since I "went on my father's behalf" during the Lantern Festival the year before last and achieved good results, my reputation has quietly spread in the industry.
In 2011, as a craftsman, I was invited to attend the National Universiade. This time, I was really attending the event in my own name, and I was very happy.
At that time, all the "national treasure" craftsmen from all over the country came. They are highly skilled and are the top masters and inheritors in their fields. As for me, I am only a municipal craftsman with insufficient experience, and I am not yet qualified to be an inheritor.
(Portraits I cut for children from a middle school in Guizhou)
During the 14 days of the event, we lived together in the sports meeting hall. When we have free time, we discuss and communicate with each other. From my interactions with them, I learned that many craftsmanship is on the verge of being lost.
For example, there is a master who is engaged in core carving . He is over 70 years old. He has excellent skills and extraordinary works. Although he has trained many students, the younger generation (his children) are not interested in this at all, and there has been no successor. .
later inquired carefully and found that the situation of other craftsmen was almost the same.
I felt sad for a while. Those skills are so good, why doesn’t anyone pass them on? If the craftsmanship is not passed down, it will disappear one day. Then how can our culture be preserved? How can we still be called descendants of Yan and Huang? How can we put down the five-thousand-year-old civilization that we are so proud of?
I was very impressed. On the day of the closing ceremony, when I silhouetted the winning contestants and cut out lifelike heads for them in a few seconds, the way they cheered was particularly unforgettable. At that moment, I found myself infected by them too.
At that moment, I also deeply realized that if I, like other descendants of craftsmen, turn a blind eye to cultural inheritance, the silhouette will one day be on the verge of being lost and disappear...
(I attended the "Intangible Cultural Heritage" event with my father "Activity)
After participating in the activity, I said to my father firmly: "I also want to be a craftsman and carry forward the art of silhouette!"
My father's eyes widened, as if he was worried about me during the Lantern Festival that year. It was as if things were screwed up, and he was full of doubts: "It takes a lot of hardship to engage in this craft. No matter how severe the cold or the heat, the wind or the sun, you have to perform on the stage. As a girl, can you do it?"
's doubts about his father , I didn’t say a word. From then on, whenever I had the opportunity, I would accept invitations, participate in various activities, and accept the test of the "market". I want to prove with actions that I can bear this hardship! The dream of jewelry that once seemed noble and lofty was just left behind and never mentioned again.
In the field of "intangible cultural heritage", people mostly "judge people by their appearance" and maintain this stereotype: craftsmen should be old people in their 70s and 80s, and they are all masters. A little girl like me gives people the impression that they are too old. He is young and does not look like a craftsman. Therefore, I am often questioned by others.
In 2017, I was once invited to participate in an "intangible cultural heritage" event in a district in Shenzhen. Because the person in charge was not familiar with me, he arranged my position in the corner. After the on-site activities started, the person in charge led the leaders to inspect it round after round. Every time they passed my stall, they walked around it without noticing.
(I teach silhouettes in primary and secondary school classes)
At that moment, I knew that I had been misunderstood and left out, and I was very sad. I know they think I am too young, not like a craftsman at all, more like a transparent person who was sent to support the appearance and make a cameo...
The economy is developing at a rapid pace, and no one believes that there will be young people engaged in such an ancient job. No one knows that under the influence of the times, many veteran craftsmen with integrity have lost their jobs and are in an embarrassing situation and struggling to survive.
In Shenzhen, I know an old Beijing sugar man . Once, I wanted to invite him to an event, but no one answered the phone for a long time. After half a day, he called me back. There was a loud wind on the other end of the phone. He broke his throat and said to me hoarsely: "Yajie, I am in my hometown, working in the fields. I am very happy to receive your invitation. I will definitely arrive on time..."
After hanging up the phone, I felt sad and sad, and tears fell down.
Traditional technologies cannot compete with emerging industries after all. Without the efforts of the younger generation, civilization would be difficult to pass on, and even survival would be a problem.
Every time I think about this, I can't help crying, and I worry that one day I won't be able to survive. But something I encountered once in Shenzhen Window of the World made me unforgettable for the rest of my life. It also made me firmly believe that no matter how difficult the reality is, I must stick to the silhouette art to the end...
(I combined silhouettes and oil paintings to create this Works)
In 2019, I attended an event at Window of the World , and an old man in his 70s or 80s came, leaning on a cane, and looked at my booth for a long time. After a while, he raised his head and asked doubtfully, "Did you cut this?" I nodded in agreement.
He said that when he was 20 years old, someone cut a picture of him under the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, and he still keeps it today. Decades passed, and he hadn't seen anyone doing this job since. Unexpectedly, today in Shenzhen, I would meet such a young master working on this...
Later, I cut a headshot for him. He held it in the palm of his hand and stared at it for a long time, as if he couldn't put it down. When he looked up at me again, his eyes were red and sparkling with tears. After bowing deeply to me, he kept thanking me and left.
At that moment, I was also moved by him. I turned around hurriedly and looked up at the sky. I was afraid that I would look too ugly when I cried...
(I was hired as an intangible cultural heritage education instructor by various primary and secondary schools)
Now, I I run on some primary and secondary school campuses in Shenzhen every day, teaching students regularly every week, and teaching the younger generation to learn silhouettes. Although it is very busy, I feel it is very fulfilling and worthwhile.
So far, I have cut heads for thousands of people, taught for more than 20 schools, and taught thousands of students. He has won honors such as the "Master among the People" Gold Medal and the "Excellent Inheritor".
I know that only by continuous efforts can craftsmanship be preserved and civilization be continued.
Art is the boat, and the younger generation is the water. Only when the water is strong enough and merges into a big river can the boat be pushed to a wider world and art can be passed down to the maximum extent.
I will definitely teach my children to learn silhouettes, but at the same time, I will respect their own choices.Just like what my father taught me back then: "No matter what you do in the future, you must learn this craft, because it is passed down from your ancestors. You can't forget it, let alone throw it away!"
Such is the five thousand years of Chinese civilization. Only then did it have a context, a continuation, and tireless persistence, until now...
[Oral: Liu Yajie]
[Editor: Gu Hanshan]
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