Changzhou Folk Crafts: Combs

Comb is an ancient haircut tool in China. Changzhou comb is a traditional handicraft with a long history. Known as the "Palace comb", it was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008. There is a saying in Jiangnan: "Yangzhou rouge Suzhou flower, Changzhou first comb." In Changzhou culture, combs are an existence that cannot be ignored. Now, let's learn about the exquisite Changzhou comb.

Combs are two kinds of appliances, namely, wooden combs and grates. Changzhou comb manufacturing technology was formed in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, with a history of 1500 years. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the production technology of Changzhou combs has reached a very high level, and the production scale has surpassed that of previous dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, Changzhou Fu said: "Cut bamboo into a grate, and there are many households in the north gate." At that time, there were tens of thousands of people engaged in comb making in the west and south gates of Changzhou, so there was "Biji Lane" in the west gate and "Mucha Street" in the south gate as the place name.

Since Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, officials of Suzhou Weaving Institute have customized a batch of fine combs in Changzhou every year and sent them to the palace, so Changzhou combs have always enjoyed the reputation of "famous combs in the palace". In modern times, Changzhou comb has participated in many exhibitions and expositions at home and abroad, and won more than 0 gold and silver medals 10, such as Panama International Peace Expo 19 15 silver award, Philadelphia International Expo 1926 gold award, 198 1 national silver award. Changzhou comb is often used as a national gift in foreign communication.

Changzhou comb is a work of art integrating carving, painting, ironing and painting. At the same time, it is a practical product with health care function The main raw materials for making combs in Changzhou are bamboo, ox bones and raw lacquer. Bamboo should be a "shady bamboo" that has grown for more than four years, that is, bamboo that grows on the mountain with its back to the sun. The main materials for making wooden combs are boxwood, jujube and heather. To make boxwood fine craft combs, boxwood with a tree age of more than 300 years must be selected. To make precious wooden combs, ivory, sandalwood, horns and horns are used as raw materials.

The manufacturing technology of Changzhou comb is extremely complicated. There are 72 processes for making grate and 28 processes for making wooden comb. Grate-making tools include broadsword, hay cutter, reamer, bobbin, paint wringer, paint melting bowl, rubber plate, rubber rod, through-tooth flush, flush plate, scissors, board file, horse file, brown brush, small grinding ball, saw table, large grinding ball, small grinding ball, steel file, saw pile and direct grinding ball plate. There are more than 30 kinds of comb making tools, including special fixtures, planers, bumpers, triangular horses, tooth picks, root inserts, bamboo brushes, square roots and long saws, including knives, two-end files, horse-shaped files, hammers, copper knives, side saws, crab shell planers, axes, small triangular files, hook knives and strings.

The tools and materials used in the later process include wolf brush, oil painting pen, special electric pen and various pigments. In order to make high-quality craft combs and high-quality grates, five crafts must be carefully crafted on the comb back and grates. These five technologies are: carving, tracing, carving, hot stamping and inlaying. There are more than 600 varieties of Changzhou combs in three series: practical combs, decorative combs, inlaid combs and practical combs. Changzhou comb is full of China characteristics and artistic charm.