Diancui is a traditional jewelry making process in China. Why is it called "cruel beauty"?

Jade feathers must be plucked from live kingfishers to ensure bright colors. According to the different parts and crafts, Cui Yu can present different colors such as banana moon, lake color and deep blue, and the natural texture and magical light of bird feathers make the whole work rich, diverse and lively. Due to the cruelty of bird protection and production technology, it was replaced by blue burning technology in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

Although it is not as bright and gorgeous as a gem, the jewelry made of Diancui has a gorgeous and simple beauty, which reflects the attention to detail and exquisite craftsmanship of oriental jewelry.

Every accessory has a historical charm, and the beauty of China is not warm, but simple. The feathers of kingfishers are pigments. Stick the kingfisher's feathers on the ornaments one by one with a special traditional craft. Beautiful jewelry, kingfisher is dead. Because the green touch process must be taken from live kingfishers, the color can be bright and gorgeous.

Its manufacturing process is extremely complicated. When making, the gold and silver pieces are first made into a base according to the flower shape, and then a groove is welded along the edge of the flower shape with gold wire, and a proper amount of glue is applied in the middle, so that the feathers of kingfisher are skillfully stuck on the metal base made of gold and silver to form an auspicious and exquisite pattern. These patterns are generally inlaid with pearls, emeralds, red corals, agates and other precious stones, which are more elegant and noble.

Nowadays, Diancui craft is also facing extinction. First, the kingfisher is on the verge of extinction, and second, it has long been out of tune with today's style. For this reason, the poet once wrote: Too much material is tiring, sighing at this rare bird. Nowadays, kingfisher is a national protected animal, and the process of ordering green has been lost. Therefore, the exquisite Diancui ornaments handed down can be said to be one in a million and priceless.

Kingfisher feathers used to order cuisines have ten left and right wings (called "big stripes" in jargon) and eight tails (called "tail stripes" in jargon), so a kingfisher usually only needs about 28 feathers, and a dead kingfisher generally doesn't need jewelry with good feathers (called "dark stripes" in jargon, with bad color).

The best Diancui jewelry can be divided into two basic colors: "sapphire blue" and "emerald blue", among which sapphire blue is the best. The color difference is mainly related to the types of jadeite feathers used and the feathers in different parts, among which sapphire blue is the top grade, because according to different techniques, Diancui can also show different colors such as banana moon, lake color and deep blue. If other colors of kingfisher feathers or similar peacock feathers are used, the point jade made is called "Hua Cui", which has a low relative value.