Intangible inheritance

The tip of the pen fell, and the smoke rose,

The outlines of a beautiful painting begin to appear.

This isn't some magical magic,

It's an ancient handicraft - pyrography.

Ancient skills lost and recovered

Pyrography is also known as pyrography, hot stamping, fire pen painting, and a more vivid ancient name - "fire needle embroidery". It uses the principle of carbonization to control the temperature of the stylus without adding any pigments. It uses ironing as the main method and color combination as a supplement to bake and paint on materials such as bamboo, silk, and silk cloth.

The prototype of the art form "painting with fire" appeared as early as the period of Chinese slave society. According to records, during the Shang Dynasty, our ancestors heated metal blanks on fire, and then made various shapes of hot irons to hot stamp characters and patterns on the vessels. However, there is no historical data when the "pyrography" technique actually originated. There are only some records in folklore: "Pyrography" originated in the Western Han Dynasty and began to flourish during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that the earliest popularity of pyrography was due to the invention of papermaking in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Because before the emergence of paper, folk artists only created pyrography on silk, wood and other materials. However, these raw materials are relatively expensive, making it difficult for pyrography technology to truly become a "people's art". It was not until Cai Lun invented papermaking during the Eastern Han Dynasty that this revolutionary invention revolutionized the art of writing and painting. Pyrography on paper became popular among the people.

Later, due to years of famine and war, the pyrography technique was once lost. It was not until the third year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1877) that a good painter named "Zhao Xing" in Nanyang, Henan Province rediscovered and organized it, and it has been passed down by generations of folk artists to this day. It is worth mentioning that the popularity of pyrography in the Qing Dynasty is related to the emperor's fondness for raising grasshoppers. Especially the emperors of the Kangxi and Qian dynasties not only wrote poems for the grasshoppers, but also ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to raise them specially. The most popular container for holding grasshoppers is the painted gourd jar. This popular trend was followed by Eight Banners disciples and dignitaries from all over the country. For a time, pyrography became popular again relying on gourd jars.

Iron pen art of wood fire collision

The art form of pyrography has extremely high technical requirements. It is not only necessary to grasp the heat, but also to control the intensity of the strokes, and pay attention to "the intention first, and then the strokes will take shape." Master Hongyi Li Shutong once gave a detailed description of the pyrography process in his book:

"Fire painting is the oldest method. In this method, a thin iron needle is used, and the handshake is covered with a ball of clay to prevent it from transmitting heat. The needle is burned red in the furnace, and when painted on bamboo, wood or stone, the scorch marks will be visible. Japan uses an alcohol lamp. The steel needle is connected to the leather tube, and the leather tube is connected to the leather ball. While the needle is burning, the air is squeezed out of the leather ball. After the leather tube and ball are heated, the pen will not lose heat. For a long time, there is no need to change the brush frequently. Now I use more than ten iron needles in the shape of bamboo chopsticks, put them in the furnace, and replace them with each other. This is also a simple method of fire painting. "

The tools used for pyrography also vary. In ancient times, folk pyrography artists used the most primitive method: holding a special iron skewer and heating it on an oil lamp or stove, and then created works on wood, bamboo and other materials. Later, with the advent of kerosene lamps, pyrography artists could lie on their sides on the bed for pyrography. This method made the pyrography lines more flexible and versatile.

After the 1950s, the hot iron became the main tool for pyrography. Compared with the iron skewer, the hot iron can paint a large area and the lines drawn are rougher and tougher. With the invention and widespread use of the electric soldering iron, the art of pyrography has also entered a new stage of development. By keeping the temperature of the welding head constant, the pyrography picture is more beautiful and varied.

Various schools of intangible cultural heritage crafts

Historically, pyrography techniques have formed pyrography schools such as Yanshan, Nanyang, Jinling, and Shandong. Nanyang, Henan Province is the oldest inheritance place of pyrography skills. The pyrography themes of this genre are diverse, such as figures, ancient books, flowers and birds, and even landscapes. Unique wonders are painted with simple and elegant pyrography colors by hardcore ghostwriters. In recent years, Nanyang pyrography has used holly wood as the main material and pyrography chopsticks as the main output form to continue to inherit and update its skills.

The Jiangnan region is also one of the main birthplaces of pyrography. According to local government records, the pyrography technique appeared in Suzhou and Hangzhou as early as before the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and it has a history of more than a thousand years. Many famous pyrography artists appeared in this land, such as Zhang Youqin, Liu Jintang, Qian Huaijin, Pan Sansi, etc. Liu Jintang has superb skills, and his pyrography works mainly focus on fan bones and comb grates, and he is good at hot-scalding flowers, birds, and ladies; Qian Huaijin is good at calligraphy and painting, and his pyrography works mainly use fan bones and pen holders, and he is good at hot-scalding figures of noble scholars. Famous pyrography masters in the Jiangnan region integrated pyrography, the art of fire and wood, with the strong bookishness of the Jiangnan literati. They have imprinted countless Jiangnan feelings deeply on delicate utensils, such as ancient sandalwood fans, as well as pen and ink paper.

references

[1]?Liu Ziji. Research on pyrography art[D]. Shenyang University, 2021.

[2] Li Wenkui. How to pyrography[M], Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Press, 1985.

-THE END-

Picture material source network

Copyright belongs to the original author