What are the five famous lacquerware in China?

yangzhou lacquer ware

The traditional lacquer art in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province originated from the Qin and Han Dynasties more than 2,000 years ago, developed in the prosperous Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with strong national art and regional characteristics. Zhou Juan, a Yangzhou artist in the Ming Dynasty, initiated lacquer inlay, which was carved into mountains and rivers, figures, flowers, pavilions and feathers with high-grade materials such as gold and silver jewelry, emerald agate and crystal tortoise shell, and embedded in Tan Li lacquerware. For thousands of years, Yangzhou lacquer art has gradually formed a unique style of "firm shape, fine workmanship, bold luster and unique shape", as well as famous varieties such as red carved lacquer, flat mother-of-pearl inlay, soft mother-of-pearl inlay and treasure inlay (weekly system). Yangzhou lacquerware, Beijing lacquerware and Fujian bodiless lacquerware are also called the "Three Lacquerware" in China.

Chengdu lacquer ware

According to historical records, Sichuan has been rich in raw lacquer and cinnabar since ancient times, and Chengdu is one of the earliest birthplaces of lacquer ware in China. In 2000, a large number of lacquerware with fine workmanship, gorgeous patterns and bright colors were found in the coffins of the Warring States Period unearthed in Chengdu, indicating that the lacquerware of Shu people in the Warring States Period was very developed. A large number of exquisite lacquerware unearthed from the world-famous Western Han Tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province, most of them are branded with the words "Shichengcao" and "Shichengman" (that is, made in Chengdu), which has a history of more than 2,000 years. At that time, Chengdu was the national lacquer manufacturing center.

Lacquerware in Chengdu is hand-made, mainly wood lacquer and earth lacquer. According to the design requirements, the wood is molded and then processed with various colors of paint. Its decorative techniques are: carving, embedding, drawing, painting, folding and pasting. Among them, carving and coloring and silverware mercerizing are the unique styles of Chengdu lacquerware, and their skills are unique in the same industry in China.

Beijing lacquer ware

Lacquerware in Beijing should have been produced in Yuan Dynasty at the latest. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has always been an important part of court decoration. Due to the different production techniques, there are many kinds of lacquerware in Beijing. In addition to the common three-dimensional inlay, treasure inlay and painting, some techniques have also been applied to the production of lacquerware, resulting in lacquerware varieties such as carved filling and carved ash.

Carving and filling lacquer ware is painted after plastering and painting on wooden tires for many times. Then draw thin lines according to the pattern, and then cover them with gold and silver powder or fill them with colored pigments. The carved lacquer made by the above process is more artistic than the carved lacquer with gray background. Carved filler, as an important variety of lacquerware, did not exist in Ming and Qing Dynasties. It rarely spreads to the society, but now most of it is collected by some big museums. In the past two years, with the improvement of collectors' appreciation ability, carved lacquer fillers have been gradually recognized by people.

Fujian lacquer ware

Bodiless lacquerware is one of the three treasures in Fuzhou with a history of more than 200 years. Its texture is firm and light, its shape is elegant and unique, its color is magnificent and bright, its decoration is exquisite and durable, and it has a unique national style and strong local characteristics. It is also called the "three treasures" of Chinese traditional handicrafts with Beijing cloisonne and Jiangxi Jingdezhen porcelain.

Fuzhou lacquerware began in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is said that during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the painter Shen Shaoan found in a temple that the plaque at the gate was rotten, but the bottom embryo of the lacquered gray summer cloth was intact. Careful Shen Shaoan got inspiration from it. After returning to China, he constantly pondered and experimented, inherited and carried forward the traditional lacquer art, and created the earliest bodiless lacquer ware. Therefore, Shen Shaoan became the originator of Fuzhou bodiless lacquerware.

The production methods of bodiless lacquerware are divided into bodiless lacquerware and wood lacquerware. A green tire is a green tire made of clay, gypsum, wood mold, etc. Then put it on the green tire layer by layer with summer cloth (linen) or silk and raw lacquer. After drying in the shade, it is broken or removed from the original tire, leaving the shape of lacquer cloth, and then after dust removal, polishing, painting and various decorative patterns, it becomes a bright and gorgeous "bodiless lacquer ware".

Yangjiang lacquer ware

Guangdong Yangjiang lacquerware began in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and has a history of more than 300 years. Yangjiang lacquerware is divided into leather tires, paper tires and wooden tires. Products mainly include daily handicrafts and furniture, among which leather tire lacquerware has the most traditional characteristics. It is moisture-proof, durable, simple and beautiful. Exported to Southeast Asian countries before liberation. After liberation, it is famous for lacquer boxes, lacquer pillows and small lacquerware. The traditional Yangjiang lacquered suitcase is made of Chinese fir with a layer of cowhide inside and outside, which has been reinforced, ironed and painted on the surface. Museums all over the world use it to store celebrity calligraphy and painting. The lacquer pillow is made by weaving the outline with rattan on the wooden frame, covering it with a layer of cowhide and ironing it. Its advantages are firmness, moistureproof, waterproof, light weight and no cracking.