I wrote about the lost traditional crafts of China. Do you know what they are?

Diancui Tiancui, also known as kingfisher feather art in English.

Diancui process is a traditional gold and silver jewelry making process in China. It is an auxiliary work in jewelry making, and plays a role in embellishing and beautifying gold and silver jewelry.

Since 2000, China has been using the blue feathers of kingfishers as exquisite works of art and decorations, from hairpins, headdresses, fans to screens. Western art collectors concentrate on other areas of China art, including porcelain, lacquerware, sculpture, cloisonne, silk, painting and Diancui art, which are unfamiliar to foreigners.

Cui, that is, the feather of kingfisher. Diancui is the perfect combination of traditional metal craft and feather craft in China. First, the bases with different patterns are made of gold or gold-plated metal, and then the bright blue feathers on the kingfisher's back are carefully inlaid on the bases to make various jewelry objects.

It is said that the jade feather must be plucked from the live kingfisher to ensure the bright color. 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. Later, 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.

Unlike most animals with fluorescent and electrochemical colors (such as butterfly wings), the strong color of kingfisher feathers comes not from the feathers themselves, but from the rainbow color of light refraction, just like a prism that decomposes white light into the rainbow color of its spectrum. Feathers formed by these microstructures are called photonic crystals.

Of course, purely from the perspective of technology, the gap between the two is obvious. Imagine how amazing the characters in the play are with this light and colorful hair oil! And burning blue, its own glaze color and hair color do not complement each other, but there is a danger of usurping the role of the master.

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

The most expensive Diancui works use the kingfisher of Cambodia. Such a large export demand made feather export trade a means for the Khmer Empire to collect money, which was used to finance the construction of magnificent temples such as Angkor Wat.

Since ancient times, the queen's crests and royal dresses have been decorated with kingfisher feathers, and they are still bright and beautiful after a long time. Therefore, the traditional craft of making gold and silver jewelry-feather touching jade, has been circulating in China for a long time, and its craft level has been continuously improved, reaching its peak in Qianlong period.

Because kingfisher is a national protected animal, all the Diancui jewelry produced at present adopts substitutes. And the green technology is gradually declining. This traditional jewelry making process in China is gradually fading out of people's sight.