The Historical Inheritance of Chinese Lacquerware

About seven thousand years ago, our ancestors were able to manufacture lacquer ware. Based on the discovery of vermilion lacquer wooden bowls and vermilion lacquer cylinders in 1978 in the Hemudu culture site in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, the coatings were natural lacquer after chemical methods and spectral analysis.

Lacquerware of the Han Dynasty was also dominated by black and red colors. The Han Dynasty was the heyday of lacquerware, and the varieties of lacquerware were increased with boxes, plates, box cases, earrings, plates and bowls, baskets, boxes, rulers, spit pots, masks, chessboards, stools, hazards, several, etc. At the same time, new craft techniques were pioneered, such as multicolored, needle-carved, copper buttons, pasted with gold flakes, tortoiseshell flakes, inlays, stacked with lacquer, and many other decorative techniques.

Lacquerware patterns are based on different artifacts, expressed in bold and concise lines or elaborate and complex compositions to enhance the dynamism and strength of people or animals. The colors of black and red are placed on top of each other to produce a special effect of light and beauty. In the red and black intertwined picture, the formation of a musical sense of magnificence and colorful artistic style, showing a man and God **** in the Qi Wei treacherous, flowing and flying, magical world of myth. Lacquerware in the Tang Dynasty reached an unprecedented level, with thick lacquer pile molding of raised patterns of the pile of lacquer; with shells cut into objects, on the application of line carving, inlaid in the lacquer surface into the thread of the conch shells; with gold and silver floral inlaid with gold and silver flat off the device. Craft beyond the previous generation, burin chiseling, exquisite, combined with the lacquer process, a craft on behalf of the Tang Dynasty style, red lacquer in the Tang Dynasty has also appeared.

Jamie statue is the inheritance and development of the technique of removing the mold since the North and South Dynasties. First of all, the embryo is made of clay and wrapped with ramie cloth. The dry lacquer ramie statues of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang are expensive and time-consuming, and are precious because of their small number. At present, the most complete preservation of the Dunhuang dry lacquer ramie Buddha statue in the United States in the British Museum,

In the Hetian excavated Buddhist statues, there are ceramic statues, but also a few wood statues and similar ramie lacquer statues of the works. In the clay and pottery statues, in addition to the Buddha and Bodhisattva statues with more or less "Gandhara" style, there are also a lot of heavenly kings, warriors and various images of the sustenance of the statues, but also by the author of the sculpture on the spot, from the real life of the region from a variety of different identities and personalities of the characters.

From the South Xinjiang and Hotan excavated wooden statues, there is a body of the damaged heavenly kings, its armor and attire, mostly for the Central Plains form, but the appearance, but the local characters as a model. Another piece of wood carving, divided into three layers, the image of more naked and straight, a few pure Indian style. The bottom right, carved two male feeders, is again the clothing of the Central Plains at the time. There is also a broken Buddha's hand, made of ramie cloth, the surface of which is painted with pastel colors, very similar to the practice of Chinese ramie lacquer statues. From this hand, we can further realize the reality of Buddhist sculpture in Xinjiang. The muscles and joints of this hand are very soft and round, as if they are full of flowing blood within the skin. Like this work of art, can not be compared with the general only for the appearance of the works of imitation. The two Song dynasties were once considered to be an era of one-color lacquerware, but excavations have unearthed many highly decorated Song lacquerware, correcting past perceptions. In the Jingzhu Sheri Sutra Block found in the Ruiguang Temple Pagoda in Suzhou, the mythical animal on the base, the Baoxiang flower, and the supporters were retreated in thick lacquer. In the Yuan dynasty lacquer ware in the highest achievement is carved lacquer, which is characterized by piles of lacquer fat and thick, with a hidden blade of the knife carved out of the rich and rounded pattern. Big appearance simple and muddy, and the details are extremely delicate, in the texture has a special charm, such as the Palace Museum collection of Zhang Chengzuo mast pattern ticking red plate, Yang Mao early view waterfall figure square ticking red plate, Anhui Provincial Museum collection of Zhang Chengzuo Wu among the vermilion line ticking rhinoceros box, and so on.

China's Ming and Qing dynasties were built in Beijing, its culture and art on the inheritance of the Song and Yuan, continue to develop and improve. At the same time, Mongolia, Tibetans, Uyghurs and Manchus and other ethnic minorities living customs and cultural characteristics of the traditional culture of the Han people have certain effects, greatly enriching the cultural traditions of the Chinese people. The Ming and Qing dynasties were more developed in foreign trade, in the export at the same time, also introduced some Arab and European crafts, to imitate, absorb, digest, for the development of arts and crafts in the Ming and Qing dynasties, instilled new blood. The arts and crafts of this period underwent 549 years of development and changes, forming a unique style and outlook of the times. During this period, lacquer crafts were combined with architecture, furniture and furnishings, and shifted from utility to the field of furnishings and decoration. Entered a new era of thousands of text and ten thousand wanhua with variegated, re-decorated, inlaid, textured and other techniques as the basic craft.

Ming dynasty carved lacquer, the first Jiaxing (now Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province) Xitang Zhang Cheng, Yang Mao as a role model, Zhang Cheng's son Zhang Degang and Bao Liang presided over the production of the inner court Orchard Factory official lacquer. Chenghua, Hongzhi years of the inner court carved lacquer, ware tire thinning, pattern sparse, marking the Xitang school carved lacquer has entered the end. Dali, Yunnan for another lacquer production area, the famous lacquer worker is now known only Wang Song a person. To the Jiajing years, Yunnan lacquer carving began to enter the inner court, a great show of skill, and finally replaced the Xitang school, so that the inner court lacquer carving for a change. It is characterized by the fact that the knife does not hide the sharpness and the edges are not sharpened. Carved lacquer was lost in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, to the fourth year of the Qianlong period by the bamboo carving master Fengqi carve samples, Suzhou weaving lacquer for imitation success, the court with carved lacquer is also mostly made in Suzhou. Yangzhou lacquer carving has a stud, Baibao inlay and other varieties, to stud is the most characteristic, especially the most exquisite point of stud, made of lacquerware pattern is thin, colorful. Famous workers are Wang Guochen, Lu Yingzhi, summer lacquer, etc., the latter is especially good at making antique red lacquerware. Lacquerware in Suzhou and Yangzhou was destroyed by the Qing court in the war to suppress the Taiping Revolution. Fuzhou lacquerware is famous for its stripped lacquerware, which is characterized by its gorgeous color and lightweight body. It was created by Shen Zhao'an, a famous craftsman, using the traditional method of clamping the lacquer. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing developed from repairing carved lacquer to imitating Yongle, Xuande and Qianlong carved lacquer. Maki-e lacquer is a famous Japanese lacquer. During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, the lacquerer Yang was ordered to go to Japan to study maki-e lacquer, and then returned home to imitate the lacquer, and his son, Yang Ocarina, followed the study, and the lacquer he made was good enough to mess up the real one. Another lacquer worker Jiang Hui Hui also good imitation of maki-e lacquer, the Qing Dynasty Suzhou imitation of maki-e lacquer is very prosperous, gold lacquer reflecting, rich and beautiful. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the emergence of soft inlays is a new variety of inlays. Xin'an (now Xin'an County, Anhui Province) Fang Xinchuan inlay pile, Yangzhou Lu Kwai-sheng sand inlay inlay lacquer are famous for a while. Inverted gold, off the mold and other lacquer ware also have different degrees of progress. Modern lacquer crafts are mainly distributed in Beijing, Jiangsu, Yangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing, Sichuan, Fujian, Pingyao, Shanxi, Dafang, Guizhou, Tianshui, Gansu, Yichun, Jiangxi, Fengxiang, Shaanxi and other places. Among them, Beijing carved lacquer, is in the wood or copper tires painted dozens of layers or even hundreds of layers, and then relief carving, the color is mainly vermilion, the style is rich and luxurious. Jiangsu Yangzhou lacquerware is characterized by inlaid inlays, which are very exquisite under the light. Fujian lacquerware is characterized by its bright color, lightweight and beautiful, not afraid of water immersion, temperature resistance, acid and alkali corrosion resistance. Sichuan lacquerware, mostly with the light of the painting technique or to fill the carving excellence, or to grind the painting is famous. In addition, there are Xiamen lacquer line decoration, Tianshui carving fill, etc., have different artistic characteristics.

Ancient lacquer, glossy Chinese, like gold and not cold, bright and magnificent, with a dignified and wealthy temperament, the ancient times, mostly for the use of royalty, contemporary Chinese arts and crafts workers, the natural beauty of the lacquer material and the means of production process to re-display it in the graphic arts, through the color, gloss, texture, texture and a variety of visual language, and the rubbing of the traditional Chinese cloisonné craft dazzling artistic effect to produce visual pleasure. The artistic effect of the traditional Chinese cloisonné technique is blended to produce visual pleasure, evoking a sense of artistic beauty that is deep and serene, subtle, rich and luxurious, or simple and elegant, stimulating the wisdom of the mind and giving high spiritual enjoyment. On the surface of lacquer ware, the decorative method of depicting patterns in gold color. The most common type of gold depiction is on black lacquer, followed by vermilion or purple. There are also those who refer to the gold coloring as the "gold coloring and silver lacquer decorating method".

"Zunsheng eight notes": "Xuande have filled lacquer vessels, colorful thick lacquer piled up into flowers, smooth as a painting ------" "Emperor Beijing and other things," fill lacquer carved into flowers and birds, color filled with thick lacquer, smooth as a painting ------ "This pile of carving and then filled with colorful grinding to show the pattern of the lacquer finishing techniques called "fill lacquer".

Also known as snail fill, snail Dian, is made of thin slices of shell figures, birds, animals, flowers and plants embedded in the carving or lacquer lacquer objects on the decorative techniques. After the flat lacquer, and decorated with color, there are lacquer, lacquer, bleaching Xia makeup color, flower color, color and other methods, decorated with gold, there are sand gold, gold, gold, sprinkle gold, gold, mud gold, gold, etc., according to the name of its own can be assumed that the method is different. In short, among the lacquer ware, to carve lacquer for the most noble, but also to carve lacquer for the most artistic interest, so all generations are efforts to produce. Song people carve red lacquer, if the palace box, more gold and silver for the tire, thick pile to dozens of layers of vermilion lacquer, began to carve figures, buildings, flowers and plants and other drawings, knife work, carving skill, just like a painting. There are tin tires, there is □ ground, there are saffron yellow ground, there are five colors, carved with the depth of makeup color, such as red flowers and green leaves, yellow heart black stone and so on, eye-catching, but very few heirlooms. Also useful Zhu for the ground, engraved with ten brocade flowers and plants, with black for the surface, engraved with a variety of flowers and plants, brocade pressed flowers, red and black lovely, but mostly for the box type, plate box second. Boxes are steamed cake type, Heshi type, curtain section type, three hit type, two hit type, plum blossom type, goose egg type, large for several feet, small for a few, both sides are patterned. Plate is round, square, waist-like, four-cornered, eight-cornered, a tapestry ring-like, four-cornered peony petals. The box is rectangular, square, two hit, three hit four style.

Spirocco craft method originated very early, the Zhou Dynasty has been popular. From the extant Tang Dynasty studs seem to be in kind, then there has been a very high level. Cao Zhao "Gegu to": studded vessels, out of Jiangxi Ji'an Province Luling County. Song dynasty in the government and the old doers, but firm paint or embedded copper line is very good. Yuan Dynasty when the rich and powerful do not limit the years and months, make paint firm and lovely characters. There are Zhang Cheng, Yang Mao two families, skill is good at a time, but not thick with Zhu, paint more cracked.

Dot conch lacquerware is a traditional crafts in China. 1966 Beijing Yuan dynasty site unearthed a lacquer plate fragments with conch inlaid Guanghan Palace. The Ming Dynasty is the peak period of point snail lacquerware, the level of craftsmanship has reached a fairly exquisite degree. With shells, glow-in-the-dark snails and other raw materials, refined into a thin, cicada-like conch, and then thin conch "point" in the lacquer blanks, so the name "point conch". Because of the point of conch material than the general stud inlay for thin, and soft, so also known as "thin stud" and "soft stud". Today, Yangzhou and other places, there are still some screw lacquer production.

The thin slice of gold and silver engraved into a variety of figures, birds and animals, flowers and other patterns, with glue in the polished smooth lacquer tires, to be dry, the full range of two or three layers of lacquer and then by grinding to show the gold and silver pattern, so that the pattern and the bottom of the lacquer to achieve the same degree of flatness, and then added to push the light becomes a beautiful flat off the lacquer ware. Gold and silver pattern surface wider places can also be carved fine lines, but can not be carved through the gold and silver pieces. This decorative method, fine labor, expensive materials, but the luster of gold, silver and lacquer colors reflect each other extremely gorgeous, is very expensive lacquer. Youyang miscellaneous chopping block "," An Lushan deeds "," Tai Zhen Gaidian "," Tang Yulin ", etc., there are about Tang Xuanzong, Yang Guifei gave An Lushan a variety of flat off the lacquer ware name records.

Not using lacquer ash but using a different color of lacquer from the ground lacquer to make a pattern of a painting technique. Nowadays, the pile of lacquer can be made of glue material, and it can be gold-plated and color-coated, which has a wide range of meanings.

In the pile up of flat lacquer tires carved pattern technique. China's carved lacquer began in the Tang Dynasty, the history of the Yuan Dynasty Jiaxing Xitang's most famous, the modern main production areas are Beijing, Yangzhou, Tianshui, Huizhou and so on. Most of the carved lacquer is made of distinctive vermilion lacquer, so it is also known as "picking red". Carved lacquer is often wood ash, metal as a tire, with the lacquer pile, less than eighty to ninety layers, as many as one or two hundred layers, is to be half-dry when traced on the drawing, imposed on the carving of a painting technique. Generally brocade pattern for the ground, pattern hidden up, exquisite and gorgeous and rich sense of solemnity.

Spotted paint is a technique of lacquer decoration in the two Jin Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which was used in ancient times as the decoration of the car. This method because of the Department of two or more colors of lacquer, interlaced with each other, showing a variety of patterns, like plants and animals above the spots and the name. Painting and decorating record Kunjie Fuxinhua": "fine spots on the ground of all decorations". Yang Ming note: "the list of ornaments, are suitable for fine spots, and its spots black, green, red, yellow, purple, brown, and texture color is also the same, is the six-color each other, there are two-color, three-color mishmash of the quality of the spot with the same color, to the depth of the points". This seems to be similar to the spot lacquer. In addition, with a single-color paint to show the different shades of mottled, also called spot paint.

"Zunsheng eight paper": Xuande lacquer vessels, colorful thick lacquer piled up into flowers and colors, smooth as a painting ------ "imperial capital and other things," lacquer carving into flowers and birds, color filled with thick lacquer, smooth as a painting ------ this pile of carving and then filled with colorful grinding to show the pattern of the lacquer painting technique is called lacquer filling.

To paint lacquer objects, and no other procedures, known as flat lacquer, the first lacquer objects, only this one method, easy and simple, well-made, but also very lovely. That is why this method is mostly used today.

Wares coated with lacquer, and so dry and solid, and then with a needle carving and piercing patterns, and then with gold dust in the cracks to make it flat, known as bump gold. The silver dust is called bump silver. It is said that bumping the ancient creation of the word, commonly read clanking sound, is the method of decorative gold on the object. According to the "Dan Lead General Records", Tang "six canon" fourteen kinds of gold, a method of creating gold, Wu Weiye has "Xuanzong Imperial bump gold cricket pots song", the Ming Dynasty to create gold is extremely successful, so many famous ware.

Lacquer surface stacked into a variety of patterns, covered with vermilion lacquer, known as pile red.