Bai Deyuan
01 · Lineage & Regional School
In 1962 he entered the Beijing Gold Lacquer Inlay Factory and studied under Wang Zhen, fourth-generation transmitter of the Qing imperial workshops, comprehensively mastering lacquering, polychrome painting and inlay. Within the regional tradition and school record of Jinqixiangqian Lacquer Decoration Craftsmanship in Beijing: The old foundation of Beijing lacquerwork is the official workshops: the Yuan dynasty set up the Paint Bureau, the Ming dynasty had the Guoyuanchang carved-lacquer workshop, and the Qing palace's Imperial Workshop gathered a large group of skilled artisans; today's gold-lacquer inlay, in craft techniques and artistic style, largely took over directly from the Ming and Qing court set. Now these jobs are scattered among several lacquerware enterprises and studios, producing objects from boxes, trays, and screens to plaques and wall decorations; inlaying mother-of-pearl, jade, and bone-horn each requires different manual work. Beijing is an important lacquerware-producing region in China's history; the rise of official handicraft workshops such as the Yuan-dynasty Paint Bureau, the Ming-dynasty Guoyuanchang carved-lacquer workshop, and the Qing palace's Imperial Workshop laid the foundation for the development of Beijing lacquerware. Today, Beijing gold-lacquer inlay has, in many aspects from craft techniques to artistic style, directly inherited and developed the lacquerware art of the Ming and Qing imperial courts.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
A representative bearer of the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects in gold lacquer inlay decoration craftsmanship. He took part in research and development of the cracked-lacquer technique in the carved-fill category and in restoring nearly lost skills such as gold lacquer inlay, breaking with the model of oral transmission and leaving a large body of technical data and valuable materials for the transmission of the project. His works display a courtly artistic style: the carved-fill pieces are magnificent, the polychrome painted pieces brilliant in colour, the inlaid pieces clearly layered, the engraved-ash pieces rich and vigorous, and the cracked-lacquer pieces archaic and weathered. His representative works include the large three-dimensional precious-material inlay Nine-Dragon Wall and the gold lacquer inlay throne in the Qinzheng Hall of the Fragrant Hills. He has trained apprentices including Bai Qun, Li Delun, Xie Huan, Zhang Xinhui and Ma Jianli. Within the documented technical tradition of Jinqixiangqian Lacquer Decoration Craftsmanship in Beijing: Gold-lacquer inlay is an important category of traditional Chinese lacquerware craft, with a history of over seven thousand years. Beijing gold-lacquer inlay decoration encompasses numerous techniques, broad themes, and richly varied artistic expressions. Among these, inlaid products have clear layers and are delicate and translucent; painted products are brightly colored, brilliant as fine brocade; carved-and-filled products have fluent lines and a magnificent bearing; incised-gray products bear sharp knife edges and vivid spirit; crackled-pattern products are archaic and elegant, refined and graceful; tiger-skin lacquer products are resplendent in varied colors, close to nature. By use, Beijing gold-lacquer inlay products include vessels, furniture, screens, plaques, and wall decorations. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and especially since the reform and opening up, Beijing gold-lacquer inlay has made considerable progress, but there are also causes for concern. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Preparing the base": Wood, cloth or coiled bases are made flat and true before any lacquer goes on. "Lacquering": Raw lacquer is laid in layers, each dried and ground, building the depth of the surface. "Hundred-treasure inlay": Stones, shell and coral are set into the lacquer in clearly layered, intricate relief. "Engraved and filled carving": Patterns are carved and filled with colour, the technique paired with revived crackle work.
Preparing the base
Wood, cloth or coiled bases are made flat and true before any lacquer goes on.
Lacquering
Raw lacquer is laid in layers, each dried and ground, building the depth of the surface.
Hundred-treasure inlay
Stones, shell and coral are set into the lacquer in clearly layered, intricate relief.
Engraved and filled carving
Patterns are carved and filled with colour, the technique paired with revived crackle work.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
Male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1947, died in July 2019, a native of Beijing Municipality.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Beijing is an important lacquerware-producing region in China's history; the rise of official handicraft workshops such as the Yuan-dynasty Paint Bureau, the Ming-dynasty Guoyuanchang carved-lacquer workshop, and the Qing palace's Imperial Workshop laid the foundation for the development of Beijing lacquerware. Today, Beijing gold-lacquer inlay has, in many aspects from craft techniques to artistic style, directly inherited and developed the lacquerware art of the Ming and Qing imperial courts.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bai Deyuan | Beijing | 04-1890 | This page |
| Wan Zi | Beijing | 05-2822 | Same declared area |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。