Wang Jiezhong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wang Jiezhong, Male, Han, from Jishan, Shanxi, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-117). The tradition is documented in Jishan, Shanxi. Within the regional tradition and school record of Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship in Jishan, Shanxi: Jishan's gold-and-silver fine-metal craft began around Wudui Village and spread outward along the trade routes of the Yellow River Golden Triangle of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan, and Sanmenxia in Henan and Weinan-Tongguan in Shaanxi. The skill shows at both ends of the process: the base surface is first polished bright with charcoal; gold or silver leaf is rubbed into powder, mixed with mercury into a paste, and applied; it is baked in a furnace until the mercury is exhausted before the film forms; finally an agate knife burnishes it to a shine. Whole-surface gilding aims to be indistinguishable from the real thing, while partial gilding is applied only to the essential parts of ritual implements and statuary. The Jishan County Annals record that the Wang family began trading in the 52nd year of Kangxi and founded the Xingyetang silver studio in the 15th year of Daoguang. This gilt fine-metal craft originated in the area of Wudui Village, Jishan County, Shanxi Province, and currently extends to the Yellow River Golden Triangle of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan, as well as Sanmenxia in Henan and Weinan-Tongguan in Shaanxi Province. Whole-surface gilding is mostly applied to imitation-gold jewelry or statues of deities and Buddhas, aiming for a surface appearance indistinguishable from the real thing; partial gilding chiefly arises from decorative needs and must be applied selectively according to the subject, with the finished products being mainly religious ritual implements and statuary. According to the Jishan County Annals, the ancestor of the family began trading in the 52nd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty (1713). In the 15th year of the Daoguang reign (1835), the Wang family founded the Xingyetang silver studio, specializing in gilt fine-metal work; contemporaries praised it as "exquisitely carved, delicate and refined, truly extraordinary."

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1970, a native of Jishan County, Shanxi Province. He is a national representative bearer of Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship, a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a technician of fine gold and silver work. Born into a family of craftsmen, he began learning fine gold and silver work at the age of 16 under his father, Wang Dengtan, and later went to the Gaobeidian Arts and Crafts Factory in Hebei for further study, where his skills were comprehensively improved. He is thoroughly versed in the entire production process for gold, silver and copper wares and is able to make his own tools and design patterns. He has designed more than three hundred auspicious motifs, including plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum and the characters for fortune, prosperity, longevity and happiness, and he has conducted in-depth research on the techniques for making Tang dynasty gold, silver and copper wares and Buddhist ritual implements. Over the years he has made more than two hundred kinds of religious ritual implements and items such as a Tang-style silver-gilt five-legged censer, which are held in the collections of Famen Temple in Xi'an and Lingguang Temple in Beijing. He attaches great importance to transmitting the craft: he has taken more than sixty apprentices, has run skills training courses that have trained more than forty students in total, and has introduced fine gold and silver work into vocational education, cultivating a group of highly skilled technicians in mold making, chasing, grinding and polishing. Within the documented technical tradition of Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship in Jishan, Shanxi: The Jishan gold-and-silver fine-metal craft is a traditional technique that forms a gold or silver film on the surface of an object by applying a compounded gold-silver paste, then burnishing it with an agate knife, and combines with various manual techniques such as hammering, chasing, and engraving to make exquisite ornaments or vessels. The gilding in Jishan's gold-and-silver fine-metal craft is divided into two forms: whole-surface gilding and partial gilding. This craft is mainly used for the surface treatment of jewelry and vessels made of metals such as silver or copper. The process is as follows: first, the material is worked into forms such as necklaces, pendants, lock pendants, rings, and bracelets; patterns, designs, or inscriptions are chiseled onto the surface of the base; the surface to be gilded is polished with charcoal; then pure gold or silver leaf is rubbed into fine powder, mixed with mercury to form a paste, evenly applied to the polished base surface, and baked in a furnace; once the mercury evaporates, a gold or silver film forms in close bonding with the base; finally the surface is burnished bright with an agate knife. The characteristic of this craft lies in its demand for comprehensive ability: the maker must possess a range of specialized knowledge and skills in aesthetics, chemistry, metallurgy, and the principles of machining, and moreover the surface-polishing process is held to very high standards. The gilt fine-metal craft is said to have been invented in the Yin-Shang period, and came into widespread use during the Sui and Tang dynasties. Jishan's gold-and-silver fine-metal craft was originally created by the Wang family of Wudui Village. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Records of the Production Process": This craft is mainly used for the surface treatment of jewelry and vessels made of metals such as silver or copper. The process is as follows: first, the material is worked into forms such as necklaces, pendants, lock pendants, rings, and bracelets; patterns, designs, or inscriptions are chiseled onto the surface of the base; the surface to be gilded is polished with charcoal; then pure gold or silver leaf is rubbed into fine powder, mixed with mercury to form a paste, evenly applied to the polished base surface, and baked in a furnace; once the mercury evaporates, a gold or silver film forms in close bonding with the base; finally the surface is burnished bright with an agate knife.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2018, Wang Jiezhong was announced in the fifth batch of national representative bearers for Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship, with Jishan, Shanxi as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Fine Gold and Silver Work Craftsmanship in Jishan, Shanxi: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Jishan, Shanxi as its declared area, and Jishan County Jiezhongjinyintongqi Traditional Production Research Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

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.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Wang Jiezhong · National Representative Bearer Archive