Tin Carving Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The history of Lianhua tin-beating can be traced back to the Qing dynasty. According to the Lianhua County Gazetteer, the tinsmiths of Jietou Village and Miaobei Village ranked first among all trades, and nearly every household could beat tin; the "Tin-Beating Song" with which tinsmith masters touted their business is still sung today, and the trade jargon of gangkou is still in use. Lianhua County is located at the western frontier of Jiangxi Province, in the middle section of the Luoxiao Mountains; with more hills than farmland but rich mineral resources, tin-beating was once the principal means of livelihood for the local residents.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Lianhua tin-beating is a traditional fine-arts form distributed in Lianhua County, Jiangxi Province, in which tin serves as the raw material for handcrafting various everyday and ritual vessels. According to the Lianhua County Gazetteer, the tinsmiths of Jietou Village and Miaobei Village ranked first among all trades, and nearly every household could beat tin. The "Tin-Beating Song" with which tinsmith masters touted their business is still sung today, and the trade jargon of gangkou is still in use. Lianhua tin-beating uses pure tin as its raw material and relies on tools such as scissors, files, hammers, and measuring rulers; through the process steps of melting, drawing, cutting, beating, filing, and welding, it produces tinware of widely varied shapes. The skill of tin-beating lies entirely in the hands, hence the saying "thirty percent beating, seventy percent polishing." Lianhua tinware is finely crafted: evenly wrought tin flowers, gracefully curved forms, and exquisitely carved ornamentation are at once clear and plain, and dignified and elegant. Because tin is less costly than gold and silver and has the qualities of "water held in it turning sweet and clear, wine stored in it growing mellow, tea kept in it retaining its color, and flowers inserted in it lasting long," Lianhua tinware became an everyday utensil of ordinary households, in a great variety of types; the main categories are dining and drinking vessels, ritual implements, stationery and ornaments, everyday utensils, and brewing equipment.
Archival Record of Process Steps
Lianhua tin-beating uses pure tin as its raw material and relies on tools such as scissors, files, hammers, and measuring rulers; through the process steps of melting, drawing, cutting, beating, filing, and welding, it produces tinware of widely varied shapes.
The tin-striker's song
The hawker's song of the tin smiths has survived, along with the trade jargon for the work, fixing process and custom in couplet form.
Four tools
Shears, anvil file, hammer and rule serve melting, marking, cutting, beating, filing and soldering; three parts striking to seven parts filing.
The tin bloom
Its even tin bloom, graceful arcs and fine carving read as both bright and weighty, and tin keeps water sweet and flowers lasting, so it became household ware.
The Liu family and Liu Jianqiang
Transmission runs mainly through families and outward apprentices; the Liu line is the best documented, and Liu Jianqiang's edict pot, lamp pillars and vases have shown widely.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Lianhua County is located at the western frontier of Jiangxi Province, in the middle section of the Luoxiao Mountains; with more hills than farmland but rich mineral resources, tin-beating was once the principal means of livelihood for the local residents. The tinsmith community of Lianhua County is relatively concentrated in Jietou Village and Miaobei Village.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Tin Carving Craftsmanship · Tin Carving Craftsmanship · Tin Carving Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Lianhua tin-beating has been transmitted mainly on a family basis, while also accepting apprentices from outside, continuing through master-apprentice relationships. The documented lineage of transmission can be traced back to the Qing dynasty, with the Liu family lineage being representative. Making full use of its own qualities, Lianhua tin-beating has formed a distinctive technique of important craft value; the tin-related folk customs embodied in the tinware provide reference material for the study of local folk conditions and customs, reflecting the aesthetic standards and living conditions of people in different eras, and thus possess historical and cultural value; its practical and ingenious design, exquisite form, and richly connoted patterns bring people aesthetic enjoyment. Liu Jianqiang (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1967, from Lianhua County, Jiangxi Province. His works are of great variety, novel in form, with smooth curves and exquisite carving. His representative works, including the Shangzhi pot, lamp columns, large incense-burner vases, flower vases, and teapots, have been exhibited many times at various events. He has actively engaged in the transmission of tin-beating techniques, teaching several apprentices in his family workshop; since 2009 he has consistently participated in intangible cultural heritage exhibitions at the provincial and municipal levels. He is a representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Tin Carving (Lianhua Tin-Beating).
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Ying Yegen 03-1282
- Sheng Yiyuan 05-2674
- Liu Jianqiang 05-2675
- Shi Yan
- Wang Shengliang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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