Carved Lacquer Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The carved lacquer craft originated in the Tang dynasty; owing to Beijing's special political, economic and cultural background, it finally settled in Beijing after development through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In the 1990s, because of market transition, long production cycles, large investment and changes in management systems, the carved lacquer industry declined.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Beijing carved lacquer is a technique in which natural lacquer is applied to a body to a certain thickness, and then a knife is used to carve patterns into the built-up flat lacquer surface. Carved lacquer products are of plain antique form, exquisite ornament, lustrous color and elegant bearing, and are damp-proof, heat-resistant, acid- and alkali-resistant, and do not deform or deteriorate. It embodies the superb skill and ingenuity of China's arts and crafts masters and is a treasure of the traditional crafts of the Chinese nation. Over several centuries of development, Beijing carved lacquer has absorbed the finest achievements of carved lacquer techniques from north and south China, and is one of the outstanding representatives of Chinese lacquer art. In the 30th year of the Guangxu reign (1904), the artisans Xiao Le'an and Li Maolong opened in Beijing the first private carved lacquer workshop of the modern era, the Jiguzhai (Continuing Antiquity) workshop. After 1949, the Beijing municipal authorities gathered the Jiguzhai carved lacquer successors scattered among the people to establish the Beijing Carved Lacquer Production Cooperative, which in 1958 became the Beijing Carved Lacquer Factory, the main base for the transmission and development of Beijing carved lacquer. Beijing carved lacquer products are numerous in type and rich in subject matter; their design and creation combine carving, painting and craft in one, with a dignified and elegant artistry. It plays an irreplaceable role in raising people's aesthetic attainment in modern society and in beautifying life. The Beijing Carved Lacquer Factory exists in name only; genuinely handmade carved lacquer products are fewer and fewer, and the technical personnel of the carved lacquer trade face the harsh reality of an aging age structure with no new successors. Judging from the present situation, Beijing carved lacquer, which has continued for several centuries, is on the verge of being lost.
A built-up ground carved with a blade
Lacquer is built up layer by layer until it can take the blade, so a large piece may take months or even a year.
Unchanging in damp and heat
Resistant to damp, heat and acid, and neither warping nor decaying, carved lacquer served the court furniture for precisely these reasons.
Alongside Su, Yangzhou and Sichuan
Beijing lacquer absorbed the traditions of other regions and, by the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns, ranked with Su, Yangzhou and Sichuan wares as tribute.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Over several centuries of development, Beijing carved lacquer has merged the lacquer traditions of all China, with lacquer workshops and factories most concentrated in the Chongwen District area of Beijing; during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing dynasty, Beijing carved lacquer stood alongside the lacquer ware of Suzhou, Yangzhou, Sichuan and other places as tribute wares. The Beijing Wen Qiangang Carved Lacquer Art and Design Co., Ltd. is the project's protecting unit.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Carved Lacquer Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wen Qiangang (from the official archive of the associated inheritor): male, of Han ethnicity, born in 1941, a native of Beijing. He is a representative inheritor of the Carved Lacquer Craft, an item of the first national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage, and a Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts. In 1958 he entered the Beijing Arts and Crafts School; after graduation he was assigned to the Beijing Carved Lacquer Factory. He studied under veteran carved lacquer masters such as Zhu Tingren and Sun Caiwen and is familiar with every process step of carved lacquer production. In 2003, as skilled workers declined year by year and output fell steadily, the carved lacquer factory was restructured and ceased production. Wen Qiangang resolutely led several former colleagues to establish the present carved lacquer studio, precisely so that this old craft, transmitted for more than a thousand years, would not be lost. Wen Qiangang summarizes the characteristics of carved lacquer as consuming much labor and involving numerous procedures; the two most difficult process steps are design planning and carving. Years of practice have made it possible for Wen Qiangang, no matter how complex the image, to place every cut correctly in a single stroke, without recutting. His award-winning works include Maitreya, Millennium Excellence, Celestial Globe Vase, and Viewing the Tidal Bore at Heyuan. At present, Wen Qiangang is actively training high-quality apprentices.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wen Qiangang 01-0167
- Zhang Guodong 03-1323
- Yin Xiuyun 04-1848
- He Jincheng
- Li Zhigang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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