Tiantaishanganqijiazhujiyi
01 · Historical Records
In the mid-Tang dynasty, the monk Situo used this method in Japan to make a seated statue of Jianzhen, which Japan has regarded as a national treasure. Besides the seated statue of Jianzhen, representative works include the Sakyamuni statue made by the Song-dynasty brothers Zhang Yanjiao and Yanqiu, enshrined at Qingchun Temple in Japan; the Guanyin statue made by Xie Xiuwang in 1984, now preserved at Wannian Temple on Mount Tiantai; and the Sakyamuni statue made by Tang Chunpu in 1991, held in the collection of the Nanjing Museum.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Tiantai County lies in eastern Zhejiang Province; its dense mountain forests produce the natural raw materials needed for lacquer art — mountain lacquer, ramie, camphor, and the like. As early as the Eastern Jin dynasty, dry-lacquer ramie (ganqi jiazhu) was already applied in Tiantai folk life; through the continuous efforts of craftsmen over successive generations, the technique gradually matured. Dry-lacquer ramie has a complete process flow. Its production comprises 48 process steps, from molding, applying the base plaster, wrapping with ramie, and over-plastering, to lacquering, sanding, applying vermilion, polishing, and gilding — all using natural materials such as ramie, raw lacquer, ancient tile powder, volcanic ash, tung oil, cinnabar, and multicolored stone. With linen and lacquer bonded on layer upon layer and repeatedly polished, then coated with cinnabar and other auxiliary materials, affixed with gold foil and burnished, the entire production process is done by hand. After treatment by multiple techniques, the finished pieces comprehensively embody the artistic appeal of sculpture, painted decoration, and gilded finish. Finished dry-lacquer ramie pieces are used mainly for Buddhist sculpture, the decoration and protection of palaces and temple buildings, and the making of folk utensils; they have the characteristics of long resistance to decay, lustrous sheen, and freedom from cracking and warping. The main present-day transmitters of the Tiantaishan dry-lacquer ramie technique are Tang Chunpu and his apprentices Zheng Bingrui and Jin Hongchu, among others; works they have produced are collected in 49 countries and regions and have repeatedly won international and domestic gold prizes for arts and crafts. Because the work demands high qualities of practitioners and a long apprenticeship and consists entirely of manual labor, few young people are willing to enter the dry-lacquer ramie trade. As veteran artisans successively retire, how to inherit this unique mastery of dry-lacquer ramie has become a pressing problem. In addition, driven by profit, some workshops do not operate in strict accordance with the traditional technique and use modern chemically synthetic materials in production, resulting in a market flooded with imitations; genuine handcrafted pieces, on the contrary, are hard to sell, and their development space is shrinking day by day.
Archival Records of Process Steps
Dry-lacquer ramie has a complete process flow. Its production comprises 48 process steps, from molding, applying the base plaster, wrapping with ramie, and over-plastering to lacquering, sanding, applying vermilion, polishing, and gilding — all using natural materials such as ramie, raw lacquer, ancient tile powder, volcanic ash, tung oil, cinnabar, and multicolored stone.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Tiantaishan dry-lacquer ramie technique is centered on Tiantai County, Zhejiang Province, and extends to the Linhai and Xianju areas of eastern Zhejiang. Tiantai County lies in eastern Zhejiang Province; its dense mountain forests produce the natural raw materials needed for lacquer art — mountain lacquer, ramie, and camphor. The Taizhou Traditional Art Museum is the project's protecting unit.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Tiantaishan dry-lacquer ramie technique not only has important craft and artistic value but also irreplaceable practical value in the restoration of ancient buildings and cultural relics, able to achieve the effect of making the old look as it was. Under these circumstances, active measures must be taken to ensure the transmission and development of the dry-lacquer ramie technique. Tang Chunpu (recorded in the official archive of associated inheritors): Male, of Han ethnicity, born in September 1952 in Tiantai County, Zhejiang Province. Representative inheritor of the Tiantaishan dry-lacquer ramie technique, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item (fourth batch). Senior arts-and-crafts designer; Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts. He excels at modeling Buddha statues. He founded the Tiantai Arts and Crafts School, the Zhejiang Tiantai Art Gallery, the Zhejiang Tiantai Buddhist City, and the Taizhou Traditional Art Museum. He has fully mastered the technique's 48 process flows and more than 160 process steps. He has devoted himself to excavating, organizing, and studying the technique, recording its process flows, restoring complete traditional craft workshops, and establishing a collection hall for dry-lacquer ramie works. He has brought the veteran artisans' role of passing on, helping, and leading into play in training inheritors. His works have repeatedly won international and national gold prizes and are collected by museums and art galleries in more than sixty countries.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Tang Chunfu 04-1850
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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