Lacquerware Decoration Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
In the late Qing and early Republican period, overseas Chinese took pride in owning Yangjiang lacquered leather cases and other lacquer products, and lacquered-leather goods became an important export commodity of the Yangjiang region.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yangjiang lacquerware is one of the "Three Treasures of Yangjiang." The Yangjiang lacquerware-making craft arose no later than the late Ming and early Qing, and belongs to a family workshop mode of production. Because of its coastal location and the influence of maritime culture, it differs in some respects from inland traditional techniques and patterns, showing clear distinctions in lacquer preparation and pattern painting. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing, Yangjiang lacquerware already wielded considerable influence nationwide; by the late Qing its products were not only produced in large quantity but also of high craftsmanship, and were distinctive for being made with the "cashew lacquer" developed in Yangjiang. Among Yangjiang lacquerware, the traditionally handmade leather-bodied products are the most famous, and among these the leather cases and leather pillows stand out most. Traditional lacquered-leather products are characterized by being light, sturdy, durable, water-resistant, damp-proof, alkali-resistant, heat-resistant, abrasion-resistant, and resistant to atmospheric corrosion, with high hardness, brilliance, and a rich lacquer film; unless exposed to strong direct light, they have the advantage of remaining undeformed and unfaded over long periods. Yangjiang's traditional handmade leather-bodied, paper-bodied, and cloth-bodied lacquerware products demand high-grade materials, high cost, and complex processes. With the rise of various new-material products, lacquerware has been hit by new substitutes, and its market has steadily shrunk. Coupled with a shift in aesthetic pursuits, traditional lacquerware craft products have been pushed aside.
Archived Process Record
Yangjiang's traditional handmade leather-bodied, paper-bodied, and cloth-bodied lacquerware products demand high-grade materials, high cost, and complex processes.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The lacquerware products are sold mainly to Southeast Asia, and even to Europe and the Americas.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present only a handful of artisans understand the traditional handmade leather-bodied lacquerware, and most have no successors; the lacquerware craft stands at the brink of loss and urgently needs stronger protection. Fu Yizhou (per the official archives of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in June 1954, a native of Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Lacquerware Decoration Craft (Yangjiang Lacquerware Decoration Craft)." A Yangjiang lacquerware decoration craftsman. From 1978 to 1987 he was engaged in lacquer-craft research and teaching in the lacquer-painting teaching and research section of the Craft Department at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. In 1988 he left the academy and returned to Yangjiang to research, develop, and supervise lacquer artworks, carrying out technical innovation and creating many excellent lacquer pieces sold at home and abroad. Since 2000 he has run the "Three Dogs Mengguan" lacquer-art personal studio, devoted to excavating and studying traditional lacquer art. Over more than fifty years of practice his output is rich, and he can organically fuse various materials with traditional lacquer art, giving his works rich visual and tactile effects. For many years he has devoted himself to training lacquer-art inheritors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Gan Erke 03-1389
- Chen Sibi 03-1390
- He Junming 04-1891
- Li Bosheng 04-1892
- Zou Dexiang 04-1893
- Li Aizhen 05-2823
- Ding Guokun 05-2824
- Fu Yizhou 05-2825
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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