Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship

Ⅷ-136Traditional CraftsmanshipGugongbowuyuanBatch 2 (2008)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

The mounting and restoration craft of ancient calligraphy and painting is a unique traditional manual skill of China, mainly used for the decoration, restoration, and recovery of paintings, calligraphy, inscribed stone rubbings, and the like. It has a history of over 1,700 years. Chinese traditional mounting and restoration techniques developed over the long course of the Jin, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, and by the Ming and Qing periods had largely taken definitive form, giving rise to two schools: the "Jing mounting" (Jingbiao) centered on Beijing and the "Su mounting" (Subiao) centered on Suzhou. During the Republican era, China's painting-and-calligraphy restoration trade formed two major schools represented respectively by Yu Chi Shan Fang and Da Shu Zhai on Liulichang in Beijing, and Ji Gu Ge and Liu Dingzhi Zhuangchi in Shanghai. After the founding of the People's Republic, master mounters from Liu Dingzhi Zhuangchi, Yu Chi Shan Fang, and other establishments were invited to the Palace Museum to take sole charge of the mounting and restoration of its collected painting and calligraphy artifacts. They restored a group of national-treasure-level works—including "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" by Zhang Zeduan of the Song dynasty, "Spring Outing" by Zhan Ziqian of the Sui dynasty, "Five Oxen" by Han Huang of the Tang dynasty, and "Night Revels of Han Xizai" by Gu Hongzhong of the Five Dynasties—while also training many specialists in ancient calligraphy and painting mounting and restoration for the Palace Museum.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Mounting was called "biaobei" in ancient times, also known as "zhuanghuang" or "zhuangchi." The ancient calligraphy-and-painting mounting and restoration craft of the long-famous time-honored shop "Rongbaozhai" possesses its own distinctive and complete craft process; it is the most concentrated embodiment of "Jing mounting" and stands uniquely in the national mounting community. Over years of development, the Beijing ancient-character mounting and restoration craft has formed its own distinctive character, with its own specialized tools, materials, styles, and techniques.

Recorded Craft Procedures

The ancient calligraphy-and-painting mounting and restoration craft of the long-famous time-honored shop "Rongbaozhai" possesses its own distinctive and complete craft process; it is the most concentrated embodiment of "Jing mounting" and stands uniquely in the national mounting community.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Palace Museum line was established only after the founding of the PRC: back then a group of master craftsmen from Yu Chi Shan Fang and Da Shu Zhai of Liulichang and from Ji Gu Ge and Liu Dingzhi Zhuangchi of Shanghai were invited into the palace to specialize in the mounting and restoration of painting and calligraphy artifacts, training others while they worked; "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," "Spring Outing," and "Five Oxen" all came from this line. Thereafter the palace restoration developed its own distinct style, sharing the same origin as the Rongbaozhai shop work but differing in division of labor. Xu Jianhua, a native of Beijing, has worked in the trade for over thirty years and has restored "Spring Outing" by Zhan Ziqian of the Sui dynasty and "Tribute Bearers at Rest" by Hu Gui of the Five Dynasties.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship · Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship · Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship · Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship · Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship · Mounting and Restoration Craftsmanship.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The emergence of this craft has made a tremendous contribution to preserving precious national cultural heritage and transmitting ancient civilization. Because the mounting and restoration craft is complex and requires mastery of a series of knowledge spanning painting, paper, and silk satin across different dynasties, the training period is long and transmission is difficult; it is now on the verge of being lost and requires active protection and rescue. Xu Jianhua (from the official archival records of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in January 1951, a native of Beijing. Representative inheritor of the fourth batch of the national-level intangible cultural heritage item, Mounting and Restoration Craft (Mounting and Restoration Craft of Ancient Calligraphy and Painting). Having worked for over thirty years, he has restored for the Palace Museum and other cultural-relic institutions at home and abroad numerous paintings, calligraphy works, and excavated artifacts, including "Spring Outing" by Zhan Ziqian of the Sui dynasty, "Tribute Bearers at Rest" by Hu Gui of the Five Dynasties, "Tang Customs" by Ma Hezhi of the Song dynasty, "Snowy Scene with Two Pheasants" by Lin Liang of the Ming dynasty, and "Plantain" by Xu Wei. He stresses the integration of theory and practice, has undertaken multiple research projects for the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Palace Museum, and has published several articles on the mounting and restoration of ancient calligraphy and painting. He emphasizes craft transmission and talent cultivation, and has trained apprentices including Yang Zehua, Liu Shunqiang, Wang Hongmei, and Zhang Xiao. Yang Zehua (from the official archival records of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1963, a native of Bengbu City, Anhui Province. Representative inheritor of the fifth batch of the national-level intangible cultural heritage item, Mounting and Restoration Craft (Mounting and Restoration Craft of Ancient Calligraphy and Painting). He has mainly restored Ming-dynasty "Poem on Early Autumn Beyond the Passes" from the Palace Museum collection, "Pavilion of Prince Teng" by Qian Gong of the Ming, "Plum-Blossom Study" by Liu Zhen of the Ming, "Landscape in Finger Painting" by Gao Qipei of the Qing, the panoramic paintings of the Juanqin Studio, and the large mural "Wonderful Sound of Victorious Fruit" by Fu Wen of the Qing at Guangji Temple. Combining theory with practice and possessing solid professional skills, he has successively participated in research projects including the State Administration of Cultural Heritage's "Research Report on the Factors and Mechanisms Affecting the Quality of Painting-and-Calligraphy Mounting" and the Palace Museum's ancient-paintings department's "Qing-Dynasty Painting-and-Calligraphy Mounting and Its Materials and Tools." He emphasizes craft transmission and talent cultivation, and has trained apprentices including Zhou Jianxiang and Shi Qian.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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