Longzhou Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Qing dynasty forms the first stage. Dragon boats of this period were made mainly of imported timber—sturdy and durable, but heavy in the hull and generating great resistance in the water, with construction taking about three months. The second stage covers nearly a century from the Republic of China era to the end of the twentieth century, when pine was the principal material. The hull grew lighter, the boat's speed increased, and construction time fell to about one month.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Zhongtang Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, is known as the home of the dragon boat, where dragon-boat making has a history of over a hundred years. The craft process of Zhongtang dragon boats is fairly complex, comprising such important steps as selecting the keel timber (the keel—chiefly a straight, large fir tree chosen as the base spine), laying the bottom (nailing the butterfly bottom), raising the waterline (bending the keel into a streamlined shape), leveling (establishing the centerline to balance the butterfly bottom), turning the water (installing the washboards), building the sides, making the transverse ribs (the 'rib bones'), making the seating boards (the rowers' seats), fitting the dragon's intestines, reinforcing the central intestine (using bamboo strips to strengthen the seats and the dragon's intestines), applying tung-oil putty (reinforcing the gaps between boards to prevent leakage), planing smooth, applying clear lacquer (to make the boat smooth), making and installing the dragon head, and fitting the stern rudder. The material selection in Zhongtang dragon-boat making has passed through three historical stages of development. The third stage, over the last ten-plus years, has seen the dragon boats switch to fir as the material—light in weight, with a shallow draft once built and a fast speed, and a construction time of six to seven days. In the past, all data such as the dimensions of the materials were left entirely to the master craftsmen's experience and memory, with nothing recorded in writing. Dragon-boat racing is a traditional folk custom of China's Duanwu (Dragon Boat) Festival, so the dragon-boat making craft possesses not only craft value but also deep cultural and folk-custom significance. With the rapid social and economic development of Guangdong, traditional rural life is gradually fading from people's view, and activities such as dragon-boat races are no longer held as often. Added to this, the dragon-boat making craft is complex, and the number of people engaged in the related trades is dwindling; the craft stands on the verge of being lost and urgently needs protection.
Archival Process Record
The craft process of Zhongtang dragon boats is fairly complex, comprising such important steps as selecting the keel timber (the keel—chiefly a straight, large fir tree chosen as the base spine), laying the bottom (nailing the butterfly bottom), raising the waterline (bending the keel into a streamlined shape), leveling (establishing the centerline to balance the butterfly bottom), turning the water (installing the washboards), building the sides, making the transverse ribs (the 'rib bones'), making the seating boards (the rowers' seats), fitting the dragon's intestines, reinforcing the central intestine (using bamboo strips to strengthen the seats and the dragon's intestines), applying tung-oil putty (reinforcing the gaps between boards to prevent leakage), planing smooth, applying clear lacquer (to make the boat smooth), making and installing the dragon head, and fitting the stern rudder.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The dragon-boat workshops of Zhongtang Town, Dongguan, cluster along the waterways; shipbuilding and dragon-boat making were originally one and the same craft. Feng Huainü began in 1950 with wooden boats and farm skiffs, learning the trade under her father Feng Tao and the masters at the Zhongtang Shipyard, and has made more than three hundred boats, in sizes including the large-head dragon boat, the standard dragon boat, the small dragon skiff, and the phoenix skiff made especially for women. To make a boat, one first selects a straight, large fir tree as the keel timber, nails out the butterfly bottom, then bends the keel into a streamlined shape, after which one levels to set the centerline, fits the washboards, makes the seating boards, and fits the dragon's intestines. In the late Qing, the material was imported wood and construction took three months; in the Republic of China era it switched to pine, taking one month; and in the last ten-plus years it has returned to fir, launching in six or seven days.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Feng Huainü (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1931, a native of Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. Representative inheritor of the dragon-boat making craft, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item of the third batch. A technician of dragon-boat making. He began practicing the craft of wooden-boat and farm-skiff making in 1950, studying under his father Feng Tao and the masters at the Zhongtang Shipyard, and has comprehensively mastered the traditional dragon-boat making craft. He has taken part in dragon-boat making for over sixty years and independently mastered dimension-based dragon-boat construction for more than thirty years, having built over three hundred dragon boats in different specifications and types—the traditional large-head dragon boat, the standard dragon boat, the small dragon skiff, and the phoenix skiff (a standard dragon boat for women)—with refined forms and superb skill. On the one hand he preserves the characteristics of the traditional craft, while on the other he combines new materials and new techniques to enable the craft to be better transmitted in the present day. He has already passed the craft on to his son and son-in-law.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Fenghuainv 03-1404
- Feng Peichao
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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