Wutongzouyin Making Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The origin of wutong zouyin (black-copper inlaid with silver) traces back to the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty, when the Yue Yong brothers of Yuejiawan Village, Shiping County, created this method using local copper materials; thereafter it was exclusively transmitted as the family craft of the Yue clan. This craft was early on ranked alongside Beijing cloisonné, and painters and insiders habitually referred to it as one of the "two supreme copper arts under heaven," which also indicates its position in Qing-dynasty metalwork.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The wutong zouyin-making craft was first created during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty (1723–1735) by the Yue Yong brothers, descendants of the famous anti-Jin general Yue Fei, in Yuejiawan Village, Shiping County, Yunnan Province, and has always been exclusively operated by the Yue family. Historically, wutong zouyin was as famous as Beijing cloisonné, jointly known as the "two supreme copper arts under heaven." Wutong zouyin uses precious metals such as copper and gold as raw materials, which are melted in a certain proportion to make a blank, on which various decorative patterns are carved; then the melted silver (or gold) is led into the fine patterns, and after cooling it is polished smooth; then through a hereditary process the base copper is turned black, revealing the silver (or gold) pattern, producing a decorative effect of clear black-and-white (or black-and-yellow) contrast. Because silver inlay is generally predominant, it is called "black copper inlaid with silver." Its products are mostly daily utensils such as ink boxes, brush pots, wine pots, censers, and vases; ingeniously shaped and finely made, they can be called artistic masterpieces and have collection value.
Melting alloy and casting the blank
Copper, gold and silver are melted in fixed proportions and cast into a blank, which is left undecorated as the ground for the next stages.
Chiselling the pattern
A dense pattern is chiselled into the blank; the fineness and depth of each line decide how much silver will later show.
Running the silver into the lines
Molten silver or gold is poured into the chiselled lines and polished after cooling, so the pattern sits inside the metal rather than upon it.
The blackening stage
A hereditary process turns the copper ground black so the silver lines show through, giving the crisp black-and-white effect behind the name.
Ink boxes, brush pots, wine pots, censers and vases
The output consists chiefly of desk and household objects of ingenious shape and fine workmanship, usually inlaid with silver.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The core producing area of wutong zouyin has always been around Yuejiawan, Shiping County, Yunnan. Beyond the Yue family's exclusively operated hereditary lineage, the Shiping County Cultural Center undertakes the public display and transmission of the craft. Jin Yongcai was born in Kunming but learned the technique from Shiping; the Yunnan Wutong Zouyin Cultural Industry Co., Ltd. he founded in 2010, together with the Kunming Wutong Zouyin Craft Hall and the Wutong Zouyin Heritage Hall, extended this branch to the provincial capital.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The traditional techniques of metallurgy, chiseling, and painting accumulated over hundreds of years are also of great historical, scientific, and cultural-artistic value. Because the wutong zouyin-making craft is mainly transmitted within the family, operated entirely by hand, and most young people are unwilling to learn it, and because its products are highly priced, it faces an endangered situation of lacking successors. Jin Yongcai (from the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in September 1953, from Kunming City, Yunnan Province. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the wutong zouyin-making craft, an item of intangible cultural heritage. Senior arts and crafts master. Over forty years of practice, he has mastered the craft processes, techniques, formulas, and patents. In 2010 he founded the Yunnan Wutong Zouyin Cultural Industry Co., Ltd. He founded the Kunming Wutong Zouyin Craft Hall and the Wutong Zouyin Heritage Hall. He serves as an executive council member of the China Arts and Crafts Association and deputy director of its Metal Art Professional Committee. Invited to give lectures and teach at renowned universities such as Yale University, the Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, he was selected by the China Arts and Crafts Association as a typical figure in China's arts and crafts industry for 2012.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Jin Yongcai 05-2880
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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