China's traditional crafts have a long history, and its exquisite skills and unique artistic style have won praise from all over the world. Among these many crafts, Yanjing Eight Uniques are particularly prominent, Yanjing Eight Uniques, also known as "Jingzuo", represent the exquisite skills and elegant temperament of Beijing's traditional crafts, and they show the world the profundity of Chinese traditional crafts with their unique charm. These eight musts include: carved lacquer, cloisonné, jade carving, ivory carving, carving filling, porcelain burning, embroidery and filigree inlay. Today, let's take a closer look at the carved lacquer, one of Yanjing's eight uniques.
Carved lacquer, also known as lacquer carving, it uses natural lacquer as raw material, through multiple processes, meticulously crafted, and finally forms a beautiful work of art, which is deeply loved by people at home and abroad. It is a traditional craft with a long history. It originated in China, and there were carved lacquer products as early as the Hemudu period more than 7,000 years ago. After thousands of years of development, the carving lacquer skills have been perfected day by day, and have become a wonderful branch in China's arts and crafts.
The process of making carved lacquer is very complex and requires many processes. First of all, the craftsmen choose high-quality natural lacquer or cashew lacquer as raw materials and apply them to various carcasses. Then, after a certain drying time, it is carved on it. The process of this carving is very exquisite, requiring craftsmen to use a variety of knife techniques, such as bas-relief, high-relief, and openwork, to depict the pattern in detail. Finally, it is polished and polished to make the whole work bright in color, solid in texture, smooth in the touch, crystal clear like a jewel, and smooth as a mirror.
Among the many carved lacquer works, most of them are flowers and birds, landscapes, and people. These works either show the beauty of nature, or depict historical allusions, or show folk customs, all of which are full of strong life and cultural heritage. For example, a carved lacquer screen called "Hundred Birds and Phoenix", in the picture, hundreds of birds fly together, different shapes, lifelike. The works with the theme of "The Legend of the West Chamber" depict the demeanor and emotions of the characters with delicate knife techniques, which is breathtaking.
The charm of carved lacquer lies in its rich color, bright luster, exquisite pattern and strong three-dimensional sense. It can be used to decorate the home and add beauty to life, or it can be appreciated as a work of art to give people a beautiful enjoyment. At the same time, due to the complexity of the production process, which requires the craftsmen to have superb skills and patience, the carved lacquer works also have a high collection value.
In modern society, with the continuous development of science and technology, many traditional crafts are in danger of being lost. However, the traditional craft of carved lacquer still retains its vigorous vitality. This is mainly due to the carving craftsmen who stick to tradition and have the courage to innovate. With their wisdom and hands, they have created exquisite lacquer carvings that have given new life to this ancient art form.
In order to better inherit and carry forward this traditional craft, many lacquer carving masters have begun to try to integrate modern elements into traditional crafts. They borrowed from other art forms of expression, combined with modern scientific and technological means, to create a number of carved lacquer works with both traditional charm and modern sense. These works have not only been widely praised in China, but also won honor for traditional Chinese crafts internationally.
In short, as one of the eight uniques of Yanjing, carved lacquer has conquered the world with its unique artistic charm and exquisite skills. It is a treasure of traditional Chinese craftsmanship and the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese nation.