The practice of "guarding intangible cultural heritage" of the Morning News Record Group
If you ask a journalist, what news excites you the most? In his answer, there will be these two words: "Exclusive." "No one has me, it is called "alone". Exclusivity brings a refreshing touch and brings appeal to readers. To paraphrase a misnomer: exclusive writing material can help you get a head start. Of course, in the final effort to write a wonderful work, you need to work your writing slowly.
In 2024, the Morning News Journalist Group will be newly launched"Guarding Intangible Cultural Heritage" collection and writing practice activitiesSenior reporters led primary and secondary school students to visit the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, feel the charm of traditional skills and the power of perseverance up close, and reserve exclusive materials for daily writing. Today, the Morning News Journalist Group shares with you that during this year's winter vacation, the young reporters visitedTeacher Yuan Jiazhao, the intangible inheritor of "Songnan egg carving".。In appreciating the exquisite works, in the dialogue with the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, and in the process of experiencing the skills first-hand, we began to slowly appreciate the profound connotation of ingenuity. 
The reporter report was published in the Morning News on February 22, 2024
Morning News reporter Mei Wenling
(Shanghai World Foreign Language Middle School, 6th grade)."The sun and the moon complement the body, Qiankun entertains the heart", the egg carving master Yuan Jiazhao pointed to the eight big characters on the wall of the studio and said: "The so-called sun and moon are egg yolks and egg whites, and Qiankun refers to the creation in the world of eggshells; I ate egg complement and entertained my heart with creation, isn't this a perfect interpretation of egg carving? "Mr. Yuan's studio is on the top floor of the building, the roof is cut down diagonally, and it is displayed in a small space.
Twenty or thirty pieces of exquisite egg carvings of different sizes. The students crowded into a room full of people and listened to Mr. Yuan tell the details and stories hidden in the works. 
Compared with the documentary, Mr. Yuan has more gray hair on his head, but his enthusiasm for egg carving has not diminished. In Mr. Yuan's proud introduction, we learned that egg carving culture has a history of more than 2,000 years, and the study of skills is endless. In the past, egg carving works were only half done, that is, the part that is visible from the front perspective of the person. Once, Mr. Yuan had the whim to make a coherent work, so that it would be a complete painting from any angle, but this posed an unprecedented challenge to the carving technique. After six months of continuous attempts, Mr. Yuan's work "Splendid Mountains and Rivers" was finally completed, thus creating a precedent: 360-degree interfaceless carving. This is a landscape painting created on a light cyan goose egg, and the round eggshells are carved into four relatively independent and connected landscape paintings. According to Mr. Yuan, this creation was inspired by Chinese screens. On each "screen", Mr. Yuan carefully carved a close-up and a distant view, with layers of mountains, flowers and trees, jumping on the shell. And when you turn it around, you will find that Tutu is connected and endless, just like the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, and there is a bit of beauty hidden in the magnificence, which stretches for a long time. In an interview, Mr. Yuan mentioned the most about mentality. First of all, to have a quiet mind, egg carving is a great test of people's patience and perseverance, whether it is design ideas or carving creation, the creator needs to be distracted, fully devoted; Secondly, to have a meticulous, Mr. Yuan combined the carving techniques of jade, bamboo and wood into his own works, each work is extremely delicate and delicate, it is the creator's careful creation, bringing everyone a wonderful artistic experience; Finally, there must be a heart to play, egg carving is like walking a tightrope, a little careless will fall short, to learn to enjoy the process, "carving is fine, and not wasted, eggs eat and nourish the body", Mr. Yuan's words amused us. A young reporter asked Mr. Yuan in an interview: "What makes you so obsessed with this art and persist in it for more than 40 years?" "I think for Mr. Yuan, egg carving is the best way for him to have a dialogue with the world, and it is both art and life. Morning News reporter Yao Zhouxi(The Second Affiliated School of Fudan University, 7th grade).Lotus flowers bloom in the turquoise lotus leaves, under the lotus leaves are koi playing in the water, and the blue waves ripple - this is not the pen and ink Danqing presented on rice paper, but the picture carved by Yuan Jiazhao, the inheritor of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage "Songnan Egg Carving", on the ostrich eggs. 
On the afternoon of February 3rd, we visited Mr. Yuan's studio. In the small room, it is elegantly furnished, and on the left is a cabinet displaying various egg carvings. Mr. Yuan pointed to an egg sculpture called "Splendid Mountains and Rivers" and introduced us to his most proud work. This is a 360-degree sculpture without interface, and Mr. Yuan divides the egg surface into four paintings, each of which presents a different landscape. The picture is connected from end to end, no matter from which angle, it is a whole three-dimensional landscape painting. After visiting the egg carving works, we went to the activity room to experience carving patterns on eggs. I got my hands on it and realized how difficult it was to carve a smooth egg carving. The control of lines takes a long time to hone, and the design of text patterns requires rich cultural heritage. Faced with eggshells as thin as cicada wings, we didn't know how to start at first, and the engraved words "dragon" and "fu" were crooked. Fortunately, Mr. Yuan gave a lot of guidance, and most of the young reporters completed satisfactory works. 
After so many years of egg carving, have you ever thought of giving up? A young reporter asked. "Since it's going on now, it's definitely not! Teacher Yuan's eyes flashed: "The egg carving can be summed up in the words 'sun and moon complement the body, Qiankun entertains the heart'." "Sun and moon" refers to egg whites and yolks, and "Qiankun" refers to eggshells. In each of Mr. Yuan's egg carving works, the egg whites and yolks are really used for edible, which is called "complement"; The eggshell is used for carving, which is called "entertainment". In Mr. Yuan's view, the spiritual core of egg carving art is "play". When he was a child, there were very few things to play with. As he gradually became interested in carving eggs, egg carving became his leisure time. This "play" is not an ordinary "brainless play". When creating an egg carving, the main focus is often on the composition and layout. Teacher Yuan focuses on exploration and learning, and sometimes when she is not inspired, she goes out to play, and then integrates what she sees and thinks into the egg carving. Following interests and constantly thinking is the essence of egg carving art. Mr. Yuan regards the art of egg carving as the love of his life, and the sun and the moon complement the body, and the intangible cultural heritage skill of egg carving will naturally go on for a long time. Morning News reporter Zhou Yunshun(Xuhui District Yifu Primary School, 3rd grade).In Songnan Town, Baoshan District, there is a special studio. The space of the studio is not large, but there are many large and small eggshells of different colors, which are intricately carved with many exquisite pictures, including vivid zodiac signs, thousands of flowers, and some birdsong and flowers. It was an eye-opener. The owner of this studio is Mr. Yuan Jiazhao, the inheritor of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage "Songnan Egg Carving". Mr. Yuan has long hair, and at first glance he feels like an artist. He greeted us very warmly to the work, and while admiring the egg carving work, he introduced his "egg carving scripture". Eggs are colored and suitable for shallow carving; The color of the goose egg is white and suitable for hollowing; There is also an ostrich egg that cannot be hatched from the zoo, and Mr. Yuan used it for 2 months to complete a beautiful relief work. The humorous teacher Yuan said that in order to choose the right eggshell and not waste it, he ate steamed eggs and scrambled eggs, but he had never eaten a poached egg - because during the eggshell processing process, a hole was made in the eggshell and the egg white and yolk were blown out with a straw. 
Curious, I asked Mr. Yuan a question: "What kind of person can become an egg carver?" Teacher Yuan smiled and said, "I think this person needs to be patient enough to love this art." Because egg carving is easy to get started, but to carve a satisfying work, it takes effort! If you're not careful, the eggshell will shatter and your previous efforts will be wasted, so it's a heartbeat to play! "The egg carving is like walking a tightrope, with a knife going down, it will either succeed or fail, there is no remedy, and it is an extreme test of human endurance and perseverance. Would you enjoy playing with the "heartbeat" egg carving art?
Morning News reporter Lu Zongze
(Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Primary School, 4th grade).Can you imagine carving everything in the world on the thin and fragile eggshell, from flowers, birds, insects and fish, to mountains and rivers, so that the most ordinary eggshells can become pleasing works of art? Today, come with me to the studio of Mr. Yuan Jiazhao, the inheritor of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage "Songnan Egg Carving"! As soon as I stepped into Mr. Yuan Jiazhao's studio, I was amazed by the exquisite egg carvings in front of me! There are egg carvings with ordinary eggs and goose eggs, rare crane egg carvings, and huge African ostrich eggs. One size is not.
1. On eggshells of different colors, there are either shallow carvings, or reliefs, or hollows, showing various themes. 
What amazed us the most was the 360-degree "Splendid Mountains and Rivers" without interface. The four sides of the screen are carved with strange mountains and rivers, and only a hollow bow is connected between the screen and the screen. Look at the "Birds and Flowers", the blue-gray ostrich eggs, using the color and shape of the eggshell itself to carve landscapes, flowers and birds. A cute little sparrow stands on the top of a peach blossom branch with its small pointed mouth open, as if singing about the arrival of spring.
Seeing our amazed appearances one by one, Mr. Yuan said meaningfully: "Don't think that the eggshell will break when you touch it, in fact, it is easier to get started with egg carving, and you can learn the basic skills in two or three classes." But to go one step further and create a masterpiece is a test of one's endurance and perseverance. "Let's see for ourselves. Teacher Yuan prepared a bag of eggshells for us. I picked a fat one, according to the technique taught by Teacher Yuan, holding the eggshell in my left hand and a carving knife in my right hand, and carefully carved the first knife and the second knife ...... on the eggshellSure enough, the eggshell was not as fragile as expected, and a clear pattern slowly emerged. When I wanted to carve it more perfectly, I heard a "click" and the eggshell shattered in half. Teacher Yuan saw it and said, "Playing with egg carving, it's normal for eggs to break." Then he handed me a new eggshell and told me to start all over again. A small eggshell, with a pair of skillful hands of a craftsman, presents a different world. It is hoped that more young people will learn egg carving culture, continue traditional skills, and inherit the spirit of craftsmen. 
In 2024, the Morning News Learning Group will continue to launch the "Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage" collection and writing practice activities, and interested students and parents can consult customer service.
Teacher Zhang of the Morning News School Record Group.
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