a traditional art in southern fujian, lacquer line carving is a gem in chinese lacquer work culture and has been used in decorating buddha statues (known as “buddha decorating”) and therefore widespread as a special craft since the tang dynasty when colored statues prospered. featuring exquisite techniques, vivid and true-to-life images, solemn and antique style and lively tableau, lacquer line carving is an outstanding example in traditional chinese art. lacquer line carving has inherited the traditions of buddhist sculpture art in ancient times and is inspired by line carving in the song and yuan dynasties, in particular by lead powder dropping painting and clay line carving. the art of lacquer line carving emerged in the late ming and early qing dynasties and gradually matured towards the late qing dynasty. its development in southern fujian was attributable to the prosperity of folk religions and the sculpting of gods and buddha. in the late ming and early qing dynasties, lacquer line carving started to be applied by craftsmen in quanzhou in the decoration of temples and buddha statues, when the techniques were still far from mature and the materials used, such as glutinous rice powder and wooden body, were simple and rough, and most works failed to survive long periods of preservation and were vulnerable to moth or distortion. later, craftsmen found that attaching the mixture of red brick powder and liquid lacquer to wood body for carving would enhance their durability to several years and even over a dozen years. lacquer line carving has made its way to the market since then. yet works in early times were scarce and expensive, and premium collections were exclusively seen in major temples during the reign of emperor kangxi in the qing dynasty. lacquer line carving is intricately related to buddhist sculpture art. quanzhou lacquer line carving evolved from buddhist lacquer line carving and has been passed on until today through over a thousand years’ evolution and development. distinct buddhist sculpture traditions are still obvious in today’s quanzhou lacquer line carving, which, on the bases of the art traditions of buddhist lacquer line carvings, have constantly absorbed the advantages of other carving arts and crafts for its enrichment and development, hence of historical and cultural research value. currently, there are almost 100 lacquer line carving factories in huinan region, quanzhou. the art is extensively distributed in quanzhou, zhangzhou, xiamen,taiwanas well as other regions inchina, southeast asia and theamericaswith vast influence. cai yongkuang, chinese art & craft master and representative heir of national intangible heritage of xiamen lacquer line carving, has made outstanding contributions to the inheritance, research and promotion of the skill of lacquer line carving. lacquer line carving is 100% manually made in a highly sophisticated process which developed from lining, carving and engraving to dozens of manually completed steps including lining, winding, twining, piling, carving, hollow carving, etc. taking several months or even years of dedicated work to complete, each piece is characterized by meticulous and ingenious technique, vivid image, antique and elegant style and true-to-life tableau. an there is no product that is identical with another. procedures of traditional quanzhou lacquer line carving include: 1. lacquer line clay making; 2. powder base; 3. design; 4. base body making; 5. line kneading; 6. lacquer line carving; 7. paint application; 8. powder white clay; 9. application of paint for gold foil; 10. gluing gold foil (fixing gold foil and adding in color), etc. in terms of the art creation, carving is the priority; while in terms of the characteristic aesthetic effect of the work, the craft of lacquer line decoration is the key. aged brick powder is mixed with lacquer and boiled tung oil and is beaten repeatedly to become a soft yet resilient dough of clay commonly known as lacquer line clay, which is then manual kneaded into lacquer lines. such lacquer lines are winded, knotted, piled and carved on the clay body coated with base paint to form exquisite patterns and images in the form of relief. unique to quanzhou, this craft is characteristic of folk art and traditional culture in southern fujian province. key procedures in lacquer line carving making are listed as follows: material preparation materials of lacquer line carving include natural lacquer, brick powder, etc., which are mixed and beaten for several hours until the mixture features correct softness and plasticity, with is good for kneading like dough. thread kneading to portray various patterns and shapes, a special kneading plate is used on which soft and elastic lacquer lines of different diameters are manually kneaded. winding richly layered and sophisticated patterns are formed by intricately winding lines with overlapping parts creating a three-dimensional effect in the light. lines are ingeniously arranged in a way to portray every detail of clouds, water, flowers in bloom and grass with rustling leaves. surface gilding attach 24k gold foil on the lacquer lines that form the wound patterns. roughly after the four steps, a glamorous and magnificent lacquer line carving work is almost finished. the art of lacquer line carving highlights the aesthetic features of lines and curves and highly diversified forms and shapes, giving artist tremendous freedom to create and attain high artistic realm. here the beauty of lines in chinese arts & crafts ascends to sublimation. lacquer line carving is winded with lines yet portrayed in the form of relief, with ultimate preciseness of every detail. it can be safely stated that manual craftwork is the soul of lacquer line carving. |