Handicraft enthusiast Tang Ren is unhappy-physically as well as
emotionally. The problem? His teeth, or rather, the story behind
them.
When told he had to replace two missing upper incisors with
artificial teeth, he was happy that they were to be the work of an
eminent ivory engraver with the Beijing Handicrafts and Art
Factory. However, when he asked his dentist to arrange a visit to
the factory, he was told it was bankrupt.
Tang, 44, still remembers the glory days of the factory in the
1970s and 1980s when, as the nation's largest handicraft
manufacturing base, it housed 14 Chinese traditional handicrafts.
Tang told Beijing Review about the pride and joy that shone from
the eyes of Zhang Tonglu, handicraft master and former head of the
factory, in a television show as he talked about the reputation the
factory once enjoyed. At that time, when visiting foreign heads of
state met Chairman Mao Zedong or Premier Zhou Enlai at Zhongnanhai
(seat of the State Council), their families' visit to the factory
was common.
"Even the princess of Thailand had learned embroidering skills
here…" said Zhang proudly.
Beijing handicrafts and art have been in decline for years.
Statistics from Beijing Society of Handicrafts and Art show the
number of handicraft and art practitioners has decreased from 1,600
in the 1950s to less than 1,000 last year. Many state masters, even
in good physical health, are approaching senility. With a number of
consummate masters bidding farewell to their craft, some genres of
traditional handicrafts are close to extinction. Zhu Hong,
Secretary General of the Beijing Society of Handicrafts and Art,
cautioned it was time Beijing's traditional handicrafts looked at
alternative ways to survive.
Sad History
Zhang Tonglu of the Beijing Handicrafts and Art Factory has been
recognized as the No.1 expert in Jingtailan art ware, or the art of
cloisonné enameling. For instance, the Lucky Goat Lamp, the
factory's representative work embedded with more than 300 pieces of
precious stones, was completed under the instruction of Zhang. The
artwork integrates a variety of skills characterizing Jingtailan,
jade engraving and woodcarving.
The craft of Jingtailan got its name after Emperor Jingtai
(1450-59) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when craftsmen created a
beautiful blue ceramic glaze that became very popular.
Beijing's Jingtailan art ware is unique. "Jingtailan craftsmen
in Beijing used to serve the royal family exclusively and make all
wares for their daily or ritual use," said Zhang. There were two
types of Jingtailan art ware then: one for ritual ceremonies-solemn
and of primitive simplicity-and the other for daily use, which were
exquisite, luxurious and full of enjoyable details.
According to Zhang, the original blue of Jingtailan was
different from that seen today. This is not because of any trade
secret behind the production of the ceramic glaze, but owing to
greater experience in, and good command of, firing methods and
duration.
After the factory announced bankruptcy, which led to the exit of
some 500 experienced Jingtailan technicians, Zhang started his own
company, employing about 20 of his former colleagues.
Tourist Draw
Carved lacquerware is a popular handicraft and a sought-after
tourist souvenir. Currently, there are only five renowned masters
in this field in the mainland, including Wen Qiangang. Wen oversaw
the work of the Hua Hao Yue Yuan (meaning perfect conjugal bliss)
grail which was sent as a gift by the Beijing municipal government
to the Macao Special Administration Region upon its return to the
motherland in 1999.
The handicraft originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and
became popular in the Ming and Qing (1368-1911) dynasties. Enjoying
equal fame as cloisonné enameling, carved lacquerware is reportedly
produced only in Beijing. There are two steps to this craft: first
is to paint or daub the roughcast with natural lacquer to a certain
thickness and then to engrave some design into the lacquer.
Beijing carved lacquerware is divided into two groups based on
different roughcasts: metal and non-metal. The roughcast is covered
with several dozen to several hundred coats of lacquer, which take
anywhere between a month and a year to finish. The base colors are
usually yellow, green or black, while vermeil is often used for the
cover coat. Landscapes, flowers and figures are all design
inspirations for the engraving.
The craft is quite complex and includes a dozen procedures such
as the making of the roughcast, enamel firing, painting of the base
colors, engraving and polishing.
"A 30-cm-high vase is usually covered with at least 5-mm-thick
lacquer, or at least 80 coats," explained Wen. And the engraving
for a vase will amount to tens of thousands of cuts. A
one-meter-high vase in his studio, for example, has taken him four
months to paint and another four months to engrave.
Uninspiring Orders
The craft of inlay filagree belongs exclusively to Beijing and
refers to the technique of embedding fine, twisted wires of gold
and silver with pearl, jade or other precious stones.
Ma Peijian, one of Beijing's grade-three industrial art masters,
said, "With excellent filagree skills, one is able to stretch the
wire to as thin as a hair and carve in it patterns without breaking
it."
One representative work is a 24-cm-high gold crown excavated
from Ding Ling, one of the 13 Ming Tombs in Beijing. It is woven
from extremely thin gold threads, as thin as voile. The top of the
crown is embedded with a pearl surrounded by a vivid dragon.
Most of the filagree craftsmen live in Tongzhou District and
have to change professions after the Beijing Filagree Craft Factory
and the Beijing Handicrafts and Art Factory went into bankruptcy in
succession.
It is reported that Ma is the only craftsman who accepts orders
for filagree art ware now in Beijing, as well as the only one
conversant with all the procedures involved.
Orders are basically for filagree gold or silver tea trays or
cups. But as such work does not call for much skill, Ma longs for
times past. He worries that he might not be able to use his skills
for exquisite works, especially as he gets on in age and his
eyesight becomes weak. He anxiously hopes that the government would
take action and reassemble craftsmen to make elaborate filagree
works.
"First it will be a good chance to train more practitioners, and
second, it will help those skills very difficult to command to
survive," said Ma.
Zhu Hong pointed out that it was no exaggeration to say that
many handicrafts would be lost to posterity. The Intertwine Golden
Carpet now housed in the Imperial Palace, for example, is a
representative work of Beijing handmade silk carpets, a tedious
craft that only a master can comprehend. Another handicraft on the
verge of extinction is glass blowing whereby hot glass is blown
into different animal and human shapes with clear and vivid facial
features. Currently, less than five craftsmen in China are
competent in this craft, with the youngest, Xing Lanxiang, already
60 years old.
"I have retired for years as none of the young generation takes
interest in this craft," said the bitter lady.
A Fresh Initiative
Located in Chongwen District close to Longtan Lake, Beijing
Baigongfang is a newly established culture industry enterprise.
With a staff of over 100 consummate masters and their disciples,
Baigongfang has been entrusted with saving 17 handicrafts, to
enable the survival of Chinese traditional handicrafts into modern
times.
The establishment of Beijing Baigongfang is a move on the part
of the Beijing municipal government to implement a proposal for the
protection of Beijing traditional handicrafts and art. Besides
Baigongfang, the municipal government is also planning to build a
garden of stone carving works in Fangshan District, taking
advantage of its rich reserves of white marbles.
"Baigong" in Chinese is a collective term referring to
handicrafts and comes from a book on handicraft skills of 2,000
years ago. The founding of Beijing Baigongfang is a result of
efforts between 53 enterprises and over 100 handicraft masters all
over the country. A total of $30 million is to be invested in the
enterprise which will occupy a floor area of 42,000 square meters,
making it a center of Chinese handicrafts. At present, about half
of the project is in operation, accommodating businesses that
include a souvenir store, a trade center and a studio for live
demonstration of the crafts. The studio allows customers to
interact freely with the craftsmen and get a custom-made piece of
artwork.
"By gathering these craftsmen again in a workshop, Baigongfang
made a great contribution to Beijing handicraft and art industry,"
said Zhang Xin, Deputy Manager of Baigongfang. Cui Fang,
Baigongfang's board chairman, said Baigongfang will be developed as
a comprehensive center for skills enhancement, retail shopping and
a manufacturing and research base.
"However, the industry is still far from finding its niche in
the market. Without a proper market, we can protect nothing," said
Zhang who is particularly interested in the market for handicraft
gifts. "The souvenir market in Beijing is estimated to be worth at
least 4 billion yuan ($483.1million)." Zhang hoped Baigongfang
would help expose the skills of the craftsmen to the market.
To cater to collectors of art ware, Baigongfang devotes a whole
floor exclusively to exhibit works of modern handicraft masters.
However, most collectors in China favor ancient artworks and know
little about modern works.
"It is the reality-they would rather risk spending several tens
of thousand yuan (several thousand dollars) purchasing some fake
works in the second-hand market than buy some authentic work of
modern state-level masters," said Wen Qiangang with a sigh.
(Beijing Review February 13, 2005)