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Chinese painters: Zhang Daqian 张大千

Zhang Daqian (1898-1983), born in Neijiang, Sichuan Province, was the most legendary master in traditional Chinese painting of the 20th century. A prodigy, Zhang excelled in drawing, calligraphy, seal-cutting and classical poetry. Zhang was also known for his ability to imitate the various styles of the ancient masters.

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Tantou New Year Wood-block Prints 滩头木版年画

滩头木版年画是湖南省惟一的手工木版水印年画,以浓郁的楚南地方特色自成一派。滩头镇地处湖南省隆回县东南部,此地民风古朴淳厚,习俗独特,历史上曾出现过造纸村,雕刻村,色纸、花纸、香粉纸巷和年画街,手工业十分发达,且分工明确,相互配套。同治年间,滩头木版年画已行销全国。20世纪初,滩头木版年画生产达到全盛,有年画作坊108家,年产年画三千多万份,销往江南各省及东南亚一带。1949年后,滩头木版年画被当作封建迷信品加以禁止,1958年恢复生产,1966年后再次受到摧毁,1979年重新恢复生产。1984年,滩头镇被文化部命名为“中国现代民间绘画之乡”。1994年,滩头木版年画被文化部授予“中国民间美术一绝银奖”。2003年,在中国首届文物仿制品暨民间工艺品大展中,滩头木版年画获中国传统工艺品金奖。Tantou New Year wood-block prints are the only hand-made wood-block printing pictures in Hunan Province, featuring the unique local characteristics of Southern Chu. The Town of Tantou, which is located in the southeast of Longhui County, Hunan Province, has simple and honest people and unique customs. Once upon a time, it was home to villages of paper-making, villages of carving, lanes of colored paper, stained paper and blotting paper, and streets of New Year prints. At that time, these handicrafts were well developed, with clear division of labor supporting one another. Tantou prints had been regarded as superstitious objects and therefore been prohibited since 1949. The production was once recovered in 1958, but was devastated again in 1966. It was not until 1979 that this art form was finally brought back to normal operations. In 1984, the Town of Tantou was named by the Ministry of Culture as the Hometown of Modern Chinese Folk Painting. In 1994, the Tantou New Year wood-block prints won the Silver Award of Unique Chinese Folk Art organized by the Ministry of Culture. In 2003, the Tantou prints won the Gold Award of Traditional Chinese Crafts on the First Exhibition of Culture Relic Imitations and Folk Artworks of China.
滩头木版年画从造纸到成品所有工序都在滩头当地完成,形成了一个完善的生产系列,这在全国年画制作中较为鲜见。传统的滩头木版年画有四十多个品种,分为门神画像、寓意吉祥、戏文故事三大类,在滩头木版年画的工艺中,蒸纸、托胶、刷粉等传统工序均为滩头所独有,“开脸”也是有别于他处年画的独特技艺。滩头木版年画的制版难度在于线板雕刻,在这方面“高福昌”年画作坊的“陡刀立线”技术很有名,其行刀角度一致,使用均匀的暗劲,转折、交叉处稳当不乱,完全靠感觉和技巧把握。All processes of the Tantou New Year wood-block prints, from papermaking to the finished product, are completed in Tantou, thus forming a complete production line, which is rarely seen among its kind. The traditional Tantou New Year wood-block prints have more than 40 varieties, mainly categorized into door-god pictures, auspicious emblems and dramatic stories. Traditional processes such as paper steaming, alum water brushing and powder brushing are unique for Tantou New Year wood-block prints, as is the "face painting". When it comes to wood-block engraving, the challenge lies in carving of the ink line. In this regard, the Gaofuchang, a famous New Year picture workshop, is known for its "perpendicular knife and ink line" engraving skill, which requires consistent blade angles, appropriate wrist strength, and a steady hand in turning, which all depends on the feeling and exquisite skills of the artist.
如今,历经三百多年风采依然的滩头木版年画已经远涉重洋,成为英、美、日等多国大型博物馆的珍藏。但近年来滩头木版年画市场急剧萎缩,作坊入不敷出,艺人纷纷改行,只剩两家年画作坊还保留着门面,其中“金玉美”也基本停产,“高腊玫”只能勉强支撑,年产量不足五万张,作坊主人的子女无一继承祖业。滩头木版年画或毁坏或流失,有不少技艺已经失传,亟待抢救、保护。With a history of over three hundred years, the art of Tantou New Year wood-block prints is still well recognized and appreciated by today’s people, with many copies collected by large museums in Britain, America, Japan, and other countries. However, recent years have witnessed a rapid decline of the market for Tantou New Year wood-block prints, leaving workshops striving to make ends meet and some artists have chosen to make a living in other professions. Only two workshops still have their shops, among them, Jinyumei has largely stopped production, while Gaolamei is struggling with an annual production of less than 50,000 copies, and neither of the workshop owners have any offspring willing to inherit their property. The Tantou New Year wood-block prints, suffering from destruction and losses, along with the disappearance of many unique processes and skills, are in urgent need of rescue and protection.

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Cross-Stitch挑花

挑花流传于湖北省黄梅县和湖南省隆回县,是一种具有极强装饰性的刺绣工艺。Cross-stitch is a type of highly decorative embroidery. The type of cross-stitch found in Huangmei County in Hubei Province is distinct from those found in Longhui County in Hunan.
黄梅挑花又名架子花、十字挑花,广泛流传于湖北省黄梅县。相传起源于唐宋时期,成熟于明末清初。长期以来,经过一代又一代农家妇女的精研细作,这门工艺日臻完善,以明快的色彩组合、精巧的图案构想凸显出独特的艺术表现力。Huangmei Cross-stitch, named after the Huangmei County in Hubei, is also known as the frame stitch or cross-stitch. It is said that it originated in the Tang and Song dynasties, and evolved into a sophisticated skill in late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. Refined and perfected by generations of peasant females over the years, it features a crisp color combination and ingenious pattern design, highlighting a unique artistic expression.
黄梅挑花被国内许多民间工艺研究专家称为彩挑。黄梅乡下百里棉区的彩色挑花更为精美,花样丰富多彩,地方特色浓郁。当地有俗谚说:“黄梅有女皆挑花。”蔡山、新开、孔垅等地的挑花工艺最为兴盛,女孩刚懂事就跟着妈妈或婶婶做针线活,一直做到出嫁。当地人把不会挑花的女孩叫做“整巴掌”,这对女孩是一种羞辱。Huangmei Cross-stitch is referred by many domestic and oversea folk art researchers as “colored cross-stitch”. In the vast cotton cultivation area in the countryside of Huangmei County, the colored cross-stitch is even more beautiful, with a variety of patterns and strong local characteristics. There is a local proverb that says: “every girl in Huangmei excels at cross-stitch”. In Caishan, Xinkai, and Konglong, where the cross-stitch is flourishing in particular, girls begin to learn the needlework from their mother or aunt once they are capable of sewing and will keep practicing until they are married. Locals call a girl who fails to master the cross-stitch skill a “green hand”, which is very embarrassing.
黄梅挑花不同于一般刺绣,刺绣重刺,挑花重挑。黄梅挑花以元青布作底,用针将五彩丝线挑绣在底布经线和纬线交织的网格上,形成色泽绚丽、立体感强的图案。其中针脚为“×”字形的称“十字绣”,针脚为“一”字形的称平线绣。作品最初主要有头巾、衣边、门帘、帐沿、床围等,民间妇女用它们来打扮自己和装饰居室。While common embroidery emphasizes embroidering skills, the cross-stitch focuses on the stitching. For Huangmei Cross-stitch, black cloth is used as the base, and colorful silk is stitched on the cloth mesh with interwoven warp and weft to form patterns that have brilliant colors and a strong three dimensional sense. In cross-sitch, the stitching is in the shape of “×”, referred to as the “cross-stitch”, while the stitch shape of the “Chinese character one” is referred to as the “flat stitch”. The works were originally limited to scarves, clothing hems, curtains, bed curtains and bed surrounds or other things that were used by girls to dress themselves or to decorate the room.
花瑶挑花相传源于汉代,成熟于明清时期。挑花的材料为藏青色或白色的土布和各色丝纱线,挑花女不用描图和模具,只是遵循土布的经纬徒手挑制,多采用图案中套图案的填充式挑花工艺。挑花图案取材广泛,多达千余种,大致有动物、植物、历史、生活习俗等四大类,以动物类图案最为常见,构思奇巧,造型大胆夸张,布局均衡对称,色彩黑白分明,具有强烈的视觉冲击力。我国著名文博专家沈从文先生称之为“世界第一流的挑花”。花瑶挑花服饰被中国美术馆、民族博物馆列为珍品收藏。1994年花瑶挑花在文化部举办的“中国民间艺术一绝大展”中获得铜奖,2003年又获“中国首届文物仿制品暨民间工艺品大展”金奖,隆回县虎形山瑶族乡因此被湖南省文化厅命名为“文化艺术之乡”。It is said that the Huyao Cross-stitch originated in the Han Dynasty and become a mature craft in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The material for Huayao Cross-stitch is navy blue or white folkweave, and silk and yarn with different colors. Women craftsmen stitch along the warp and woof of the folkweave, all by hand, without any trace or die. Filling is a common stitching process where a pattern is embedded in another pattern. There is a wide range of pattern materials, up to a thousand items, which are basically categorized into animals, plants, history and customs, with animal patterns being their favorite. Huayao Cross-stitch features ingenious ideas, bold and exaggerated shapes, balanced and symmetrical layouts, and contrasting black and white space, presenting a strong visual impact. Mr. Shen Congwen, a well-known cultural heritage conservation expert in China, called it the “world-class cross-stitch”. Huayao Cross-stitch dresses have been collected by the National Art Museum of China and the National Museum of China as treasures of art. It won a bronze medal in “the Exhibition of Unique Chinese Folk Arts” organized by the Ministry of Culture in 1994, and a gold medal in “the First Exhibition of Culture Relic Imitations and Folk Artworks of China” in 2003. The Huxingshan Yao Ethnic Minority Village in Longhui County has been named “the town of culture and arts” by Hunan Provincial Department of Culture thereafter.
随着社会变革的深入和生活环境的改变,民族服饰不断被外界所同化,这一时期,许多老的挑花艺人去世,技艺传承出现断裂,同时挑花材料匮乏,制作面临困境。花瑶挑花工艺日渐式微,已到了濒危状态,亟待保护和挽救。With the deepening of social transformation and lifestyle changes, the traditional costumes of ethnic minorities continue to be assimilated by the outside world. In the meanwhile, the new generation fails to inherit this craftsmanship while many old cross-stitch artists are passing away. The production is also facing difficulties for lack of materials. All these factors are contributing to the decline of the Huayao Cross-stitch and it is declining to an endangered status and is in urgent need of protection and rescue.

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World Heritage In China世界遗产在中国15 澳门历史城区

澳门……这里是东西方文明最早在东亚地区邂逅的场所。作为海上丝绸之路,各种不同的文化在这片土地上共存、对话。中国、东南亚、印度、非洲、拉丁美洲、欧洲,在澳门汇聚了体现世界各地文化的历史遗产。它们如同散落在小箱子中的宝石一样,璀璨夺目。
  
澳门……这里是东方人和西方人在东亚和谐生活历史最悠久的地方。不同肤色的人们超越了民族和宗教的差异,在这片狭小的空间中和平共处。被大洋分割开的东西方世界,在澳门这片土地上重新融合成了一体。

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Chinese Furniture:Platforms

Low platforms, which were used as honorific seats, were the earliest type of raised seating furniture to appear in China. Sitting platforms were called ta; the relatively longer chuang was used both for sitting and reclining. By the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), the platform had increased in height with decorative panels or kunmen-shaped openings decorating the sides.
"When daybeds (ta) were made in ancient times, although the length and width were not standardized, they were invariably antique, elegant and delightful when placed in a studio or room. There was no way in which they were not convenient, whether for sitting up, lying down or reclining. In moments of pleasant relaxation they would spread out classic or historical texts, examine works of calligraphy or painting, display ancient bronze vessels, arrange dishes of food and fruit, or set out a pillow and woven mat."

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