Cai's lacquer thread carving craft has been circulating in Xiamen for more than 300 years. It has been continuously passed down by thirteen generations of Cai's descendants, refined and refined over time.
Lacquer thread carving is the legacy of ancient Buddhist sculpture art. It was inspired by the thread carving techniques of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, especially the techniques of lacquer thread and clay thread carving. It was formed in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and gradually matured in the late Qing Dynasty. The development of lacquer thread carving in the coastal areas of Xiamen depends on the prosperity of folk religion and the prosperity of the god and Buddha sculpture industry. In terms of raw materials, camphor wood is abundant in the south and is the preferred material for statues; the unique "white clay" in Tong'an, Xiamen, is the best raw material for foundation polishing; and tung oil is widely produced here and green bricks are produced, which are excellent for lacquer line carving. Material. This is the result of historical and geographical conditions.
Traditional lacquer thread carving production should include four aspects: sculpture, foundation, lacquer thread decoration, and makeup and gold filling. For the creation and design of the work, sculpture is primary. But as far as the special beauty of lacquer line carving is concerned, the technique of lacquer line decoration is the key, so this process has become the name of its process and gradually its product name. Lacquer line carving: Aged brick powder is mixed with lacquer, cooked tung oil and other raw materials, and is pounded repeatedly into a soft and tough mud ball, commonly known as "lacquer line soil". The threads are then twisted by hand and are called "lacquer threads", and then embossed graphics are created on various hard bodies using techniques such as coiling, knotting, winding and stacking in "lacquer thread decoration". The raw materials are sourced locally and the process is complicated.
The production base of lacquer thread carvings three hundred years ago was in Majiang Town, Tong'an County. The original name of Cai's workshop is "Xizhuxuan". The current name can be traced back to Cai Shanyang, the eighth generation, around the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. The famous artist Cai Wenpei (1911-1975) was the eleventh generation and moved his workshop to Xiamen. For the first time, Mr. Wen Pei used the "Zhuang Buddha" technique (originally called "Zhuang Buddha" for lacquer thread carving) to express historical heroes. He also recruited many apprentices and made his family's unique skills public to the world. This was the first time for Cai's lacquer thread carving Important innovation.
Mr. Shui Kuang, Wen Pei's son, is the twelfth generation descendant of the Cai family. His artistic vision is even broader. His works "Return My Rivers and Mountains" and "Boyue Cave Enlightenment and Descending Demons from the Sky" are collected by the China Arts and Crafts Museum as classics of arts and crafts. In 1972, he made many lacquer thread carving patterns originally used for figure decoration into independent decorative works of art, which became the mainstream product of modern lacquer thread carving production. At that time, the lacquer thread dragon egg he created achieved great benefit at the Canton Fair, and he named it lacquer thread carving. At this point, this ancient skill had a real name. This is the second important innovation of Cai's lacquer line carving.
In 2002, Teacher Zhuang Nanyan, master of arts and crafts in Fujian Province, master of lacquer art in Fujian Province, and advanced worker in the arts and crafts industry in Fujian Province, was invited to serve as the art director of Xiamen Weiyi Lacquer Thread Carving Art Co., Ltd. He combines his broad vision and deep thinking with the artist's traditional skills to perfectly interpret wonderful large-scale lacquer line carving murals that directly touch the heart, such as "Hero", "Egret Goddess", and "Mulan". His intelligence and artistic attainments made important contributions to leading the third innovation of Cai's lacquer thread carving techniques.
The "lacquer thread" craftsmanship of Cai's lacquer thread carving truly focuses on the aesthetic characteristics of the thread itself, making the shape of the thread rich and changeable. You can follow your will in creation and achieve the extremely high state of "thread" aesthetics. It reflects the evolution of Chinese arts and crafts in the expression of line beauty. Every detail is evident, and all details are very rigorous. Although they are entangled with lines, they are displayed in relief. It can be said that "handwork" embodies the greatest craftsmanship value of lacquer thread carving, and also contains huge economic value. It is the soul of lacquer thread carving.
Cai's lacquer thread carving completely retains the characteristics of southern Fujian folk art. The colorful mixture and the typical beauty of interlaced gold and silver highlight the great potential of the Chinese national characteristics in international cultural exchanges.