Regarding the history of human civilization, there is a very interesting topic that has been repeatedly discussed by everyone. That is, human civilization generally experienced the Bronze Age first, and then experienced the Iron Age.
In fact, this is mainly related to the level of human productivity and the ease of obtaining metal deposits.
Copper reserves are large, mining difficulties are small, and copper elements are relatively stable, easy to refine into a pure body. Iron is the opposite.
The Book of Han and the Chronicle of the Laws contains:
Copper is the finest of things, not for dry, wet, cold and hot changes its knots, not for wind and frost exposure to change its shape.
Humans were the first to use copper as a metal, and soon entered the Bronze Age. Bronze exists in the mainstream civilization of the world, but it developed to the peak in China's Shang and Zhou Dynasties, when the quality of bronze ware had a very high standard.
Unfortunately, in a long historical period, China's copper-making process has been hovering on the casting mold casting, first according to the shape and contour of the utensils to make a cast, and then cast. In fact, not only in our country, but also in other civilizations, it has failed to achieve a breakthrough.
However, in the 21st century, Zhu Bingren's pioneering art of copper melting broke all this.
Zhu Bingren is a master of Chinese arts and crafts, and also a representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage of copper carving techniques, and some people even call him the founder of contemporary chinese copper architecture and a bronze carving hero.
Zhu Bingren's copper art can be traced back to 1875, that is, the first year of Guangxu.
At that time, his great-grandfather opened a copper shop in Shaoxing, made copperware for people, and gradually formed his own copper art style, and by the time of his grandfather, Zhufu copper art had become famous, and also opened a semicolon in other provinces. At that time, as we all know, foreign invasions, civil strife, copper as a strategic material, more and more scarce. In Zhu Bingren's father's generation, Zhu Fu Copper Art had to face the embarrassment of suspension.
Good skills should be passed on and left to future generations. As the inheritor of the bronze carving technique, Zhu Bingren is more aware of the responsibility on his shoulders. At the age of 40, Zhu Bingren picked up the iron hammer of the craftsman, regained the bronze art of Zhu Fu, and quickly carried it forward.
From common copper signs, to copper murals that incorporate artistic elements, to copper decorations in large buildings, to bronze statues that are closely integrated with traditional culture, Zhu Bingren constantly tries to climb his own peaks. Many of the works we see now, such as the restored Leifeng Pagoda and the "Five Bulls" in the Palace Museum, originated from Zhu Bingren's creation.
Zhu Bingren's real progress to a higher artistic level is his first copper melting art.
Everything goes back 15 years. In May 2006, at the last moment of completion of the 153.9-meter Tianning Pagoda in China, the tallest pagoda in China, which was built by Zhu Bingren, the bottom of the tower suddenly caught fire, and the first eaves tiles were all melted.
Zhu Bingren was heartbroken at this scene, but when he repaired the pagoda, he found that the slag of the sacred fire contained crystalline copper beads and molten copper crystals that could not be reached by humans. Zhu Bingren carefully observed that the form and texture of these crystals have a different vitality and beauty, which cannot be achieved by traditional molding processes.
Inspired, Zhu Bingren created the art of molten copper. The so-called molten copper art is an artistic treasure that allows copper to melt and flow in a free state and is carefully designed and carefully carved. The essence of copper melting art lies in "moldless controllability". "Moldless" means that there is no mold to bind, so that the copper liquid is naturally smooth and loose; "controllable" is to make the copper liquid innovative in the artist's control.
In this way, copper is completely free, and the beauty of art is sublimated. As Zhu Bingren wrote in the poem "Dancing Copper":
Creation willfully exerts its temperament in the bronze dance, and the dancer rationally forges his personality in the bronze dance. Standing, Tai Chi pushing hand; turn around, neon dress feather. Copper finally danced. Heaven and earth are infinite, and creation is infinite.
Later, Zhu Bingren used the slag of this fire to create "Que Li", which was his first work of molten copper. Que refers to the gate, which means the stability of the building, marking the official entry of the art of molten copper into the artistic gate. The work was later collected by the National Museum of China.
The art of molten copper has been fully recognized by the industry and has entered the world-class hall with its unique charm.
Since 2007, Zhu Bingren's many works, such as "Han Xi", "Invasion", "Qin Figurines", "Spring and Qingyan", "Qianli Jiangshan Map", "Guiju Mountain Bird Map", "Five Bulls Map", "Fuchun Mountain Residence Map", etc., have been collected or displayed by the Chinese Cultural Center in Bangkok, the Keti Art Museum in Taipei, and building no. 1 of the World Trade Center in the United States. In particular, in 2021, Zhu Bingren's two huge molten copper murals, "Wanquan Guihai" and "Fragrant From Afar", were permanently collected and displayed at the Boao Forum for Asia venue.
To measure whether a work of art has value, in addition to looking at the artistic value of the artwork itself, it also depends on its market value and whether it can be recognized by the public.
In 2014, Chu's "Weisi" was auctioned by Christie's Hong Kong for HK$420,000, and "Linglu" was auctioned by Sotheby's Hong Kong for HK$600,000. In 2015, "Burning Sunflowers" Tmall auctioned for 1.58 million yuan...
Zhu Bingren's copper melting art and works have been recognized by the world.
In fact, as early as December 2009, Zhu Bingren's more than 100 works had a dialogue with the Spanish surrealist master Salvador Dali about Eastern and Western cultures across time and space. At that time, the person in charge of Dali Fang said that he was shocked to see art that had never been seen in the world!
If art only stays in the work itself, it is difficult to improve. Naturally, the art of molten copper will not be confined to this garden. Zhu Bingren created a series of works to express his deep concern for the community of human destiny. For example, "Rice Is Dao, Very Rice" focuses on human food problems, "Totem (Monument)" focuses on human destiny, and "Invasion" focuses on the social environment. More and more works are endowed with souls, thought-provoking and praised by international masters.
From 2006 to 2021, Zhu Bingren's pioneering copper melting art has gone through 15 years. At the 15th Anniversary Art Exhibition of Copper Melting Art, Zhu Bingren's numerous works were unveiled, once again showing the world the gorgeous transformation of copper melting art from birth to growth.
In the past fifteen years, the new genre of "melt realism" has accelerated its formation, and a number of molten copper art works have gone to the world, constantly promoting the copper culture that has lasted for thousands of years to the second peak. From this perspective, Zhu Bingren and his new genre of "fusion realism" have created and stood at a new historical starting point.