Humanity / Nature / Life
Yinchuan Evening Newspaper Official Fang Wenhua WeChat Pingtai | No. 1015
A wooden comb in the shape of a guqin.
A wooden comb emits a faint wood fragrance, and the flying phoenix on the handle of the comb is flying high, wanting to soar for nine days. Using such a wooden comb to slide through the hair, everyone will love it. This wooden comb is from the hand of Li Xiangwu, a non-hereditary inheritor of the autonomous region's wooden comb making skills, in his eyes, a wooden comb, in addition to practicality, must also be an artistic work full of craftsman's painstaking efforts and romantic feelings.
At least seventeen processes
On December 15th, it was very cold, and it was very windy in the western studio of The North Fort of the town. Li Xiangwu's stall is located on the street of a street in old Yinchuan, and when the reporter found him, he was holding a saw and intently sawing his comb teeth.
"The error of the comb teeth cannot exceed 1 mm, and it is not okay to be big or small, and it looks awkward to make." Li Xiangwu said that his current control of error is no longer like that of an apprentice holding a ruler, and more than ten years of production experience allows him to "measure" the size with his eyes, and when the saw is put on a wooden comb to open the saw, it is already accurate. Common wooden comb teeth are melon seed type, sword type, plum blossom foot, after being polished over and over again, smooth comb teeth and massage scalp health care effect.
Li Xiangwu who makes wooden combs.
It is not easy to make a wooden comb, Li Xiangwu roughly calculated, the whole process has at least seventeen processes, including square, planing, pattern, teeth opening, shaving and so on. The first step is to select wood, Li Xiangwu makes a wooden comb, generally choose Yinchuan local peach wood and jujube wood, peach wood is also known as "fairy wood", the texture is hard, ancient times is considered to avoid evil wood; and jujube wood is hard and fine, the texture is beautiful, the color is soft and natural, and the wooden comb made is very textured. In addition to these two kinds of wood, boxwood, sandalwood, pear wood, agarwood and so on are also used to make wooden combs. "Whether you carve or make comb teeth, you have to follow the grain of the wood, and the wooden comb that comes out of this looks more natural and beautiful." Li Xiangwu said.
Small comb, big culture
Li Xiangwu liked a wooden comb carved with the shape of a phoenix. On the comb handle, a phoenix holds its head high, as if it is going to soar for nine days, the hollow phoenix feather on the comb handle is the style of China's ancient auspicious pattern, full of the blessings of the craftsmen, and the red wood of the whole comb will be reminiscent of the phoenix of the bath. He named this wooden comb with the shape of a flying phoenix "Soaring Fengcheng", Yinchuan is known as Fengcheng, as a wooden comb maker in Yinchuan, he wants to borrow this wooden comb to show the traditional Chinese culture and the cultural charm of Yinchuan.
"Soaring Phoenix City" wooden comb work.
Combs appeared relatively early in The history of our country, and the ivory comb excavated from the Dawenkou site in Shandong Province proves that in the Neolithic Age, people have already used combs. Li Xiangwu said, "In ancient China, a wooden comb was commonly used, and the "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that combing the hair with a wooden comb has many benefits - peach wood has the effect of clearing heat, detoxification, dispelling wind and dehumidification, making a comb is excellent, combing desire is more, more is windy, blood is not stagnant, and the hair root is always firm. ”
A small comb also carries the profundity of Chinese civilization. "There is a saying called 'three combs of beautiful words', when women get married in some areas of our country, they still retain the custom of elders combing their hair, and the elders read while combing: one comb to the end, two combs white hair and eyebrows, three combs of children and grandchildren all over the ground." Li Xiangwu said that the comb is also given a variety of meanings. For example, because hair is also called "green silk" and the sound is the same as "love", the comb has become a relic of male and female love; and the comb teeth are clear, and in ancient times, it was often used as a metaphor for people's governance ability.
Focus on artistry
Li Xiangwu's hometown is Xinglong Village, Haiyuan County, and the "Li's wooden comb technique" inherited by him can be traced back to the end of the Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 100 years.
"Grandpa often went from street to house to sell wooden combs, using local wood, which was mainly practical at that time, so the shape was single, and the wooden comb was also made for mixed food." He said that whether it was grandpa or grandpa, what he made was a smooth wooden comb, without shape and carving, and when it reached his generation, he wanted to make a change. "The times are different, and the current wooden comb should pay attention to artistry in addition to practicality."
During this time, he had just completed a work, a wooden comb in the shape of a guqin, and Li Xiangwu deliberately took this comb to the sun, paired it with a base, and took a few photos. He took the comb and said, simple, generous guqin shape, very elegant. Indeed, the whole comb is guqin-shaped, with straight wood grain "strings" that complement the neatly arranged comb teeth, and he also deliberately hangs delicate tassels on the comb handle.
Li Xiangwu roughly calculated that at present, there are no less than a hundred kinds of shapes of "Li's wooden comb". "There are zodiac signs, Meilan bamboo chrysanthemums, pine cranes and so on." He said that he had put a lot of effort into this small wooden comb, and he hoped that the wooden comb he had made was a work of art.
Love from the bottom of your heart
Li Xiangwu's love for the art of wooden combing can be seen in one thing. After graduating from university, he worked in a public institution in Xinjiang, but he always resigned to make wooden combs because he was worried about wooden combing skills.
"I've loved it since I was a child, and I remember when my grandfather was selling wooden combs and making furniture for people, I was fascinated." Li Xiangwu said that since he can remember, he was influenced by the family atmosphere, fell in love with the craft of wood, 11 years old with his grandfather is a formal learning, grandfather will also teach him some of the basic skills of wooden comb making, slowly, Li Xiangwu made wooden comb, but also got the recognition of grandfather.
In 2001, by chance, Li Xiangwu met Xiao Daiming, a chongqing wooden comb making craftsman, and learned more wood comb making skills from him. "Over the years, Mr. Xiao and I have been in touch and have asked him for advice from time to time." Li Xiangwu said that over the years, as long as he learned that there were outstanding craftsmen who made wooden combs, no matter whether it was the north or south of the sea, he would go and try his best to consult.
"I just want to carry forward the 'Li's wooden combing technique', because this is our local intangible cultural heritage project in Ningxia." Li Xiangwu said that at present, in the non-genetic inheritance protection base of zhenbeibao western cinema, there is a "Li's wooden comb making technology" shop, and there is also a wooden comb non-genetic inheritance display experience area, he also accepted several apprentices, hoping that through various efforts, this skill can be carried forward.
Wentu | Liu Xuzhuo
Editor| Seventh Floor Qi Yu
The head of the duty | Li Zhenwen
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