Ji Chuanzhi, the inheritor of Weifang antique bronze art, used traditional copper casting techniques to copy the works of the ancients, speculate on the aesthetics of the ancients, and communicate with the ancestors of three thousand years ago through time and space.
Ji Chuanzhi, male, retired from Weifang Arts and Crafts Research Institute from 1955 to March 2016. Senior arts and crafts artist, Shandong Provincial Arts and Crafts Master, Weifang Folk Art Dashun Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Project Weifang Antique Bronze Making Technology Representative Inheritor, Provincial and Municipal Folk Culture Outstanding Inheritor.
In 1972, he entered the Municipal Institute of Arts and Crafts with Master Xuan Zuji, an old artist of bronze making, and engaged in bronze research and production for more than 40 years, and the production of "Mao Gongding", "Ma Ta Feiyan", "Shy Jin Changxin Official Lamp", "Perch Painting" and so on were selected for the Chinese Arts and Crafts Exhibition. The "Bronze Relief Bogu Hanging Screen (there are four)" designed and produced, which integrates luan gold, mercury immersion, ink lacquer ancient, home rust, gold and silver wire inlay in one, and won the first prize of Shandong Provincial Arts and Crafts Design Innovation in 1979.
Imitation cast bronze past life and present life
Ji Chuanzhi's works are finely crafted and the rust is realistic, which can reach the point of being fake and real. He believes that antique bronzes should not only be similar, but also vivid and full of charm. "To have a deep understanding and unique insight, if the understanding is not thorough, the work will lack connotation and carry a 'craftsman's spirit'." His production of "Ma Ta Fei Yan", with its healthy and handsome appearance and light legs and hooves, won the first tourism product design and production award in Shandong Province; his reproduction of "Changxin Palace Lamp", "Bodhisattva Guanyin", "Mao Gongding" and other antique bronze works are amazing and have gone abroad; the Tang Dynasty bronze mirrors he restored have not even been identified by Beijing experts as traces of restoration. Lu Duan, also known as the unicorn, this 17 cm high and 13 cm long antique bronze is Ji Chuanzhi's most proud work. After thirty years of rubbing with hands and rags, the surface of this work has been very smooth, exuding an artistic atmosphere of elegant vicissitudes. "It is rusty and real, beautiful in shape, shape, ornamentation and color are all top-quality, and it is not for sale." Ji Chuanzhi has made it a treasure of the town house.
Adhere to the traditional craftsmanship of Weifang
The imitation process of ancient bronze is complex, and the techniques vary from place to place. According to Ji Chuanzhi, weifang antique bronzes are characterized by a realistic image, accurate shape, thick and solemn, especially the old craftsmanship, which belongs to the top level in the country and is slightly higher than the craftsmanship in other places.
"I used to want to go out to visit and study, to see how people do it, but I was always busy making it, and I couldn't make the trip, and then I saw many foreigners come to visit and study here, and through reading books and historical materials, I realized that our Technology in Weifang is indeed first-class in the country." Ji Chuanzhi said: "Weifang's bronze repair technology is also leading in the country. In some places, the bronze repair is too rough, and the damage is directly hit with a grinding wheel. And our repair is based on the degree of damage to the bronze, first make a mold, and then weld it, tight seams, no leakage marks, just like repairing porcelain. ”
As the inheritor of Weifang antique bronze art, Ji Chuanzhi is full of confidence in the traditional art of Weifang, "Now the market is full of many inferior antique bronzes, most of which are batch processed on the assembly line, and the patterns and styles of some products do not match the dynasty to which they belong, which is not unusual; some are old with copper sulfate, which can be made in a day, and the rust is off, and the hands are stained green." Our production to go through the molding, sand casting, flower finishing, connection, coloring and other processes, only to make the old this one takes two months, the more rust made the better it looks. ”
"Handicrafts are still good, no matter what, we will continue to make antique bronzes according to traditional craftsmanship, and find ways to pass on this technology handed down from our ancestors." Ji Chuanzhi said.