In the 5,000-year history of the Chinese nation, it not only has an ancient and magnificent culture, but also leaves behind treasures and legends. The cultural relics, artistic achievements and super high value excavated so far are innumerable. When it comes to bronzes, they once played a pivotal role in China's history.
Especially before and after the Yin Shang, only kings and nobles are worthy of using bronze artifacts, which represents the right and majesty, and the focus we want to talk about today is also bronze, but not too much elaboration on bronze antiques, but to say that Fang Xingqing, a "god man" with super high imitation technology, his imitation technology can be said to have achieved the effect of fake and real.
I. A case leads to "god-man"
It all started with the "Bronze Antiques Case" in 1991. In the early 1990s, tomb robberies occurred repeatedly, and tomb robbers were rampant, and many precious antique cultural relics were sold abroad.
At that time, Sichuan Chengdu Airport and Shanghai Customs seized a batch of bronzes, which were well-made and old, and were identified by experts as cultural relics belonging to the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. As soon as the matter broke out, it caused a sensation.
Experts predict that this batch of cultural relics may be stolen from a large tomb in a Warring States period, if it is true, then there will be important imperial tombs that have been destroyed, and it will also bring heavy losses to China's archaeological community. As a result, all parts of the country began to search for the whereabouts of these cultural relics.
At that time, the police followed the vine to explore the melon, and finally found the village of Yanyunjian in Henan. When it comes to this village, many people don't know it, but in fact it is a very special existence, and it is quite famous, because this village used to have a bad name, called "fake village". Why? Because the people in this village specialize in making antique crafts.
Their antique crafts are special in that they can be fake and real, and even experts are difficult to distinguish, so they have a reputation as a "counterfeiting village", when the counterfeiting itself is not too glorious, many people are dismissive of imitations, and even have a certain prejudice. It is equivalent to fake shoes and fake bags, as if they should be made by that kind of small workshop.
At the same time, the risk of making antique crafts is also very large, because this kind of behavior is actually equivalent to a crazy temptation on the edge of the law. If this is sold for antiques, it constitutes fraud and breaks the law. Taking a step back, if you only sell according to the price of crafts, then it is a normal business, not illegal.
The bronze crafts produced in Yunyanjian Village have high artistic value, they not only did not break the law, but also relied on this special skill, so that the whole village got rid of poverty and became rich, and later the bronze handicrafts in Yunyanjian Village were also designated as intangible cultural heritage, becoming a famous bronze processing base in China, all thanks to a folk god, Fang Xingqing.
Second, the skill is extraordinary to confuse the real
Fang Xingqing also has a title: "The Godfather of Bronze", which sounds very tall and tall, but in fact, he is just an ordinary peasant. Fang Xingqing went out to work in his early years and did not earn much money, and later went to sell antiques after being introduced. However, most of the antiques they collected were damaged and could not be sold at any price, so Fang Xingqing followed the master to learn the craft of restoring antiques.
One after another, ancient coins, bronze mirrors, and really were repaired by Fang Xingqing, so Fang Xingqing took the bronze mirror and went to find a friend in the antique industry to see, and the friend actually did not see that the bronze mirror he was holding was an imitation. Fang Xingqing was inspired to feel that it was a craft that could make money, so Fang Xingqing began to prepare for a more in-depth study of the craft.
Later, Fang Xingqing looked for a carpenter to help him make a mold for processing bronzes, and learned some theories and techniques of processing from the silversmith, specializing in the processing of bronze craftsmanship, after his research and efforts, finally manufactured a high level of bronze handicrafts, like "Ma Ta Fei Yan", "Duling Fangding" are almost exactly the same, Fang Xingqing finally earned the first bucket of gold.
But the efficiency of his own processing and production is definitely relatively low, at the same time Fang Xingqing felt that money should be earned with the people in the village, so he opened a factory in Yanyunjian Village, he also taught his craft to everyone without stinginess, at that time, there were more than three thousand people in Yanyunjian Village, and two thousand people followed him to learn to process bronze handicrafts, and everyone made money and got rid of poverty and became rich.
Third, the leader of Yanyunjian Village
Since then, Fang Xingqing has carefully read ancient books and found out the technology of manufacturing pottery, iron, and a variety of ancient manufacturing processes, which can produce more kinds of antique crafts. For a time, Yanyunjian Village was also famous, and then there was a "bronze antique case" of Oolong. When the police found Fang Xingqing, the old man was very calm, saying that he made and sold only handicrafts.
In fact, as the old man said, when the experts identified again, they found that the high imitation bronzes produced by Yanyunjian Village, the level of craftsmanship was quite sophisticated, and they were reported to the state, and the state not only designated Yanyunjian Village as a demonstration village for getting rich, but also gave Fang Xingqing a reward for getting rich, and also positioned the bronze making technology of Yanyunjian Village as a traditional craft revitalization project.
At the same time, Yanyunjian Village also applied for a patent. Speaking of Yanyunjian Village, in fact, it also has a long history, dating back to the Xia Shang Zhou period, the village often unearthed ancient bronzes and other precious cultural relics, including "Zi Shen Father" copper Ding, according to the "Zuo Biography" record, the place of excavation was once the place of royal sacrifice.
Therefore, the local villagers, including Fang Xingqing, have a special affection and familiarity with antiques, especially bronzes, just like there are many factories in Tongguan Village in Xi'an that manufacture terracotta crafts, and the customs and local identity provide the foundation for the bronze manufacturing industry in Yanyunjian Village. Similarly, this sentiment also makes the villagers always abide by the processing norms.
4. Summary
Heaven and hell sometimes only exist in the difference between people's thoughts, if Fang Xingqing sold the handicrafts for the price of antiques, his life, and even the entire Yanyunjian Village may have the opposite status quo, but this old man who has a special feeling for bronze antiques did not do that, perhaps out of reverence and respect for antiques, he repaired and made handicrafts, but did not cross the thunder pool.
Probably this is the true meaning of the craftsman's ingenuity, with infinite respect for the treasures and ancients, with the most dedicated energy and the pursuit of perfect craftsmanship, carefully polished and carved out of its original appearance, just like the moment they were just processed, looking at the crafts they made, I believe that great artists will be in tears.