I have long heard that in the land of Lubei, there is a Yangxin County, Yangxin is a historical ancient city, yangxin county name is derived from the Famous Han Dynasty general Han XinTun bing in the Sun of the Duma River, is a military town. As the old saying goes, "The soldiers and horses do not move, the grain and grass go first", grain and grass are to be bought and sold, so since ancient times, Yangxin has become a central evacuation place where merchants gather and goods flow. It is also for this reason that for many years, it has also been a distribution center for ancient and classical furniture in Shandong and even the whole country. "Heaven, place, people", lubei area of the natural environment is unique, the wealth of the people, life is rich, naturally think of leaving some classical furniture for future generations as heirlooms, over time, the local people formed a tradition of making, collecting and circulating classical furniture, attracting the whole country and even foreign merchants to Lubei to buy classical furniture. The exchange and trading of antiques has also warmed up on this side of the water and soil, forming an enduring trading market. The most important thing is that people are good people and Yangxin people are simple, kind, hospitable, honest, and widely knotted with customers from all over the world, paving a broad space for inheriting and developing the traditional Chinese classical furniture production. Here, the skillful carpenter master has a unique skill, becoming the best inheritor of Lu Ban's ancestors on the land of Qilu, and the title of "Yangxin Lu Carpenter" has spread in this way.
A few days ago, at the invitation of Mr. Li Yanhe, a friend of Yangxin, and taking the opportunity to return to China to participate in the entrepreneurial activities of Dr. Returnees from Shandong, I went to Yangxin in Lubei to walk around, although I was only walking and watching the flowers, I was still impressed by the craftsmanship of Lu Carpenter, and saw the old elm that was more than a thousand years old for hundreds of years. Under the hands of Lu carpenters, these woods have become artistic treasures in the antique classical furniture of various eras of the Han, Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties, which makes people marvel.
When it comes to Yushu, in fact, he is like a man in the north, straight, simple, industrious, tenacious, resolute, hard-working, and without complaints. This kind of tree, all the body is a treasure, even the bark and roots can be medicated, and the ripe fruit "Elm money is widely known as food, chewed into the mouth sweet, do not have a taste." This kind of tree can grow in the land of North China and on both sides of the Yellow River, and both poor and fertile soil can adapt to it, and they stand tall everywhere. In front of the royal hall and in the backyard of the people, you can see the Xiao Xiao of the elm tree standing, and people praise the style of the elm tree as "mighty and unyielding, poor and unyielding".
As the saying goes, people who are stubborn are often called "elm knots", but in fact, the real "elm knots" are difficult to solve, but they are good materials. Each facet of the knot is dense, and the delicacy of its texture and the flow of the streamline are unique. Some people say that the old elm in the north is delicate, the temperature is excellent, the deformation rate is small, and it is the "great man and big husband" in the wood.
Lu carpenter Liu Zong told me that elm is divided into yellow elm and purple elm. The yellow elm is pale yellow when cut open, and the color gradually deepens with the passage of light; the purple elm is purple-brown, of which the color is heavy, close to the color of the old mahogany. Because elm furniture is thick, solemn and simple, can withstand the invasion of wind and rain, and has not been deformed for hundreds or even thousands of years, the ancient Qilu people used elm wood to create furniture for worship and sacrifice, such as the offering table of the temple family shrine and so on. Touching these unpainted, wood grain textured old elm furniture, I can't help but sigh, as if touching the vicissitudes of the years, how many years of wind and rain, how many years of change, every piece of old elm furniture has witnessed the changes in the vicissitudes of the sea.
In terms of its history, elm furniture has been around since ancient times when there was furniture. Now, antique classical elm furniture is not only a tradition, but also a culture, a taste, a style, and an art. Whether it is the square tables and chairs in the rough style of the Han and Tang Dynasties, or the round furniture with delicate carvings in the Ming and Qing dynasties, there is absolutely no iron nail and screw in these antique furniture, all of which are the compact structure of riveting and mortise. The carvings on the furniture, whether they are reliefs or hollows, are extremely exquisite and elegant, becoming more and more timeless under the polishing of artificial and years, and can even be displayed at home as ancestral treasures handed down from generation to generation.
Even more eye-opening is the exhibition halls of the exhibition hall, as well as a variety of Western classical furniture specially customized for merchants from all over Europe. The wine cabinet, wardrobe, table and chairs, dining table, bedroom furniture and more are all beautiful. Seeing these kinds of furniture carved from old elm wood gives the illusion of being in the World Furniture Museum. Here, the fusion of Eastern and Western furniture culture is so seamless that people sincerely praise the exquisite craftsmanship of Peru carpenters.
To this day, it is not easy to retain the cultural skills of hundreds of years without breaking the branches and leaves. We look forward to the endless life of the Lu carpenters who are full of qilu land, and use their ingenious hand-made skills and craftsman spirit to tell the story of Shandong, the story of China, and go to a broader space in the world.
About the Author:
Zhao Yuhong (Lu An), a Chinese-American, was born in Scissors Lane on the banks of Baotu Spring in Jinan, Shandong Province, and is an outstanding senior media worker of Chinese descent. He has been engaged in Sino-US cultural and educational exchanges for more than 30 years, and is currently the director of the China Art Palace in the United States. During the epidemic period, he completed more than 90 memoirs of Quancheng's hometown, and his articles were published in different magazines, newspapers and self-media, and won awards.