Since ancient times, Japan has "extradited" culture from China, quietly and silently.
From chopsticks, rice paper, sashimi, to Go, Wufu, Bushido... Countless traditional Chinese cultures, which have lasted for thousands of years, have been given the surnames of other countries.
But this time, I hit a hard nail.
Glued a rare Chinese treasure with glue, vainly tried to fake, did not expect, was debunked in public, snapped in the face!
So far, the craftsmanship has not been able to reach the level of production!
▲ Ghost Gong Ball Genuine, Source @ Beijing and Shunzhai Carving Art
This rare treasure is China's first batch of intangible cultural heritage - ivory carving balls, also known as ghost balls.
Using ivory as raw material, it takes several months, up to 60 floors, a few are orphans, and now money can't buy them!
The ball is set inside the ball, hollowed out layer by layer, each layer is evenly thick and thin, all have a fine pattern, and the layers can be rotated.
This level of complexity of structural construction, in addition to 3D modeling, really can not think of other ways.
Nowadays, as a "national instrument", few people know about it.
Therefore, it must be brought out to tell everyone.
▲ [Qing] ivory carved dragon pattern ghost work ball, picture source @ Su Li Huan
It's not that you don't want to do it
It really can't be done
Ghost ball, why is it so expensive?
Look at the picture to know that this thing, the general material can not control, the average person can not do it.
The earliest was to take wood carving, at most two or three layers, but this is not a challenge for the older generation of craftsmen.
So they started carving with jade, carving with ivory.
Choose a solid piece of tooth material and cut it to the desired size;
Spin out a round ball shape.
Calculate the position of the opening hole and make a precise mark;
Usually each ivory ball has fourteen tapered holes toward the center of the circle.
The next step is to cut the most critical step: extend the hook knife into the large hole and cut laterally.
Cut out layers of spheres, each of which can be rotated independently.
Finally, a pattern is carved on each layer.
Because each layer is very thin, you should pay attention when carving.
This step went a little wrong, and the front was all blind.
Sounds like fewer steps, right? It is quite difficult to operate.
Since it is carved from the outside inward, the inside of the sphere cannot be seen when carving.
People can only rely on the tool to transmit the vibration to the palm of the hand, and whether the sound emitted by the carving of the knife has changed abnormally,
to judge the accuracy of the knife entry.
Therefore, the two or three layers of ghost work balls are easy to do, double digits, that is really rare.
Not to mention that more than 40 floors are rare nowadays.
▲ @ engraver Lao Ho
In addition to the difficulty of craftsmanship, the material selected by the ghost ball is even more difficult.
Jade, the material is extremely brittle, the depth of carving is extremely difficult to grasp, once lost.
Teeth are ivory, mammoth teeth, prohibited by the United Nations.
In this way, it is doomed, and the road to the survival of the ghost ball will be quite bumpy.
Japan has tried in vain to cheat
But it was debunked in public
In fact, as early as the Song Dynasty, there was a figure of ghost work balls.
After several twists and turns, it is still possible to see it today, which is really not easy.
According to the earliest surviving monograph on the identification of cultural relics in China, "Treatise on the Essentials of Gegu":
"Taste an ivory round hammer, a straight through a trick, the number of heavy cars, can be rotated, so it is called a ghost worker."
It's about ghost balls.
The development of ghost balls was at its peak in the Qing Dynasty.
At that time, Guangzhou ivory carving artists, in order to make money, referred to the carved form of stone lions with beads, and created ivory balls.
With a variety of patterns of ivory balls and bases, it is a unique work of art.
Those who are high-ranking officials and nobles like to spend huge sums of money to buy ghost balls and compete with each other to show off their wealth.
The price of the ghost ball labeled "luxury" has also soared.
▲ [Qing] skeleton carved Fu Shou Bao Xianghua eleven layers of ivory balls
Just when everyone was fighting happily for this object, Yongzheng gave an order:
It is forbidden to make ghost balls! You can't play!
Why? Because the problem of the deficit in the national treasury left by Kangxi is really tricky.
Therefore, Yongzheng ordered that more taxes be levied on the rich to replenish the national treasury.
A series of policies against gentry landlords were promulgated, and ghost balls became the first target of severe crackdowns.
▲Positive image
The ghost work ball has risen again, in the Qianlong generation.
Qianlong was a well-known "luxury enthusiast", at that time, the ghost work ball reached its peak, with a maximum of 14 floors.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, it even reached the 25-28 floors.
Jiaqing's personal collection of 23-story ghost balls is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
At present, there are records that can be carved up to 60 floors, which is really incredible.
▲Ghost ball accessories that were once collected by Jiaqing
The craft behind the ghost ball - known as one of the "Eight Gems of Yanjing", in ancient times, was a craft specially developed for the royal family.
Therefore, after the collapse of the royal family, ivory carvings faced the risk of being lost several times.
In the Republic of China, Guangzhou Ghost Gongqiu once again became famous all over the world.
Here, there is a story that has to be said:
In the summer of 1915, to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal, San Francisco, USA, hosted the Panama International Exposition.
At that time, Guangzhou ivory carving master Weng Zhao took the 24-layer ghost work ball made by hand and crossed the ocean to participate in the exhibition.
Coincidentally, the Japanese exhibited works are also a ghost ball, 30 floors.
They are similar in size, with surface carvings and internal pokes.
But how can Japan have 6 layers more than China? Master Weng believes that this is absolutely impossible.
At this time, Master Weng asked to put the two balls into boiling water and boil them.
The result? In full view of everyone, the Japanese tooth ball was instantly torn apart, while the Guangzhou tooth ball was intact.
It turned out that Japan's "ghost ball" was glued with glue, and from the inside out, it was a fake.
And our ghost work ball is carved out of real materials, with a knife and a knife.
There is no doubt that Master Weng's work won the Grand Gold Medal of the Exposition.
Also for China's name, ghost ball, is our unique treasure.
At present, the record of the number of layers of the ghost ball is still maintained at 60 layers.
At the opening of the first National Ivory "100-Day Exhibition" in 2008, 60-layer ivory balls appeared in Beijing, with a valuation of nearly 2,000 W yuan.
▲ Chinese ivory carving master - Li Dingning's work "Prosperous Qiankun", the top is a 57-layer ghost work ball
And about jade carving, which is more difficult than ivory carving, it made a breakthrough after the founding of New China:
In 1966, China's first modern jade carving ball was successfully trial-produced.
This is an eight-layer rotating jade ball with a diameter of 12.8 cm, referring to the process of ivory carving balls.
The works were sent to the export fair and immediately bought by foreign businessmen as art treasures.
Until 1974, the mainland could already carve 16 layers of jade ghost balls.
This miraculous skill has finally been fully revived in modern times.
▲Ghost Ball Detail Diagram
National treasure craftsmanship, almost lost
After entering the modern era, people began to rescue ghost balls from a new perspective.
Taipei National Palace Museum and National Museum amsterdam, the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Dutch Society for Mathematical and Computer Science Research.
Using 3D computer imaging, the ivory ball production process was reconstructed.
▲ Ghost Worker Ball undergoing "scan examination" in the hospital
As soon as the technology struck, the study of the ghost work ball was clear.
Computed tomography + 3D printing technology, you can even see the tool marks inside the ball.
▲The inside of the scanned version of the ghost work ball
The ghost ball has a special structure and is more difficult in the restoration of cultural relics.
And science and technology can help detect whether there is anything to fix inside.
The most rare thing is that with the blessing of technology, people around the world can get a glimpse of the true face of the ghost ball online.
▲Under the tomography, each layer of the ghost ball is clearly visible
This 19th-century ivory sleeve ball carved by a dentist in Guangdong;
The surface is carved with high-floating Kowloon through the clouds, and the interior is carved with various hollow and delicate geometric patterns of brocade.
▲ 19th century Guangdong
Each floor can be flexibly rotated, a total of 23 layers.
Layer by layer, exquisite and complex, it can be said to be a representative of the ivory carving process in the late Qing Dynasty.
The outermost layer is a dragon pattern relief;
2-7 layers are decorated with floral, money and cross patterns;
8-11 layers are decorated with star-shaped and dotted patterns, 12-15 layers, with water drop patterns and far points on the surface;
After the 16th floor, there are only ordinary holes, and the 23rd layer ivory ball is only the size of a mung bean.
This late Qing Dynasty has a total of 18 floors.
The outermost layers are the figures and the attic.
The 2.3 floors are still very delicate, and the 4-9 floors are only decorated with star patterns;
Layers 10-14 have simpler dots, and layers 15 start with holes.
Through technology, the first time you look at the internal structure of the ghost ball, it is a deep shock!
You see, there is nothing that the ancients could not do, only what we could not think of.
Today, technology is constantly being updated, and in the future it may not only be a work of art, but more likely a museum.
It is even possible to have the technology as a family unit, and people can print a work of art at home.
History, treasures, need to constantly seek new ways to be preserved and recorded.
▲Skeleton carved ivory cloud dragon pattern set ball combination
Looking through the efforts of successive craftsmen, I can't help but think of a sentence:
"The old man, like a scavenger, is silent, but his heart is full of surging emotions."
Thank you to these nostalgic people for keeping history for us, for future generations.
I also look forward to the day when I can see this Chinese treasure spanning 7 centuries.
Resources:
Youtube: "Ghost Gong. Ivory Ball: The KitChit of Ivory Carving" - @ National Palace Museum
Image source network
- END -
Welcome to share the article to the circle of friends
Every morning at 6:30 a.m