The opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is imminent, and the licensed goods of the Winter Olympics have become an important carrier to show the profound heritage of Chinese culture. Among them, the Winter Olympic jade emblem treasure made of Ruifeng as the prototype and the use of intangible jade carving techniques is a well-deserved "star" product. Beijing Winter Olympic Emblem Treasure and Beijing Olympic Games Emblem Treasure are in the same line, and are also designed and produced by Beijing Gongmei Group. The reporter learned that as one of the main producers of the Winter Olympic Green and White Jade Emblem, Chinese arts and crafts master Zhang Tiecheng had previously participated in the production of the "Gold and Jade" medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and continued to write the "Double Olympics" with ingenuity.
"In this great era, it is our responsibility and obligation to be able to do intangible cultural heritage in a down-to-earth manner and inherit it and protect it." As a representative inheritor of Beijing jade carving and the inheritor of seal making skills, Zhang Tiecheng hopes to take the Olympic Games as an opportunity to let the world better understand the wisdom and elegance of oriental art.
It is like grinding the posture of "Rui Feng"
"Because the Olympic emblem is the shape of a dragon, so this time we want to make a phoenix shape, a city twice Olympic Games, the composition of the dragon and phoenix is auspicious, is a good meaning." According to the design team of the Winter Olympic Jade Emblem Treasure, the palace seals are all dragon seals, and there are almost no seals based on the phoenix in history, so there are thousands of design drafts alone, "the main difficulty lies in how to skillfully combine the flexibility of the phoenix and the thickness of the seal."
After a lot of research, painting and selection, the flat image of the phoenix was determined - RuiFeng's mouth was as good as it wanted, smooth and ingenious, symbolizing beauty and wisdom; the phoenix wing was engraved with cloud ornamentation, delicate and vivid, implying upward and enterprising; the phoenix tail was engraved with fu shui ornaments, galloping and rolling, showing the feelings of phoenix leaping ice and snow, passionate Olympics. The bottom of the emblem is engraved with the emblem of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
How do you bring out the subtle design? The birth of the Winter Olympic Jade Emblem Treasure must go through at least dozens of processes, and every pondering is the key to production. The characteristics of jade are relatively brittle, and the finer the carving, the easier it is to produce collapse and cracking, but in order to make the phoenix shape vivid and full, the Winter Olympic Jade Emblem Treasure still insists on hollowing out the phoenix crown, under the crest, and the 3 positions of the phoenix mouth.
"The most difficult thing is that these 3 through-carvings are all carved drills that are about the same size as the embroidery needle, and they are slowly pulled out a little bit, and if they are not careful, they are broken, and there is no way to remedy it." Zhang Tiecheng introduced that there is no mold for jade carving, all rely on the master's hands to grasp the most subtle degree, the oil pen draws the bottom on the jade, ponders the large shape, and then applies the draft, re-carving, and so on dozens of times. "Well, from the wool to the last thing we made, it was about 15 to 1!" It is the strict pursuit of skills that has the stunning posture of the dignified atmosphere of the Winter Olympic Jade Emblem Treasure.
Ingenuity inheritance continues the "double Olympic" fate
Zhang Tiecheng's fate with the Olympics began more than a decade ago.
In March 2006, Zhang Tiecheng joined the Olympic medal creation team of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and participated in the design and production of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Medal. This medal is the sensational "gold and jade" medal.
In the design process, with the familiarity of jade materials and processing technology, Zhang Tiecheng made many adjustments to the size of the jade ring and the proportion of the medal face, removing the Great Wall and Xiangyun patterns engraved on the line of the jade ring in the original design, making the jade ring appear more concise, pure, richer in connotation, and more convenient for production and processing.
"The requirements for the production of the gold-encrusted jade medals were flawless. These 4 words are very difficult for us to achieve when making jade medals. Because the height of the medal left for the jade ring is only 3 mm, when polished to this thinness, the jade is very susceptible to cracking, and any flaws will be exposed. Zhang Tiecheng recalled, looking at the Countdown card for the opening of the Olympic Games hanging in the workshop, his heart was gradually pressurizing, in order to overcome a technical problem, working overtime until night was a common thing, "Sometimes in the middle of the night by nightmares, the body is cold sweat."
Gold-encrusted jade medals should also be taken into account for the daily wear of athletes, and the anti-fall function must be taken into account. When Zhang Tiecheng inlaid the jade ring, he added a special anti-fall layer between the medal and the jade ring, and finally after hundreds of tests, the "perfect" Olympic medal was presented to the eyes of the world.
"The Beijing Olympic medal proved to be a work of art. They are noble and a combination of traditional Chinese culture and the Olympic spirit. The IOC expressed its sincere appreciation for the design of the medals for the Beijing Olympic Games.
Do not forget the original intention to pass on the "liyu" culture
"Making jade for the Olympics is different from any work I've done before." Zhang Tiecheng clearly remembers that on the morning of August 9, 2008, czech women's shooter Ka Emmons won the first gold medal in the Beijing Olympic Games, and the then president of the International Olympic Committee, Logue, wore her the first "gold and jade" medal. "When I watched the TV broadcast, the moment I saw the gold and jade medals put on the athletes, it was really tears. After so many years of arduous trekking, all the efforts have been worth it. ”
In the harmonious and prosperous world, the Olympic emblem treasure came into being, and in Zhang Tiecheng's view, this is a good opportunity to carry forward the "liyu" culture.
"In the current market environment, Chinese jade culture is often vulgarized and utilitarianized, the spiritual content is getting thinner and thinner, and the soul of culture is becoming more and more pale." Zhang Tiecheng constantly researched and searched for the convergence between the traditional "ritual jade" and the contemporary Chinese national spirit, hoping to use jade carving to interpret the long-standing culture of mainland Taoist instruments and express the deep connotation of jade culture.
As a representative inheritor of Jade Carving in Beijing, Zhang Tiecheng specializes in picking up "hard bones" in his craft. For example, "chain work", that is, from the utensils themselves to make a small circle connected by wisps to form a chain, is one of the royal jade carving skills, often requiring the use of large materials to carve, once wrong, the whole material is invalidated, the loss is huge. The grasp of the overall shape also requires a high level of artistic accomplishment on the author. "Ordinary jade carvers don't dare to touch it easily, but we have to start from this most difficult one." After more than a year, his white jade "Hanging Chain Flower Basket" used less than 5 kilograms of jade to carve out 8 symmetrical chains, presenting a wonderful artistic effect.
"Jade represents the benevolence of a Chinese gentleman, and this benevolence is actually in line with the Olympic spirit." Zhang Tiecheng said that through the stage of the Olympic Games, it is the greatest affirmation of oneself to make Chinese jade culture go to the world.
Image source: Courtesy of Beijing Gongmei Group