The story of Guangxi | Fuhu Gengxin
Tiger face brass drum
"My grandfather has been making brass drums for generations, so every year during the New Year,Chinese New Year's Eve night, we have to provide this brass drum."
For folk craftsman Wei Qichu, accompanying the brass drum is his daily routine, and this year's Spring Festival is no exception.
Wei Qichu:
Male, Zhuang, born in 1963, Guangxi Huanjiang Maonan Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region intangible cultural heritage Zhuang copper drum casting skills representative inheritor, arts and crafts master, Guangxi Arts and Crafts Association council member, in 2012 founded Wei Qichu copper drum casting master studio, good at copper drum casting skills. In December 2012, he was awarded the honorary title of "Guangxi Master of Arts and Crafts". Representative works "Zhuangxiang Drum King", "All the Way Peace Drum", "Copper Drum King" and so on.
In order to welcome the Year of the Tiger, 59-year-old Wei Qichu and his 8-year-old grandson Wei Boyi jointly completed a special "grandfather" handicraft activity - making a tiger-themed copper drum.
At the beginning of the design, Wei Qichu made a mistake. At present, no bronze drums with the theme of the Year of the Tiger have been found in Guangxi, only the patterns of the tiger are on the 12 zodiac signs, and some of these patterns have been blurred, which makes him unable to start. Finally, by flipping through a large number of materials, he found inspiration in the history and culture of zhuang copper drums.
Zhuang Copper Drum:
In the Lingnan region, the Zhuang are the longest-running ethnic group that has used copper drums. For the Zhuang people in Guangxi, the brass drum is an indispensable custom in the celebration of festivals such as March 3 and spring festival every year. In 2006, the Zhuang copper drum custom was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Five tigers are placed on the surface of the drum, separated by five blessing characters. This is Wei Qichu's elaborate copper drum "Five Blessings Linmen". After a series of processes such as design, molding, copper dissolution to casting and molding, this tiger-themed copper drum is finally completed.
With a hard blow, the thick drum sound rippled in all directions, pinning Wei Qichu's beautiful wishes for the New Year. "I made this five tiger brass drum, which means the five blessings of linmen. I hope that in the Year of the Tiger, everyone will live a long life, be prosperous, be rich, be virtuous, and have a full house of children and grandchildren. ”
Tiger Ritual
Guangxi was once a major activity and habitat for the South China tiger. Judging from the relevant historical records, the South China tiger is not only widely distributed in the forests and mountains of Guangxi, but also inhabits hills and flat lands, and even haunts towns and villages.
The Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin wrote a poem "Zhaozhou" when he was in Zhaozhou (present-day Pingle County, Guilin, Guangxi), depicting the scene of the local "tiger as an official and fighting, and the ape cries on the stagecoach". In the Qing Dynasty's "(Yongzheng) Guangxi Tongzhi" book, it is frequently recorded that the tiger entered the county town.
Figure 丨 Tang Li Shangyin "Zhaozhou"
Figure丨Qing Dynasty "(Yongzheng) Guangxi Tongzhi"
Before they could create tools to fight the beasts, humans, out of reverence for the tiger, regarded the tiger as a messenger and god to the heavens. Out of the worship of tigers, from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties onwards, many bronzes were decorated with tiger motifs.
In 1971, a bronze wine vessel from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was unearthed in Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi. Its shoulders are subtly decorated with two tigers with wide mouths, standing and looking back, and people have named it: the double tiger ear cockroach pattern copper.
Figure 丨 Double Tiger Ear Cockroach Pattern Copper Stamp Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum
After the Qin unified Lingnan, large-scale immigrants came to the Lingnan region. These immigrants brought advanced Han culture and production technology, and Guangxi slowly moved from the era of torch lighting to the era of using lamps.
Wise folk craftsmen processed the image of the tiger, making the original solemn tiger element more flexible and realistic.
In 1958, a tiger-seated pottery lamp, 15 centimeters high, was excavated from a Han tomb in Yungai Mountain, Wuzhou City, and a tiger was lying on a pottery base. It has a lamp on its back, and its tail is cocked to form a lamp handle, which combines artistry and practicality.
Picture 丨 Han Dynasty Tiger Seat Pottery Lantern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum
Later, the image of the tiger also changed with the aesthetic tendencies given by the times.
Figure丨 Sui Dynasty Huainan Rui Beast Zodiac Bronze Mirror Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum
Figure丨 Qing Dynasty Qingyu Tiger Button Shaped Peng Nanning Museum
Figure丨 Qing Dynasty Room rich mirror heart embroidery piece Guangxi Museum of Nationalities
From the solemn and majestic bronze tiger to the exquisite and delicate silk embroidered tiger, the tiger is full of postures, recording the production and labor of the ancestors and the cultural inheritance of the nation.
Tiger's head tiger claw
"Touch the tiger's head, eat and wear without worry." The tiger head hat is almost the closest image of the tiger to the people, and its appearance can be traced back to the late Northern Dynasty of the mainland.
The early tiger head hat was closely related to the image of the protector god in Buddhist art, and the ancients expected children to be blessed by the heavenly king who drove away evil and warded off evil, and the tiger head hat was gradually widely passed down in the Central Plains and expanded to other regions.
Picture 丨Hutou Hat Guangxi Museum of Nationalities
Guangxi Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yao, Buyi and other ethnic groups have unique tiger head hats. The characteristics of multi-ethnic settlement have enabled the style of tiger head hat to be creatively developed and show vigorous vitality.
In the Miao, the Hmong people, who are skilled in embroidery, divide the silk thread into 8 to 16 strands for embroidery, making the hat ornament more exquisite and delicate.
In addition to the traditional tiger element, the slightly upturned beard represents the image of the lion, and the embellished butterfly pattern also implies an allegory, highlighting the unique ethnic culture and regional culture of Guangxi.
With the change of lifestyle, the custom of children wearing tiger hats is rare today. However, among the Hongyao ethnic groups in Guangxi, women's clothing with "tiger paw prints" has been passed down from generation to generation.
Hongyao, who calls himself "Yuno" or "You Nian", is a branch of the Yao people in Longsheng Autonomous County, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. At the waist behind the women's costumes of the Hongyao people, they are decorated with two geometric patterns in the shape of oblique "ten" shelves, which the Hongyao people call "tiger claw prints".
The legend of the "tiger's claw print" on the Hongyao costume:
Legend has it that a long time ago, there was an emperor who went hunting in the mountains, but he got lost with his entourage and got lost in the forest, when he happened to encounter a fierce tiger on the road and pounced on him. At this moment, a passing Yaogu shot the tiger down with an arrow and saved the emperor. In order to thank this brave Yaogu, the emperor cut off the tiger's claws and covered the back of Yaogu's clothes with tiger blood. As a result, once people saw a man dressed in tiger costumes, they understood that this person was the emperor's savior.
The Hongyao people weave this vivid legend on the costumes of daily life, and the special "tiger paw prints" carry the memory of the ethnic group and the value recognition of the ancestors.
Tiger-shaped tiger meaning
For thousands of years, tigers have often painted under the brush and ink of painters. Whether it is the traditional brush strokes that have both form and spirit, or the interesting paintings that integrate modern aesthetics, they all inject a vivid humanistic spirit and a personified foundation into the image of the tiger.
In order to welcome the arrival of the Year of the Tiger, Wu Xuebin, who painted the angelfish alone, also created a group of tiger pictures with a pen. In his pen, the tiger is not threatening or angry, and even smiles at each other, which makes people feel new.
Compared with depicting the "real tigers" in nature, Wu Xuebin's tigers are mostly drawn from folk handicrafts such as cloth tigers and mud tigers, highlighting the liveliness and cuteness of tigers.
Under the alternative "tiger atmosphere", the human touch is stronger. Talking about his understanding of the tiger, Wu Xuebin replied with a smile, "In my painting, this tiger can be touched all over the body, and it is very cute like a big cat." Lu Xun wrote a poem: "Those who know whether they are in the wind and roar, when they look back, they look smaller than Suo. A little bit of a tiger is a little tiger. “
Lu Xun's "Answer to the Question":
Ruthless may not be really haojie, how can the pitiful son not be a husband?
Those who know whether the wind is roaring or not, when they look back, they look smaller than sustenance.
In recent years, compared with common objects such as horses and cattle, tigers in nature have become endangered. In the context of the new era, how should the image and spirit of the tiger be transformed and presented? This has become a subject for more and more animal subject creators.
Yu Xianglong, a professor of Chinese painting at Guangxi Academy of Arts, combined the latest adjectives of modern tigers, such as "fat, cute, round", etc., integrated into family warmth and life interest, and found a new way of expression.
He combined the brushwork of Chinese painting with the characteristics of comics to create a series of paintings for 12 months in the Year of the Tiger.
Not only that, but many of his inspirations are related to his family: his wife, Zhou Tong, works in design and often becomes the prototype of her paintings.
Picture 丨 Yu Xianglong's work "Tigress"
Picture 丨 Yu Xianglong's work "Love Tiger Oil"
Yu Xianglong is responsible for painting, Zhou Tong is responsible for copywriting, and the two cooperate like tigers, and their albums are expected to be published in the Year of the Tiger. In the future, they hope to make their works into cultural and creative products, and push the traditional Chinese culture and fashion elements of the Year of the Tiger to a broader world.
Through the ornamentation, patterns and symbols of the "tiger", the imaginative meaning of life and rich national connotations spread in the land of Bagui. The year of Nongyin is approaching, the story of man, tiger and nature is still waiting for a new writing, you may wish to take a tiger step, add tiger wings, and feel the new year of tiger and tiger vitality.