Craftsmanship everywhere
Wen 丨 Chen Jianming
The hometown is located in a corner of Xiangzhong, the creek comes from the distant mountains all the way to the song, along the river on both sides of the canyon scattered with large and small villages, industrious rural people have been cultivating and working here for generations, breeding and living. They are well versed in farming, but also familiar with a variety of ancient Kit Kat craftsmanship, in the long and long years, generation after generation of old craftsmen in this magical land to write their own legends.
One
My father was an old carpenter who not only repaired houses, but also built pavilions and pavilions, and also played a good job of furniture. He was obsessed with creating all kinds of exquisite furniture all his life, and his reputation spread throughout the eight townships, and the people who asked him to play furniture often arranged the schedule from the first month to the end of the year.
"After eating the Lantern Wine, the axe does not leave the hand." Before the first month was over, my father hurriedly carried his eating guy out to work.
At that time, the countryside built houses, and the carpenter was the number one master. The old houses in the mountains west of Xiangzhong are mostly wooden buildings, which have been improved later, and are also mixed brick and wood structures, the front and back walls of the house are made of earthen bricks or red bricks, the skeleton of the house is still wooden support, and the columns, beams, doors and windows, slats, and floor slabs all need to be built by the carpenter master. When my father was young, he carried a large saw, carried a box planer, walked from village to village, and traveled between construction sites all year round. Whenever the house was topped off, the father took his apprentices and carried the girder of the new house along the pouring water wall of the roof, praying the auspicious praise of the Lord's family, and placed the girder in the middle of the hall three feet from the roof, and then slaughtered the rooster and poured the blood of the rooster on the girder to avoid evil and wealth. After the placement, the firecrackers are fired in unison, and the drums are played. My father stood on the highest part of the roof, with a majestic posture and a great look around, with the intention of a hero looking at the world. Coming down from the beams of the house, the lord shoved a liter of rice and red envelopes prepared by the newly slaughtered rooster into his father's arms, at which point the beam gift of a new house was successfully completed.
When I was a child, because of my father's craftsmanship, I was able to eat chicken thighs every three to five minutes!
After I was ten years old, my father never helped people build a house, but only focused on building furniture, and the reason for this is inexplicable. Later, it was the secret that the mother solved: once, when my father was erecting a new roof strip, he accidentally tripped under his feet, and a toe fell from mid-air, fortunately, his eyes were fast, and he hung on the beam so that he did not fall. His father was frightened and secretly thought that the grandfather was blessed in the underworld, and he was also vigilant in the underworld, and after that, he no longer helped others build houses.
Carpenters are respected masters and heavy physical workers. The line alone includes axes, saws, chisels, hammers, planers, and ink buckets. But whenever he goes out, there are many heavy guys who carry his shoulders, and they must be able to carry wood, move axes, pull big saws, and push long and short planers.
Fortunately, my father brought a lot of apprentices, and the work of carrying a saw-back box and an axe was done by the apprentice.
According to the rules, during the three years when the apprentice learns the art, he can only eat and live with the master, and the salary given by the master's family goes to the master. Out of the master, the master will send a set of carpenter tools to the apprentice, and then the apprentice will do the work alone, or continue to follow the master, at this time, the apprentice will have a salary settlement. However, they are fathers for life, and these disciples have great respect for their fathers. When my father died, many apprentices with white sideburns came from all directions and knelt in front of the spirit in unison.
As the saying goes: the master leads into the door, and the practice is in the individual. Without a little understanding, one cannot learn to be a good carpenter. Speaking of which, I have to mention a very important figure in my father's carpentry career, that is, my father's uncle. When my father was sixteen years old, he went up the mountain to learn art from his uncle. The uncle was a grumpy old craftsman, and the father had lost his temper since childhood, so the master did not have the patience to teach this helpless nephew well, and when he was impatient, he would pick up the chisel and knock on the father's head. Probably because he was knocked on the head too much, over time, his father no longer dared to touch the master's reverse scales. At the end of the three-year apprenticeship, my father returned home and couldn't even make the most basic cabinet. He had to knock on the cupboard closet at home one by one and think about it again, and finally learned to make furniture.
Although the father's old uncle has a violent personality, he is also an interesting person, and the mention of him cannot help but remind people of the story of the carpenter's grandfather Lu Ban. Legend has it that the carpenter's ancestor was Lu Ban, a master of the Mo family during the Spring and Autumn Period. This grandfather had a book called "Lu Ban Shu", which recorded some mechanical spells and the like. For example, if you ask someone to work, you can't neglect the craftsman, otherwise it will be detrimental to the master's family. This is quite similar to the spell of the legendary Meishan Witchcraft, and an interesting thing happened to my father's uncle.
Once, when this stubborn old man was building a pig pen for his family, because his wife's food was not appetizing, he was angry and couldn't help but curse a few words. As a result, after the completion of this pigsty cattle pen, the pigs and pigs died, the cattle and cattle died, and the family did not have half a temper. At this time, the old man remembered his unintentional words and repented from the heart. Later, he honestly demolished the house and rebuilt it. This time, he prayed sincerely, worked hard, and never lost his temper again, only to reverse this embarrassing situation.
The legends of these strange and chaotic gods are only for the villagers to eat after tea, and it is impossible to investigate whether they are true.
Supposedly, this good craft should not be lost, but the father has no son and no one to take over. After his death, the pile of once cherished home was idle in the attic of his hometown, covered with dust, and then sent and lost, and the rest was missing. His father's long career as a carpenter and glorious past have gradually become a vague legend that has been forgotten in the memory of the countryside.
Two
As a child, my father went out to work, whether it was building a house or making furniture, and after the carpenter's work was completed, it was the turn of the craftsman of the next process.
The next step in carpentry is lacquer. A beautiful piece of furniture is inseparable from this last craft - lacquer art. The quality of the paint water and the uniformity of the glaze color are directly related to the color of the furniture. Or simply put on only a varnish to maintain the texture and true color of the wood, which is also a chic scenery. In short, a good lacquermaker is directly related to the final presentation of the carpenter's craft.
Compared to carpenters, lacquermakers are an easy job, but they are by no means simple. For example, paint furniture should first be frosted, then primer, then two layers of color, and finally another layer of color. There is also a lot of attention to coloring and coloring, and the same color tuned by different masters may have subtle differences. Between the thick and the dark, the techniques are above and below, and the level of different masters is immediately clear. Furniture with lay paint is rough and uneven, and foams off the skin. Insider paint furniture is shiny and slippery, icing on the cake, beautiful and generous. Not only that, but in the past, a true painter had to know how to paint. When the cupboards, wardrobes and cages used as dowries are painted, various colored patterns and patterns are depicted. My old cupboards, kitchen cabinets and wardrobes are painted with a variety of flowers, birds, insects and fish. Now I think it is often amazing, where is the lacquer, obviously a clever painter!
Therefore, even the best carpenter is inseparable from the polishing of the painter, not well painted, and the most well-made furniture is also a pearl of dust.
His father was simple in life, and most of his furniture was painted and brushed back by him, and he personally painted it. Only when his daughter got married did he solemnly invite Uncle Chun, who had been with him for many years, to come back and paint me the dowry.
Uncle Chun was the longest-time lacquermaker in his father's carpentry career. My father had been engaged in carpentry for many years and was trusted by his patrons. Whenever the carpentry work was completed, the master would often ask his father to recommend a good lacquer maker. My father worked with many painters, and each painter had a good time with his father, never blushing. However, the one who has been with him for the longest time is Uncle Chun.
Uncle Chun is our uncle from the same village, more than ten years younger than my father, and he is also much shorter. Uncle Chun's height is only about one meter and four meters, which is already a disability for a man. In the countryside, such people not only cannot do heavy work, but also cannot marry wives. Fortunately, Uncle Chun learned a good craft, not only to support himself, but also to subsidize the family. Speaking of dwarf uncle spring lacquer furniture, it is a unique scenery. Where people can paint it when they stand, he has to carry a spring stool, then climb on the stool, brush it carefully inch by inch, brush it one by one, and then move the stool. The tiptoe and carefully painted look, like a child trying to lift upwards. Although Uncle Chun was short, but because of the reality, he never cut corners, and gradually, the painters who had been partnered with his father disappeared and were replaced by Uncle Chun's partner with his father all year round. You don't have to say that these two people, fat and thin, tall and short, stood together as if they were talking about harmony, and the main family also trusted the two of them.
In the countryside, it is often said: "Although the scale is small, it weighs a thousand pounds." "Under the promotion of his father, Uncle Chun's work is getting better and better, and more and more people invite him."
Uncle Chun, a small lacquer painter, never married a wife in his life, but he had a tall, underdeveloped brother and a beautiful sister-in-law. This brother could do nothing, but he married a good wife. Because the two sons are not good at making a living, their lives are very difficult, thanks to Uncle Chun who often uses his own salary to supplement their two families. Over time, there was a rumor in the village, saying that Uncle Chun and his sister-in-law were getting along. At this point, Uncle Chun, who was honest and honest, could not distinguish it with a hundred mouths, and the days passed for many years in such bumps. At the age of fifty, Uncle Chun's brother fell and fell after drinking and died. Therefore, Uncle Chun simply took on the burden of supporting his brother's family. The brother-in-law who had been under his care for many years simply crossed the Ming Road, and the two pots were combined, and the two families became one. Everyone said that this thick dwarf Uncle Chun was blessed, and that he had a comfortable home when he was old.
Old people often say that the craft is in hand, eating and wearing is not worried. Uncle Chun's life, including the origin of his strange fate, is really inseparable from his good craftsmanship of a lacquer craftsman!
Many years have passed, my father has long passed away, and when I returned to my hometown, I also saw two small white sideburns Uncle Chun. If it weren't for the white hair on his sideburns, Uncle Chun would still look childlike.
Three
In Hunan, there is a famous flower drum play called "Patching the Pot". Speaking of this flower drum drama "Patching pots", it is a household name, and the guy who creaks with the bellows in the play is our pot repairer.
The pot repairer is also called the curium smith, and the work of repairing the pot belongs to the work of the curium smith, but the scope of the curium smith is wider, and the upper pot can be repaired to the bottom of the kettle, and the lower pot can be repaired. In the area of the hometown, the most common work is to repair the bottom of the pot and the bottom of the iron aluminum pot for boiling water. At that time, most people lived frugally, and often an iron pot leaked a hole, so they turned the pot over and continued to stir-fry with the side that did not leak. If the big iron pot for cooking pig food broke a hole, the clever housewife melted the hole from the inside with a ball of plastic and continued to cook. Whenever they encountered such a situation, the big ladies and aunts began to nag: "Oh, why doesn't that curium master come to the door?" If you don't come to the door, you can only mention that his house has gone. How can I move this iron pot weighing more than a dozen pounds! ”
In the summer or late winter, when the weather is fine, there are suddenly two crisp iron strikes at the door of the trough in the compound, followed by two long shouts: "Stove shovel-"
Suddenly, the women who were still snoozing in the corner of the wall immediately woke up from their confusion, rushed to the stove in a panic, and rushed outside with the broken pot that had been prepared. In those days, who didn't pile up a few small woks with holes in the stove, big pig food pots that leaked out, or cooker pots with bottoms? These things can be turned into magic in the hands of the old curium smith!
During the conversation, the women of each family took out the cooking utensils to be repaired and lined up to occupy the plate. Only to see that the old curium smith was not in a hurry, calmly took out a small horse from where to sit, and sat there, the son behind him had already unloaded the tool and slowly spread out the scene. The old curium smith's eyes were particularly good, and with just one glance, he threw out the pots that were really broken and could not be repaired, and the rest of them were wrapped up at his feet: "This, and this is OK!" He said, set up the stove and started. This iron pot is to pull the bellows to burn the fire to melt the iron, if it is connected to the aluminum pot, you only need to directly cut off the broken one, and then connect the new aluminum skin to beat it. We were too young to play, and until now I couldn't remember exactly how those things had magically recovered under the hands of master curators. In my memory, I was particularly impressed by the work of connecting the bottom of the kettle. Only to see that the master cut the broken bottom of the kettle evenly, replaced it with a new bottom, and then carefully tapped the joint to fuse, and the repair of an aluminum pot was completed.
Knocking and beating, tinkering with tweens, the broken copper and rotten iron that could only be thrown away has a new look. At that time, it cost more than ten yuan to go to the township supply and marketing cooperatives to buy a large iron pot, a small iron pot for stir-frying vegetables, and a kettle for boiling water. Most of these utensils are "new three years, old three years, sewing and repairing for another three years", anyway, as long as the old curium smith shot, it does not take much time and wages, it can turn waste into treasure, which is really a happy thing for everyone. I remember when I was a child, the big iron pot used to cook pig food at home was repeated many times. However, the most common thing to make up is the aluminum bark kettle.
At that time, in the eight townships of ten miles, the curium smith was the only one, and occasionally I would see foreigners going from village to village to pick up the bottom of the tin pot, but the curium big iron pot or something still had to be the old curium smith in the village.
Many years have passed, and I am still particularly impressed by the old curator and his son Xiao Curator in my childhood, first, because when I was a child, I liked to watch the liveliness the most, and these lively scenes were always not to be missed; second, because in that year, the old curium smith's family later had a human tragedy, which caused a sensation in the whole village and completely changed the fate of their family, and until now it often makes the villagers sigh after tea and dinner.
That year, the old curator's family happily married his son Xiao Curator to a daughter-in-law. These two small mouths are combined with the words of the matchmaker, and they are set up to become relatives step by step, and they have no deep feelings. As a result, on the night of the new wedding, the little curium smith forced the round house, the new daughter-in-law refused, and between the two wrestling, if not careful, the little curium smith actually strangled the new daughter-in-law to death. In the simple countryside, this is a big case that has been encountered in decades. Coinciding with the period of the state's crackdown, the little curium smith was soon sentenced to death, and soon after the execution was executed. The old curium smith could not bear the blow and soon collapsed. Their once-solid family gradually disappeared into the world with this catastrophe, just like the old craft that disappeared. Many years have passed, and people often miss the long "stove shovel, pick up the bottom of the cooker pot-". The sound startled a flock of birds, like an old dream in old times!
Four
In the countryside, every household raises livestock, of which chickens and pigs are the most, and if they are not castrated, they will be in heat in the spring. There is a local saying in my hometown called chicken lays more eggs, which is probably what it means. Chicken estrus is not a big problem, if this rack of pigs do not grow meat every day, it will be a big loss. At this time, the mule smith appeared on the scene.
The mule is a profession attributed to veterinarians. When I was young, the mule smith in our area was probably a village veterinarian, often followed by a disciple carrying a medicine box.
In the master mule's medicine box was a thin surgical bag with some shiny knives and hooks. The master bristle entered the door and sat down, the operating bag spread out on his knees. At this time, there were already a bunch of villagers waiting with chickens next to them. Only to see the teacher take the chicken and press it on his lap, pull a small handful of hairs under the belly, quickly cut a knife, and then use the hook to pound twice, and a chicken will be ready. This side of the horse is thrown to the ground, and the chickens over there are just like usual. Chickens are extremely vigorous and liveable. If it is a pig, then you have to pay attention, a pig has at least a few dozen pounds, and several people have to hold it together. Saying that it was late and fast, the master mule smith waited for the pig to be stabilized, and quickly slashed down the back of the abdomen, and then the hook was extended into it, hook by hook, cut quickly, and then stitched two stitches. At this time, the pig screamed in pain. The children in the compound thought that the pigs had been slaughtered, and they rushed to watch, but they did not see pig hairs in a circle around the ground. As soon as people let go, the pig jumped around again, and only then did they realize that it was a pig. Until now, I still don't understand why the master mule smith pulled a piece of flower intestines from the pig's belly when he mastered the pig. This kind of pork intestine is particularly delicious and is a favorite appetizer for the master bristles.
At that time, the most skilled old master of the township was an old veterinarian surnamed Xie. As long as he shot, there was almost no hand mistake, the chicken was alive, and the pig was gone. Sometimes, strange young carpenters came to the village occasionally, either dead chickens or dead pigs. If the chicken is not well-honed, it may still crow, or it may be thrown to the ground and kicked its legs. Whenever this happened, the Face of the Lord's family became ugly, and some ugly words popped out. Fortunately, a chicken is not tight, and the thick township people will not pursue anything. If the pig dies, it will be troublesome, and a pig is the income of the farmer all year round. Pigs that are damaged will not die on the spot, but will not die until they are dragged for at least two or three days. At this point, the Lord's family was overwhelmed with remorse, and the gambler swore to scold the master of the master of the bristle to the ancestors for generations.
Therefore, although this mule smith was working on livestock, he was no less meticulous than the doctor. Especially for the pig, the average teacher will not let the apprentice get started easily.
Master Xie's amazing craftsmanship can be compared to that of a brilliant surgeon. Master Xie taught one of his best apprentices in his life, and also worked as a veterinarian. But somehow, the master and the disciple were not harmonious. The two masters and apprentices are in the same township, and they don't look up to see each other, but they often sing the right stage plays. Whenever the master goes out of his horse, the disciple will avoid it far away. The apprentice is young, the footsteps are wide, where the box is, the master will see it from a distance, he will break his mouth and scold the "white-eyed wolf", and outsiders really think that it is "the disciple of the church, the master who starved to death". Soon, the disciple somehow suddenly contracted a vicious disease and vomited blood in a big mouth and died. People thought that Master Xie was looking at the hilarity with a cold eye. Unexpectedly, on the day of the funeral, a person suddenly came, standing at the entrance of the village with a bamboo stick, waiting, crying and scolding: "Yi Wu trick, my apprentice!" I taught you for three years and six months, how can I teach in vain! I taught you to surpass the master, but I didn't tell you to go earlier than the master! From now on, where will I go to scold my apprentices? ”
Five
When I was a child, the countryside was small, but it was lively and peaceful. There is a bluestone slab tea horse ancient road in the village, which is lined with paving on both sides. My classmate Wenzi's family lives on this ancient road. Fumiko's father, a hunchbacked middle-aged man, was the only shaver in our village.
Elsewhere, shavers walked around carrying shaved heads, but the camel master never went out. It is said that camels were also a beautiful young man when they were young, but later, for some reason, they were crippled and learned this art of shaving their heads.
Although the camel does not go out, the business is booming. He was witty and funny, shaved his head, sharply priced, and the small façade was often crowded with gossipy people. The camel master laughed and listened to everyone talking in the vernacular, while shaking the long bib, flying razor, shaving this, the next one did not have time to stop the joke in his mouth, he immediately rushed to sit up, a joke was not finished, a mess of grass on the head has been trimmed.
Most of the people who come here for haircuts are old and young masters, and most of the girls are cutting a pair of scissors to hinge their hair at home, but there are also some exquisite ones to trim in the shaving shop. Newborn babies must go to the shaving shop to shave their first fetal hair, and when shaving, the shaver must also say some auspicious words such as "the wind blows the night long, and the life is long". Ordinary people will smile and groan and thank you, and when they meet rich people, they will generously reward a small red envelope.
Unfortunately, I can't remember whether I shaved my hair in the camel shop in the swaddling, but from the time I can remember, the hair of the four of us sisters was all taken care of by one of my mother's scissors, and once it grew, the ears were "clicked" and cut off. At that time, how I hated myself for not being a boy, and how I could sit in the shaving shop like those old and young masters to shave my head and gossip, and secretly complained that my mother would not give us a long hair. That's a story for another day. At that time, master camel's shop not only had a long line of people shaving their heads, but also chess players, dragon gate arrays, and villains reading books. Master Camel also set up a special villain book stall, which is the most eye-catching thing for me. In order to be able to read villain books, I always try my best to build a good relationship with Wenzi. The shaving shop also became a place that I would never forget in my childhood.
For many years, the only barber shop in our village was the shaving shop of Master Camel. Although master camel is physically disabled, with his unique skill, he has pulled up two children. Speaking of the two sons and daughters of the camel, there are still some anecdotes in the village. Some people say that camels have lost the ability to reproduce since they became disabled. Later, after a few years, the camel sister-in-law suddenly became pregnant with a white and fat daughter. This daughter was born with eyebrows that resembled her mother's, but she did not resemble her father at all, and the camel still loved like a treasure. After a few more years, the camel sister-in-law was happy again, and this time she had a son. Some good people have found that this child is beautiful and upright, and does not resemble his father or mother. But rumors are rumors, not necessarily credible, and the eggs that lay in whose nest naturally belong to whom. The camel couple regarded the two children as the root of their lives, and neither dared to talk nonsense in front of them.
Later, as time went on, more and more people opened barbershops. Several shops were crowded along the guangma road, but the shaving shops that had been forgotten on the old bluestone street were rarely visited, and only those of the older generation still remembered the skills of the camel master. Sometimes, people who had moved out of town came back and went out of their way to the shaver to get a haircut. My old father was like this, as long as he worked in the field for a long time, the first thing he did when he came back was to say, "You have to go to the camel and shave your head!" ”
There are many unforgettable hometown old craftsmen, such as a master who makes us rejoice in popcorn, who walks in the countryside with a round popcorn stove all year round, and also walks throughout our childhood.
Many years later, the distant mountains and distant rural memories are gone, but they are still like old movies, always in my mind, making me sometimes can't help but be funny, and sometimes burst into tears. The memories engraved in my life, like the smell of earth, together with a place called hometown, have become an indelible symbol flowing in my veins.
(Excerpted from the second half of Yanhe Magazine, Issue 11, 2021)
Chen Jianming, who has published works in newspapers and periodicals such as Beijing Daily and Selected Essays, now lives in Lianyuan, Hunan.