At 9 a.m. on April 2, 40-year-old Jiang Can finished his other work and shut himself in his studio to design a tombstone for a deceased elderly man. The old man was a math teacher before he was born, and he liked to play Go and play erhu, and his family hoped that these characteristics could be displayed on the tombstone. Jiang Can has changed the design plan for 3 days, but still feels that it is not ideal.
After graduating from university in 2005 and coming to Biandanshan Cemetery, Jiang Can, who studied environmental art, is responsible for helping his family design tombstones every year to meet the wishes of the deceased and their families to the greatest extent. In the past 16 years, he has designed nearly a thousand tombstones. On the limited area of the tombstone, he combines his understanding of life with the story of the deceased, leaving a unique imprint, "these imprints always tell us that there was a living life." "Yellow cranes, computers, violins, pigeons, stock market graphs... These are the patterns that Jiang Can left for the deceased on the tombstone.
Enter the industry
Bian Danshan Cemetery tombstone designer Jiang Can. Photo by Shi Wei, a reporter from the Yangtze River Daily
As the only tombstone designer in Bian Dan Shan Cemetery, Jiang Can's initial contact with this aspect of work was purely accidental.
Jiang Can is a native of Huanggang, and when he studied at China Three Gorges University, his major was environmental art, and his graduates basically went to construction companies, gardens and other departments.
In 2004, when he inadvertently visited the job fair, he found that bian dan shan cemetery was recruiting landscape designers, and he signed up during the internship period, hoping to intern for a year and then find other jobs after graduation.
This internship is when he really gets involved in the industry.
Near graduation, Jiang Can and another intern were tasked with proposing a renovation plan for an old Chinese-style wall burial area in the cemetery, led by his teacher Fu. In the end, Jiang Can's plan won, and he was able to officially join the company after graduating in 2005.
Until now, the wall burial corridor designed by Jiang Can is still in use.
With the development of society, there began to be a succession of family members hoping to repair the cemetery beautifully, which gave Jiang Can a lot of challenges, "At that time, the whole country was exploring, there was no advanced experience to learn from, and I could only rely on my own groping." ”
Jiang Can has studied architecture, he combines the knowledge of architecture and art design, applied to the design of tombstones, he hopes that each tombstone designed can be highly compatible with the deceased.
devise
On the morning of April 2, against the scorching sun, Jiang Can and reporters found some of the tombstones he personally designed, and through artistic combination and processing, these tombstones became the identity of the tomb owner.
In a cemetery, a pair of young brothers who left on the same day were buried. The family wanted to design a special tombstone for the brothers, so they found Jiang Can and told the brothers that they liked to read books and computers before they died, hoping that these elements could be reflected on the tombstones. Through repeated observation on the ground and more than ten revisions, Jiang Can successfully completed the wishes of his family. Under the tombstone is carved a computer host and a monitor, and the "computer" is made of stone to make two half-open books, pinning the infinite mourning of relatives.
The Yellow Crane Tower on The Tombstone to Mr. Xinran. Photo by Shi Wei, a reporter from the Yangtze River Daily
Mr. Xiang Xinran, chief designer of the Yellow Crane Tower reconstruction project, died and was buried in Bian Dan Shan Cemetery. Before his death, he said that he and the Yellow Crane Tower had formed a "lifelong relationship.". Mr. Xiang Xinran's tombstone design style fully reflects this. On the back of the stele is a sketch of the Yellow Crane Tower that mr. Huang was hand-painted before his death. In the design of the front of the tombstone, Jiang Can designed a yellow crane above the yellow crane tower pattern, which means "driving the crane to the west".
The tombstone of an old man who loves photography. Photo by Shi Wei, a reporter from the Yangtze River Daily
The owner of a nearby cemetery is an old man who loves photography, and his family hopes to show his hobbies on the tombstone. After repeated communication and thinking, Jiang Can abstracted a classic life photo of the old man and showed the story of the old man with the technique of shadow carving: an old man holding a camera was shooting willow branches, vivid.
Jiang Can said that for every family member who came to him for the design, he would patiently listen to each other's ideas and fully communicate with the family according to the surrounding environment of the cemetery until he came up with a satisfactory design plan. Jiang Can told the Yangtze River Daily reporter that one of his longest-consuming plans took 4 months.
Jiang Can was repeatedly revising the plan. Photo by Shi Wei, a reporter from the Yangtze River Daily
challenge
At present, the tombstones used in cemeteries are basically two specifications, the horizontal tombstones are 70 centimeters long and 55 centimeters wide, and the vertical tombstones are 75 centimeters long and 55 centimeters wide, and in a limited area, they often need to carry many ideas from family members and themselves, which is a big challenge for Jiang Can.
The tombstone that needs to be redesigned is generally divided into two situations: one is that the deceased himself left a will before his death, specifying that some specific patterns are engraved on the tombstone to accompany him; the other is the idea of the family, hoping to realize his own vision through the design of the inscription and pattern of the stele with the help of the designer.
Some deceased people leave a will before they die, asking for their favorite things to be engraved on the tombstones. A musician died, and Jiang Can designed a violin on the tombstone according to the deceased's wishes. Some deceased people like pigeons before they die, and Jiang Can designs one on the tombstone pattern to accompany its owner forever.
"The deceased person who remembers most deeply is a stock speculator." Jiang Can said that the family found him, hoping to show the deceased's hobbies on the tombstone, pondered for a long time, Jiang Can came up with a plan, carved a stock market curve on the tombstone, the family is very satisfied.
"Customers sometimes think beyond our technical level." Jiang Can said that in such a situation, he will formulate a new plan for the other party. There were once family members who hoped to engrave "blue sky and white clouds" on the tombstone, and the requirement was a color effect, but the shadow carving technology currently used was black and white. After hard work, he designed a new plan for the client and realized the family's idea with porcelain technology.
The pattern designed by Jiang Can is carved on the tombstone of the deceased. Photo by Shi Wei, a reporter from the Yangtze River Daily
imprint
In addition to the technical difficulties, reaching a consensus with the family on the plan is the most difficult thing for Jiang Can. An elderly man who died had 5 children, and everyone had different ideas, but they were usually busy at work, and there was no way to be present at the same time to discuss. Every time Jiang Can finished revising the design plan, there were family members who came to the door to take it back for discussion and feedback. In the end, it took 4 months and more than 10 plans before and after finally reaching a consensus with all the family members.
Jiang Can said that the reason why he is willing to spend so much energy to complete a design plan is out of respect for the deceased, "The tombstone condenses the life of the deceased, and I hope that the tombstone I designed can become a unique mark of the deceased." ”
His wife, Wang Yanhui, also works at biandanshan cemetery, responsible for the typesetting of tombstones. In her eyes, Jiang Can is a careful and responsible person, "as long as he receives a reservation call from his family, he is very attentive, and every sketch is drawn very carefully." ”
"Post-00s" Chen Zizuo graduated from Wuhan Civil Affairs Vocational College, joined the company in September last year, and often intersects with Jiang Can in his daily work. He personally saw the family of the deceased rush to the cemetery and expressed his gratitude to Jiang Can in person, which shocked the young man, "His (Jiang Can's) work not only allows the family to better commemorate the deceased, but also leaves a mark on life, so that more people know the story of the deceased, so that the life of the deceased is more meaningful." ”
"Funeral work also requires art." In the eyes of Chen Ting, deputy director of biandanshan cemetery, Jiang Can is such an "artist". To design a great tombstone, designers must invest their own personal emotions and integrate their understanding of life into the design plan, "So the design of the tombstone, each piece is unique." ”
(Yangtze River Daily reporter Shi Qiang)
【Editor: Wang Yujin】
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