The history of human use of fire can be traced back hundreds of thousands of years, but there is very little physical research on lighting tools. Tian Jiaqing's book "Fire: The History and Culture of Fire" is the first monograph in academia to systematically sort out the history and culture of fire.
Tian Jiaqing, born in 1953, is a famous scholar in the field of classical Chinese furniture, the monograph "Qing Dynasty Furniture" (1995 Chinese and English editions) is recognized by the academic community as a pioneering authoritative work in the field, and his other works include "The Day with Mr. Wang Shixiang", "Ming and Qing Furniture Appreciation and Research", "Ming Yun", "Time with Classical Music" and so on.
Unlike extending and expanding in existing fields, Tian Jiaqing's research on lighters has opened up a new field. Although lighters are commonplace objects for everyone, they are unpopular and neglected research objects in the field of collection and scientific research. For example, when collecting the 10,000 matches that began to flourish around 1850, Tian Jiaqing found a phenomenon: "The period of the popularity of 10,000 matches coincided with the period of the popularity of snuff, and the value of the two in antique miscellaneous items was vastly different." In fact, the exquisite silver tire painting enamel matches, the level of craftsmanship and production age are not lost to snuff bottles, and the number of heirs is even smaller. ”
"Fire: The History and Culture of Lighting" selects nearly 300 representative lighters, of which more than 200 are collected by Tian Jiaqing. Studying them is a zero-to-one process. Tian Jiaqing is gifted in terms of hands-on ability, and the diversified thinking of science foundation and art appreciation makes his research not follow the trend, mostly exclusive, opening an unfamiliar door according to his own knowledge system.
"Fire: The History and Culture of Lighting", by Tian Jiaqing, Sanlian Bookstore (Hong Kong) Limited, First Edition, Hong Kong, December 2021
The biggest highlight of this book is the pioneering work of entering the field of lighters, carefully examining and identifying these artifacts, laying the framework for lighter research: classification, generation, questioning, and sharing their own thoughts flashed in the research process. Tian Jiaqing's collection behavior also proves that systematic collection with his own opinions can go beyond the scope of value and appreciation and retain a new precious historical material.
According to the collection of physical objects and materials, Tian Jiaqing classified the lighters, and examined their possible ages, and sorted out the development context: fire sickles, phosphorus matches, 10,000 matches, artillery machines, tinder machines, trench lighters, the mature development period after World War I, and the golden age after World War II. Among them, for the Chinese fire sickle, according to the structure, material, and further classified according to the ethnic and historical periods, the fire sickle is divided into chain type, sickle bag, Han style, Mongolian style, Tibetan style and Qing Dynasty court fire sickle; for Western lighters, considering the age, it is not in accordance with the traditional kerosene machine and gas machine classification method, but from the perspective of technology and art, it is divided into classical and modern styles.
Jiǎn gold matchbox, produced in Argentina around 1890, is 4.4 cm wide, 4.8 cm high and weighs 36 g. The motifs are in the Arabic style, and the craftsmanship used is commonly known as "Damascus inlay gold" (this craft and style is likely to have been passed down from southern Spain, which was occupied by the Arabs for a long time), which is similar to the traditional Chinese gold craftsmanship. The pattern is exquisite and exquisite, and if you look closely, it uses three different colors of gold, a small matchbox, so exquisite and practical, it has become not only an everyday utensil, but also a work of art. (Courtesy of the interviewee, illustrated text source: "Fire: The History and Culture of Lighting")
From the perspective of the broken generation, Tian Jiaqing said that because he did not see the lighters unearthed in the tomb, nor did he see the engraved inscriptions, so measured by the shape, material, structure and craft characteristics of the utensils, he frankly said that this broken era "has a certain degree of subjectivity", but the gap will not be too large, and it will need to be further studied by later generations.
In this book, Tian Jiaqing raised many topics of great value in the field of lighters, such as why the development of lighting technology was still far inferior to photography, sound recording, and power applications until the end of the 1830s. There are also many valuable reflections of the author, including the difference between Eastern and Western cultures that can be seen from small lighters. For example, the lighters produced in the early years of the West often had signature windows, reflecting the humanized design and the emphasis on private property rights; the "royal royal use" of the Western independent production workshop was different from the exclusive right of the Chinese emperor, the former showed that the royal family liked the brand, "does not mean that it is impossible to design and produce superior products for others, but who pays more money and who gets more exquisite things."
The French 1830 lighter smoking set, with precious materials and exquisite craftsmanship, but still uses the most primitive way of lighting metal and stone collision, but the stone is made of blood chalcedony, and the metal strip is beautiful and exquisite. (Image and illustration text source: respondent)
Mr. Tian Jiaqing has collected lighters for 40 years, and this is his first interview with the media to talk about his collection and thinking about lighters. The historical and scientific flames contained in the lighters discussed in this book have also extended to the present.
Lighter Collection: Keep a piece of history
The Paper: When did you start collecting these nearly 300 pieces of lighters? Where did you find them?
Tian Jiaqing: There are many ways. At that time, there were stalls, antique markets, foreign flea markets, second-hand shops, and the help of friends and friends, and exchanges with them. People have never taken these things seriously.
The Paper: In your opinion, why has the topic of "fire" received so little attention? For example, you mentioned that the study of chinese fire sickles is basically blank at present, and there is no classification precedent.
Tian Jiaqing: I don't understand it until now. A few years ago, I was talking to several scholars who specialized in the history of science and technology and art history, and I said that there is no book on lighters in human beings at present, and they do not believe it. They had a strong search ability, and after a week or two they were surprised to tell me that Lighter really didn't have a decent book until now, with a lot of articles, snippets, advertisements for lighter manufacturers, catalogs made by a small number of collectors. But none of them can be called monographs with an academic historical perspective.
Some people find it fresh and interesting and ask me how I think of making a difference in this field. I feel that I will walk my own path steadily, and when I go in, I will find a vast world. My thing (lighter) was not valuable at the time, and until now not many people understand and recognize it, but once it becomes a series, it has historical value, so this is a very good collection category, it should be said to be a different way. I think it's a very important contribution, and there's a sense of sacredness.
Over the years, our propaganda has always loved to introduce treasure hunting, "pick up leaks", and talk about those tall works of art and antiques that ordinary people can't touch, can't reach, can't buy, and are trapped in it. In those areas to "pick up leaks", it is almost impossible for you to buy the real ones except for the fake ones. I don't think it's good character to pick up leaks.
Your eyesight is value, and although it may appreciate later, it is not your purpose. More importantly, it is impossible to establish a systematic collection system with a high standard by picking up leaks.
You keep a copy of history, and the purpose of your collection is to create, to study, not to make a fortune, and the two are fundamentally different.
The Chinese fire sickle is a type of world lighter. The Palace Museum in Beijing and the National Palace Museum in Taipei have some fire sickles, and there are more people. Why do humans use such important things that no one systematically studies? Now let me open up this new field.
This "Fire" is the first book to deal with chinese and foreign fire scythes and a little bit of ideological art in it. This thing is sometimes very strange, when I studied Qing Dynasty furniture, the electroplated leg chair can be replaced by a rosewood furniture, people want the electroplated leg chair, not the rosewood furniture. Now, Qing Dynasty furniture a throne of tens of millions, everyone recognizes the value.
The Paper: Probably because the study of lighters requires a cross-cutting knowledge background in archaeology, physics, chemistry, history, art and other fields to really enter this topic, and there are very few people with these conditions, and they may not go deep into this field.
Tian Jiaqing: I think you are very right, don't look at the fire sickle, but it involves the fields of craftsmanship, metal, instruments, etc., not limited to liberal arts or science, far wider than porcelain and painting, and it is difficult to study. It is unimaginably difficult for humans to make fire. For example, I mentioned white phosphorus matches in my book, how to make matches both fire and no poison, the research process is quite arduous. When the engine, camera technology, and recording technology were all available, the lighting technology was still very primitive. Now people buy a lighter for a few dollars and use it casually, which was not the case in the past.
I seem to have a natural complex for collecting, and over the years I have dabbled in the variety of collections, in addition to furniture and lighters, there are several categories, and there is still not much correlation between these types of utensils, and even the wind and horses are not in harmony.
For doing research and collecting, a lifetime of engaging in a job, doing a topic of research, collecting a category of varieties. Single-minded dedication, from the beginning to the end, of course, deserves respect, I have absolutely no objections, but I also believe that if you dabble in different fields at the same time, you also have its own unique advantages, you can gain a wider range of knowledge. In fact, there are often many fields that seem to be incompatible, and they can learn from each other, and the learning of various cross-knowledge can improve people's IQ and comprehensive judgment ability. Over the years, we have paid too much attention to the separation of liberal arts and science, in fact, this is not conducive to the overall growth of people, I wrote a few years ago in the book "Time with Classical Music", I said: "If a student of music learns calculus can solve the partial differential equations, a science and engineering student can write a symphony, such a student should be given double scholarship." This is a bit extreme, but this is what I want to make: a person who can have a good logical thinking and image thinking at the same time can definitely make some achievements.
Facts also show that some scientific and technological inventions may be inspired by art, and some artistic innovations are inspired by science or technology. In this regard, I have experienced that the furniture and some utensils I design are very special, obviously different from pure furniture designers or sculptors, and the innovative industry is recognized, and the reason for this is that I believe that I have a good foundation in science and engineering and an understanding of classical music. A few years ago, I heard that an old gentleman with high moral standing in the field of literature and literature said with great pleasure that he was proud to fail the mathematics examination that year, and I did not think so.
Historical facts also prove that there are indeed a small number of very successful collectors who not only dabble in a wide range but also specialize in everything. For example, Mr. Wang Shixiang, who is more familiar to everyone, has a large and exquisite collection of Ming-style furniture, nearly 100 pieces, which are now displayed in the Furniture Hall of the Shanghai Museum, and the no. 1 Ming-style furniture collection in the world. In addition to furniture, he has seven other collections in different categories, each of which is also extremely outstanding. Mr. Yip, a famous collector in Hong Kong, is also engaged in a number of collections. He promoted the art of rhino horn ware and bamboo carving, which were not yet familiar to people at that time, and his contributions were recognized and respected by the world. This proves a fact: lifelong collection of only one type of collection may not be able to really collect a good collection, and there are now some "museums" in China that hang special names, and the utensils in the "museum" are almost all fakes, and there are many varieties, which are not necessarily impossible.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my criteria for identifying the level of collection, first of all, I think that collection is not divided into categories and sizes, I think it is like there are no small roles in plays and movies, only small actors. Collection also has a level, and the level of collection does not depend on the preciousness of your collection, but on the degree of your understanding of the collection and the contribution to promote.
Qing Dynasty iron carving ornaments large fire sickle, produced in Inner Mongolia. Width 16cm, height 11cm, weight 568g. The size is huge, weighing more than a pound. The main body is iron, and on both sides are iron carving ornaments with a treasure roof, gourd cloud pattern and curly grass pattern. The lower part is made of iron bars, and the flowers are applied on both sides, the pattern is graceful and beautiful, and the beam components in the cloud head style are also very exquisite. (Courtesy of the interviewee, illustrated text source: "Fire: The History and Culture of Lighting")
Collection Stories and Generational Ways: Vision is Value
The Paper: You just mentioned "eyesight", can you share some interesting stories about your collection of lighters? Just like you collected a pair of early Qing Dynasty flower panes before, the workmanship is meticulous, hundreds of flower patterns are almost different, but unfortunately no one paid attention to it in the old furniture pile at that time, you recognize it at a glance, buy it back and hang it at home.
Tian Jiaqing: Every thing that comes, there is a story, it's very interesting, because this is a whole new field, you can't communicate with people. Often the more such areas there are, the more opportunities for its existence.
Seven or eight years ago, I saw a copper-gilded lighter in the antique market in Beijing, which circulated in several markets for several years and was auctioned twice. The price is particularly strange, high is not high, low is not low. Why? They think the craftsmanship is good and the value is high, but they don't know if it is official (made royal). As a result, its pricing at that time, if it was not official, it was expensive, and if it was official, it was too cheap. Just go back and forth. However, first, many people do not recognize the value of the fire sickle, and second, whether it is official or not, there is no auxiliary evidence. If it had been determined that it was an official building at that time, ten times more expensive would have been robbed by someone earlier, and I would not have been able to buy it.
When I first saw it, I felt very good, the artistic standard was very high, it could be harvested, and it was a variety. I vaguely felt that it was official, and after waiting for a while, I bought it back. I didn't have the mentality of picking up leaks, and when I bought it back, I treated it as a beautiful collection. Later, I bought several similar things to it, and when I compared it, I determined that it was the original official. Because no one understands, they don't understand the sale. It was the merit of starting a new business, the lighter collection was a wasteland and no one came. It is often easier to collect very good and special collections.
The Paper: You mentioned that you are subjective about the generation of the fire sickle in the book, how did you break the generation?
Tian Jiaqing: It is also very interesting to break the generation. Because they are new fields, no one has said what age they are, and there must be the first person to say them first, otherwise there will never be a standard. I first classify it according to the characteristics of hope and cultural relics. The first task in the pioneering research of a class of instruments is to classify them. Then, with their own comprehensive knowledge and cultivation, mainly in terms of craftsmanship, shape, structure, charm and many other aspects, considering the age of cultural relics, Whether they are allowed to be examined by history, I believe that there are right and wrong, but the difference will not be very far, and everyone can gradually understand and study.
One of the great things about playing with lighters was that I was involved early and no one was cheating in that era. Because cheating must have a purpose, that is, to make money, if he makes a spend 50 yuan, sell one to sell 5 yuan, there is no point in cheating, sell no one to buy, so it is impossible to buy fake.
Inlaid with red coral fire sickle, Qing Dynasty, width 21 cm, height 14 cm, weight 639 g, standard Tibetan traditional shape. It is huge, with sixteen large round coral beads set on the front. By the Qing Dynasty, in addition to its functionality, the fire sickle was a symbol of status and status, and it was also an object for play and appreciation. (Courtesy of the interviewee, illustrated text source: "Fire: The History and Culture of Lighting")
The Paper: Can you give me an example? For example, talk about how you determine the age of this large fire sickle inlaid with red coral beads.
Tian Jiaqing: Similar to this, there is one in the Palace Museum and one in the Sichuan Museum, and it is the only one I have seen in the folk for so many years. This fire sickle is so big, the red coral bead is used so well, the identity of the user is not the common people, and the fire sickle used by the people is basically an iron bar or iron piece. Seeing more Tibetan fire sickles, you will find that it is related to identity and status. This fire sickle is too big, in fact, it is not very easy to use, and it is completely a status symbol.
From the overall point of view of materials and processes, I think it should be from the late Qing Dynasty. You see how old the material is, how oxidation the silver jewelry is, how much the coral is naturally worn. The craftsmanship is also very good, the hammering and hammering techniques are skillful and first-class. The pattern of the pattern, at that time, the craftsman chiseled out and the late craftsman chiseled out of the difference, see more to recognize it. At the end of the day, it is also the early republic of China, and it cannot be after the Republic of China. Because when you come to the Republic of China, you may not be able to do so well. Tibet's approach is different. All in all the overall feeling.
The Paper: Why not sooner?
Tian Jiaqing: It is possible that by the middle of the Qing Dynasty, I did not say so early. Nor could it have been the Kangxi time, not so early. Personally, I think the late Qing Dynasty is more likely. The determination of the age of the fire sickle in the book is only a range.
Chinese lighters generally do not have an age mark, and some Western lighters have accurate age marks on them.
The Paper: Western lighters have chronological markings, are they common or partial?
Tian Jiaqing: Lighters made of gold and silver in European countries have age marks. They must get professional places to mark, have a system, and be accurate in age. I have a lot of early European gold matchboxes with gold stamps on top of every part. In addition to the porcelain in China to write the New Year, lacquerware sometimes write the New Year, the general utensils write very little age, at that time probably did not think this thing is particularly important. I have only seen one lighter with an age, and I have not put it in the book, because I think the authenticity has yet to be examined.
The Paper: In your opinion, what is the relationship between the practical value of lighters and the collectible value?
Tian Jiaqing: In the past, people had a understanding: they could only look at things that could not be used, as pure art, as real works of art. There is a problem here, if an artifact has reached a high artistic standard, giving people the enjoyment of art, and there is also a use value, from a more macroscopic point of view than pure art, is it higher than pure art? Film-age cameras used to be super brilliant, and some of these things were not all mass-produced by mechanization, some of them were handmade, so they are of great value from the perspective of art and the history of science and technology.
In the 1990s, the mainland has risen a trend of collecting, and playing collecting like any kind of behavior has different levels or different realms. I thought for a moment that it seems that it can be divided into four realms.
The lowest and worst is to enter the field of collecting with a "leak picking" mentality. Hoping to get rich overnight with a cheap antiquity is the mentality of buying lottery tickets. I think that this kind of behavior and mentality of taking advantage of others is very bad, even if it is not morally condemned, at least it should not be promoted. This is the worst realm of collecting. At that time, television was the mainstream media, and some people always liked to pick up what leaks they had picked up, and hyped up in various so-called "collecting" programs, which made the people believe it to be true, and their eyes were hungry, and they followed the coaxing nature to pick up leaks and collect. In fact, it is so easy to pick up leaks, the vast majority of people's leaks are either dropped into the ditch or stepped on mines, but unfortunately, this collection mentality still has a big market.
The second is that since the beginning of this century, unprecedented collection has become an investment behavior, from individuals to institutions to invest in art as the best investment direction. At that time, various TV promotional columns with "art investment" came into being, which filled the prime time of high ratings and exploded for many years. I felt that instead of investing so much energy in art, it was really better to go straight to finance. They use the way of thinking and methods of financial investment to do collection, the typical means is to take speculation, buyout and other ways, the artifacts of certain categories are boundlessly fried in the sky, not only the art market is a miasma, participating in the speculation of art investment institutions and organizations, the results do not seem to be very good. Also like the income of stock investment, seven points of people lose money, two points of people do not lose money, one point of people make money, in any case, this is also a very low collection realm.
The third is a realm that is worth advocating a better state of mind of collecting, that is, learning knowledge through collection and having fun, because he really likes it, so he should study the product. In the end, it can form its own systematic category collection. This realm is already very high.
The collection is the fourth and highest realm, is to be able to keenly discover a kind of glory that has been in history, but the world does not understand and accept the potential artifacts of artistic and historical value, through the collection of research for many years of serious accumulation, and finally not only can form a systematic collection system but also summarize the research results with academic value published in the world, to improve and enrich the history of human art. This is undoubtedly the highest state of collecting. There are also many typical examples of collections that have reached this realm, including Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, bamboo carving art, etc., which have in common the creation of new fields and correctly guide everyone to study unfamiliar ancient artifacts, and some of the results summarized have contributed to today's society ideologically and consciously.
Things and History: The history of science and ideas reflected in small objects
Book-style trench lighter, made in the trenches of European battlefields in World War I, 1914-1918. The book trench machine has the shadow of the Bible, and it is obvious that carrying such a lighter with you in war has a comforting effect on the psychology of soldiers and should be regarded as an ideal "protective weapon". During world war I, Britain, France and Germany were all mobilized for military service throughout the country, and soldiers from all walks of life participated in the war, including artists, scientists and craftsmen. The trench lighter shows the soldiers' pursuit of art, the yearning for peaceful life, that is, the mentality of soldiers in the context of war. If they were to be held in one exhibition, they would silently make people feel the cruelty of war and the preciousness of peace. These lighters are a testimony to the history of World War I. (Image and illustration source: "Fire: The History and Culture of Lighting")
The Paper: You mention in the book that "putting together the lighters made by soldiers in the trenches during the First World War with the jewel-grade lighters made by the Tsar in the same period by the royal goldworking masters, it makes people have an association that spans time and space", but you did not talk about it, what did you associate?
Tian Jiaqing: In my early years, I did not accept Western lighters, and then once I went abroad to buy two small gadgets, and found that its ingenuity condensed human wisdom.
For example, the enamel lighter made by the Tsar during World War I. During the First World War, when the armies of the Russian Empire on the Eastern Front fought with the armies of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian army was extremely bitter, the food and other supplies were insufficient, it cost a lot of money to fight the war, and the people at home did not have a good life. In this case, the Russian nobles still have the heart to make a large flame enamel lighter, and they can have the spirit to focus on making such a exquisite enamel process of rotating and burning, Faberge can't do it, and invite the best craftsmen in Europe to do it, which is too outrageous. The soldiers of your own country on the front line are in a mess and are all about to live, and it is ridiculous that you play with lighters and make them like jewels. From this small object, it is also understandable why the Tsar fell later. This is not a matter of the gap between the rich and the poor. Trump in the United States has a Mar-a-Lago estate, ordinary Americans also have a house to live in, a difference of hundreds of millions, this gap I think is called the gap between rich and poor. The Tsar's gap is fatal, the soldiers and the people can't get over it, and this side makes such a beautiful lighter to compete with here. How big do you think this gap is? It is not the gap between rich and poor, it is ideologically, he feels that he is a person, you are not a person, and this gap is even worse than the gap between rich and poor.
Russian silver gilded enamel inlaid sapphire set kerosene lighter, produced in Russia in 1915. The men's version is 4 cm wide, 5.9 cm high and weighs 92 g, while the women's version is 4.2 cm wide, 6.1 cm high and weighs 76 g. Russian Faberge lighter production was only 1908-1917, during World War I. (Source: "Fire: The History and Culture of Fire fighting")
The Paper: You also mentioned that "these two hundred or so lighters have run through the history of 600 years, not only showing the hardships in the history of human firefighting, but also showing all aspects of the development of human civilization, including the development of science and technology, the industrial revolution, the development of art, and more deeply, politics, ideology, and ideology", relying on these nearly 300 pieces of collection, what differences do you feel between the East and the West from the lighter collection?
Tian Jiaqing: The mystery of Needham, here in the lighter, a new example has been added. Until the time I cut in, China was still using the traditional and ancient way of fire sickles, that is, there was no progress. The appendix to my book describes the important contributions of seven countries to the fire sickle, "Chinese has made a lot of efforts in the art of the fire sickle, but the contribution to the completion of the development of the modern lighter should be said to be zero." In the case of humanity conquering fire, if the order of contribution is large and small, it should be Britain, Austria, France, Switzerland, Germany, and the United States. In addition to these six countries, there are also some European and American countries such as Spain and Mexico, which also have small contributions. ”
The Chinese royal use of the fire sickle pays more attention to identity and status, and is careful in material decoration. In fact, it may not be necessary for him to personally light the fire, and he does not want to use this to do industrialization and how to develop. Some of the Western lighters are also status symbols, and some of them are developed from the perspective of scientific and technological development, making it a more commercial thing mass production. The two ideas are different. Although the lighter is small, the machine is clever enough to surprise you. Great efforts must be made in science and technology. Therefore, compared with the study of porcelain and jade, the study of lighters requires a good level of English proficiency in addition to the knowledge of science and engineering.
The Paper: Further down, it comes to the course of the Industrial Revolution in the West.
Tian Jiaqing: This deep statement has to be discussed for three days, and I can't understand it in one night.