Northern Shaanxi craftsman danqing
Northern Shaanxi craftsman danqing is a kind of folk painting art completed by folk painters in northern Shaanxi relying on various craft means such as architecture, carpentry, and masonry, and combining them with various application instruments. It is widely distributed in towns and villages in Yulin and Yan'an counties (cities, districts), and is mostly found in people's kilns, urban public landscape buildings and large and small temples in villages.
Northern Shaanxi craftsman Art Danqing has temple murals, non-"official" architectural paintings, color sculptures, water and land paintings, passing color paintings, as well as Kang Wai paintings, stove paintings, box paintings and other forms of expression, most of the practitioners are farmers, many of whom are from folk painting families.
Northern Shaanxi craftsmen usually use soil, stone, wood, cloth, paper, pottery, tung oil and other materials to perform crafts on public buildings, houses and furniture, linking the real material life of local residents with the spiritual life. After hundreds of years of development, Northern Shaanxi Craftsman Danqing has formed a unique and complete artistic creation and ecosystem, and the lineage of inheritance and image patterns is complete and clear.
Northern Shaanxi craftsmanship Danqing is an organic part of the lives of the people of northern Shaanxi. It takes folk craftsmen as the main body of creation and inheritance, and the mixture of various cultural elements makes it have research value in art anthropology, folklore ecology, art history and other aspects.
Ren Jinmin is working on it (file photo).
Northern Shaanxi Kang wai painting. Reporter Shi Nian photographed
The northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing on the Xingming Building of Yulin Old Street is colorful. Reporter Shi Nian photographed
In March, spring returns to the earth, and everything is bright. Under the sun, the majesty of Yulin Old Street's "Sixth Floor Riding Street" is fascinating. The building under the decoration of the craftsman Danqing in northern Shaanxi is antique and attracts the attention of tourists.
The so-called Danqing, after a long period of historical development, has now been divided into two categories: literati Danqing and craftsman Danqing. The literati Danqing has actually become a pure painting, while the craftsmanship of northern Shaanxi Danqing is an uncompromising practical painting, a local traditional painterly decorative art popular in Yulin and Yan'an, and a folk art form with rich humanistic connotation and distinctive local characteristics.
The contents of Northern Shaanxi Craftsman Art Danqing include architectural paintings, temple murals, as well as Kangwei paintings, stove paintings, household wood decoration paintings, glass mirror plaque paintings, etc. In 2008, Northern Shaanxi Craftsman Danqing was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Flower box cabinet:
Craftsmanship in the cave
In the old cave dwellings in the countryside of northern Shaanxi, there are almost always a few flower box cabinets. The flower box cabinet carries the most simple artistic expression of the craftsman danqing in northern Shaanxi, and the patterns on it are all-encompassing, including flowers, grasses, insects, fish, birds and animals, desert scenery and Jiangnan style. These pictures are the most gorgeous and warm pictures on the Loess Plateau, and they are also the nostalgic memories unique to generations of northern Shaanxi people.
From the middle of the 20th century, in order to make the life in the cave more colorful, northern Shaanxi began to popular in painting on wooden cabinets at home, and the craftsman Danqing entered the caves in northern Shaanxi and integrated into people's lives.
The 77-year-old Ren Jinmin is the provincial inheritor of the craftsmanship of Danqing in northern Shaanxi, and his paintings are exquisite and beautiful, with a fresh, delicate and handsome artistic style. Ren Jinmin recalled: "Before the 1990s, when people in northern Shaanxi married women and daughters-in-law bought furniture, they would ask us to paint on small boxes and cabinets. When I was young, I wandered around northern Shaanxi, getting up almost every day before dawn and rushing to the road, and I was busy until eleven or twelve o'clock in the evening to get home. ”
In The village of Shegou in Zizhou County, villager Li Shengbin also chose to paint as a way to make a living in the 1970s. He studied with the famous local painter Gao Tuanhu, and then specially painted on the cabinet, becoming a national inheritor of the craftsmanship Danqing in northern Shaanxi.
Painting on the cabinet, Li Shengbin mostly uses the technique of flowers and birds. He uses the center line drawing and the high ancient gossamer stroke to shape the structure, first hooked and then dyed, and the color is bright and decorative. In the depiction of flowers and birds, through the white drawing modeling, outline and fill color, and then use the techniques of dyeing, cover dyeing, integrated dyeing, spot dyeing, dyeing, water collision, and color touching to depict the object, resulting in exquisite and moving visual effects, so that the picture comes to life.
Cabinet paintings, kang paintings, stove paintings... Over the years, these paintings have added a lot of vitality to the cave life, but also very practical: the stove painting can insulate the wall from moisture and facilitate the scrubbing of smoke and dust; the Kang painting makes the wall skin dense and wear-resistant, and the clothes will not be rubbed.
Gao Xiaoli, a teacher at the School of Humanities of Chang'an University, has traveled to northern Shaanxi many times to inspect the art of craftsmanship Danqing. She told reporters that the painting content of Danqing, a craftsman in northern Shaanxi, has changed with the times. Taking the box painting as an example, in the 1950s, the main paintings on the flower box cabinet were trains, Tiananmen, Suzhou and Hangzhou landscapes; from the 60s to the 70s, people painted flowers and birds on all four sides of the furniture with a red background or pure ink and black background, which appeared simple and elegant and meticulous; from the 90s onwards, it was replaced by simple hook edges, rubbings, etc.
In northern Shaanxi, folk painters like Ren Jinmin and Li Shengbin go to their homes all year round. "Picture world, categories of life", they inherit and carry forward the traditional Chinese Danqing skills, with brushes and paints to depict the lives of the villagers, turning the bland into colorful and beautiful, and the villagers also use this picture of lively and free images, decorating the home environment and expressing the willingness to pursue a better life.
Ancient Paintings:
A place where folk painters come in
Northern Shaanxi craftsmanship Danqing is a comprehensive inheritance and creative play of traditional Danqing skills by northern Shaanxi painters.
For two thousand years, painters in northern Shaanxi have left behind cultural relics such as painted pottery, painted bronzes, portrait stones, grotto painted sculptures, temple murals, and architectural algae ornaments in the special area where this desert meets the Loess Plateau.
In contemporary times, the craftsmanship of northern Shaanxi Danqing is mainly used in kangwei paintings, stove paintings, box paintings in household caves, deities in folk temples, murals, decorative paintings of artifacts, and paintings of classical architectural components.
With the development of social economy, flower kangwei and flower box cabinets were gradually replaced by tiles and paints, and the "livelihood" of painters in northern Shaanxi was reduced a lot. In the period of transformation, the biggest use of the craftsmanship Danqing in northern Shaanxi was the ancient Jiancai painting.
Northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing is extremely vivid and rich in style in architectural paintings.
For example, Que Ti, also known as HuaYazi, is one of the characteristic components of ancient Chinese architecture, and it is also a creative part that can best play a special role in the craftsmanship of Northern Shaanxi Danqing. On the bird in the Ansai Laoling Temple, there is a unique bird image, which is created by the painter according to daily observation, and the surrounding masses call it "fire sickle flower sparrow"; in a side hall of the Shenmu Xingwu Mountain Temple Group, the relief and painted "lion rolling hydrangea" on the bird substitute vividly and exaggeratedly portrays the posture of the lion throwing into the hydrangea ball, and the artistic effect of simplicity and arrogance and simplicity and freedom jumps in front of the eyes...
All of these reflect the organic integration of the art of northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing and the life of the masses, and also reflect the unique charm of northern Shaanxi craftsmanship Danqing.
According to reports, ancient Chinese paintings are usually updated every 20 or 30 years. This cyclical renewal gives generations of craftsmen the opportunity to participate in the creation and compete for talents.
After the 1980s, some of the ancient buildings that were destroyed have been restored. At the same time, the counties (cities, districts) in northern Shaanxi are competing to build cultural brands, and the government has invested in restoration and even built new scenic spots, such as the ancient buildings in Yulin Old Street and the New Century Square, which have provided a new stage for folk painters.
In 2005, Yulin Old Street was renovated, and Ren Jinmin played his strengths, spent a year creating northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing for the old buildings here, restored the Ming Dynasty style of Wenchang Pavilion, Drum Tower and Old Residential Building paintings in Yulin Old Street, making old street once again become the symbol and business card of Yulin.
Preserving the Heritage:
Let the craftsmanship of northern Shaanxi Bloom New Color
Wang Ningyu, a professor at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, has been in contact with northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing since the 1970s. In 2007, in his personal name, he inspected, sorted out and declared the Northern Shaanxi Craftsmanship Danqing Project- Northern Shaanxi Folk Craftsmen Painting Art, which entered the first batch of intangible cultural heritage list in Shaanxi Province.
In 2008, Northern Shaanxi Craftsman Danqing was successfully selected into the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In recent years, there have been 6 folk painters in northern Shaanxi, such as Li Shengbin, Ren Jinmin, Zheng Jinwang, and Zhang Yanzhen, who have been identified as the representative inheritors of the art of craftsmanship in northern Shaanxi at the national and provincial levels.
Most of the skill holders of Danqing, a craftsmanship in northern Shaanxi, are farmers, and the inheritance of skills includes internal family inheritance, master-apprentice inheritance, and self-taught talents. Among the craftsmanship families in Yulin City, there are 1 known to have been passed down for 9 generations, 1 for 8 generations, 2 for 5 generations, and more than 10 for 4 and 3 generations.
Sa Xiaohu, secretary general of the Shaanxi Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Association, introduced: "There are now more than 200 folk painters active in various parts of northern Shaanxi. We plan to establish a Danqing Transmission Base for Craftsmanship in Northern Shaanxi in Suide County, and strive to add 5 national-level inheritors and 6 provincial-level inheritors. ”
Intangible cultural heritage is folk, and the protection of danqing, a craftsmanship in northern Shaanxi, is a respect for cultural diversity and the creativity of the masses.
At present, The craftsman danqing in northern Shaanxi is facing a lot of difficulties. According to Sa Xiaohu, when repairing ancient buildings, the northern Shaanxi construction market favored the "Qing Dynasty official-style" architectural color works one-sidedly, and the craftsmanship of northern Shaanxi danqing, which was partial to the Ming Dynasty style, was greatly impacted. In addition, it is difficult for folk painters to receive projects due to the lack of qualification certificates issued by the housing department. There are fewer jobs, and it is difficult for painters to receive young apprentices.
To this end, Sa Xiaohu called on the housing and construction department to give an appropriate tilt to the craftsmanship danqing craftsmen in northern Shaanxi in terms of policy, so as to create a good market environment for folk painters. Wang Ningyu also believes that compared with the "Qing Dynasty official style", the "Yulin style" architectural paintings are more full of life and the content is more lively. He believes that only by respecting folk art and designing things can they conform to local traditions and have more vitality.
Wang Ningyu believes: "As long as the economy continues to develop, folk painters have a certain right to speak in the construction market, and the craftsmanship of northern Shaanxi Danqing will surely have a long history and shine." (Reporter Shi Nian)
Only this green
——Gao Xiaoli, associate professor of Chang'an University, talks about the craftsmanship of northern Shaanxi Danqing
Gao Xiaoli is reviewing the information (file photo). Reporter Shi Nian photographed
Gao Xiaoli, director of the Art Education Center of the School of Humanities of Chang'an University, has been paying attention to the craftsmanship of Danqing in northern Shaanxi for nearly 20 years. On March 9, at Chang'an University, through the analysis of the important art form of northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing - "Yulin style" architectural paint, she showed reporters the artistic charm of Northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing.
From 2007 to 2012, Gao Xiaoli conducted a systematic field investigation of Danqing, a craftsmanship within the scope of Yulin City, and visited 12 counties (cities and districts) from south to north, including Qingjian, Jia County, Zizhou, Mizhi, Suide, Wubao, Hengshan, Dingbian, Jingbian, Yuyang, Shenmu, and Fugu, with a total of more than 6,000 kilometers, inspected more than 50 local temples, houses and public buildings, interviewed more than 30 related painters, took more than 1,000 photos, and drew relevant line maps. A large number of vivid and informative inspection notes and reports have been accumulated.
In 2018, Gao Xiaoli's academic monograph "Yulin Style" in Traditional Architectural Paintings was published. The whole book takes the exploration of the cultural origin of the "Yulin-style" color works as the introduction, and through the detailed analysis of the functions and components of the "Yulin-style" architectural color works, summarizes the regional technical and cultural characteristics of the craftsmanship Danqing in northern Shaanxi, and makes a certain discussion on how to effectively protect them.
Gao Xiaoli introduced: "There are obvious differences in artistic styles between Danqing and Danqing, craftsmanship in northern Shaanxi. Shanxi's painted decorative techniques are more elaborate and delicate, while the northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing presents a unique rough and clumsy. The further north you go, the more prominent the artistic style of the northern Shaanxi craftsman Danqing Caizuo becomes. Moreover, the architectural paintings in Danqing, a craftsmanship in northern Shaanxi, sometimes look like children's paintings, but if you look closely, you will find that they contain the simple meaning unique to the region. ”
Influenced by border culture, in places close to Inner Mongolia, influenced by the Mongolian art decoration style, the color mix of Yulin painters will also change. They will use pure black as the background color in a large area of purlins, and decorate them with asphalt powder gold patterns on the leather strips of purlins and many specific architectural components such as ruyi cloud bayonets, pond heart patterns, column eyebrows, etc., presenting a magical and quiet, elegant and exquisite artistic style.
The production technology of Danqing, a craftsman in northern Shaanxi, has typical regional characteristics, which are manifested in the selection and production of materials for ground battles, the selection and production of pigments, the selection and production of painting tools, and the techniques of color painting. Gao Xiaoli introduced that because Yulin is located at the junction of the Loess Plateau and the grassland desert, painters usually use local materials and use the rich natural resources of the local area - gum loess as the raw material for the ground battle, and rarely use the "blood putty" used in the mainland color.
In addition, compared with other architectural paintings, the hue of Northern Shaanxi Craftsman Danqing is mostly turquoise, and local folk painters summarize it as "Green Scroll of Blue Head Flowers". Gao Xiaoli explains: "Yulin folk painters use these two colors, mainly because the turquoise color ground from mineral colors remains longer than other colors. In addition, this is also related to the aesthetic concept of the local folk painters themselves. Growing up on the vast and deep Loess Plateau, the Yulin people have a rugged, bold and robust personality, and like to decorate their monotonous living environment by using large areas of color, especially pure colors with relatively strong colors. ”
As Gao Xiaoli said, due to its unique geographical, historical and cultural factors, the craftsmanship of northern Shaanxi Danqing has a unique artistic background, coupled with the idea of adapting to local conditions, local materials, and eclectic artistic creation, forming an artistic style that is completely different from architectural paintings such as "official style" and "Su style", and has a profound impact on the development and research of Chinese architectural color works. (Reporter Shi Nian)