Jimu news reporter Cheng Yuxun
Video clip cheng Yuxun
Correspondent Cheng Bairong Xu Dafa
Intern Zhang Xuhong Wang Lizhu
More than 2,000 years ago, Jingchu craftsmen had ingenious skills, they relied on inheritance and research, with concentration and perseverance, to create one after another "heavy equipment of the country". In this era of rapid development of mechanized production, increasingly developed networks, and increasingly rare traditional crafts, the elderly Xiong Yinghua, who lives in Jiugongshan Town, Tongshan, Hubei Province, uses the most natural materials and the most simple heart to carve the beautiful yearning for life on wood.
In 1968, at the age of 18, Xiong Yinghua returned to the commune village brigade after graduating from high school as an excellent reserve talent. His family expected him to become a civil servant, eat "public meals" and receive a stable salary, but he had a fondness for wood carving since he was a child.
Starting from rough blanks, polishing and polishing, Xiong Yinghua quickly mastered a variety of carving techniques such as line carving, through carving, circular carving, and hollow carving, and for more than 50 years, Xiong Yinghua has long become a generation of art masters with both virtue and art. In May 2018, Xiong Yinghua was also officially named by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage Tongshan wood carving.
For a long time, he has cultivated the national non-hereditary inheritors
Just walked into the creative base of the old man Xiong Yinghua, the fragrance of the camphor tree is in the air, and many wood carving crafts and carving tools are overwhelmed. Xiong Yinghua is the representative inheritor of Tongshan wood carving in Hubei Province, born in 1951 in Jiugongshan Town, Tongshan County, the "hometown of wood carving".
Xiong Yinghua, who began learning wood carving at the age of 18, became a well-known local wood carving artist in just a few years. Through years of intensive research, Xiong Yinghua has mastered various carving techniques such as circular carving, relief carving, bas-relief carving, and hollow carving in the tradition of Tongshan wood carving, especially good at combining hollow carving and deep relief carving, and the various character shapes of carving are more vivid and realistic, with delicate workmanship and natural texture.
"I like to incorporate familiar folk stories into wood carving crafts. For example, King Wen visited Xian, Guan Gong sent his sister-in-law, Ping Gui Hui kiln, etc., all of which I carved in the form of wood carving, "Xiong Baohua, the old man, told the Jimu News reporter that the content of tongshan wood carving is all-encompassing, mainly based on traditional themes that the people like to hear, such as fishing tree cultivation, flowers, insects and birds, and various auspicious patterns, each of which is realistic and elegant.
Talking about his proud work, the elderly Xiong Baohua used mobile phone photos to share with us the wood carving work he created in 2020, "Sable Cicada Worship moon". The skill of flying skirts, floating clouds and lifelike faces is amazing. "The hardest of these are the open face carving, the hollow sculpture and the deep relief sculpture." Xiong Yinghua introduced that the "Sable Cicada Moon Worship" took more than 100 days to complete, and has now been included in the exhibition and treasure of the Tongshan County Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum.
Teach by example, so that the intangible cultural heritage skills will be followed by others
In the eyes of outsiders, family skills should be "passed on to men and not to women" and "passed on inside and not outside". However, Xiong Yinghua has his own understanding of inheritance, he believes that his daughter and apprentice are also successors, and the skills and essence of Tongshan wood carving need more people to pass it on, and carry it forward, integrate it into the daily life of the people, and serve economic and social development.
Under xiong Yinghua's unremitting efforts, more and more people are learning tongshan wood carving. For more than 30 years, he has personally taught nearly 70 apprentices, and these young disciples have not only spread the skills of Tongshan wood carving to all parts of the country, but also provided a platform and opportunity for more people to increase their economic income. Nowadays, most of the apprentices have developed in Hainan, Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan and other places, and many of their wood carving works are collected by enthusiasts in Taiwan, Singapore and other places.
Under the guidance of his father, Xiong Baoxing also began to learn wood carving skills. Her father's lifelong pursuit of wood carving art deeply influenced her, and the diligent Xiong Baoxing was successfully admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and in 2014, she was present at the "Sino-Russian Love Jingchufeng" Hubei Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition held in Moscow, the capital of Russia
In 2019, Hubei Province held the "Hubei Craftsman Cup" Excellent SkillEd Talents Micro Film (Micro Video) Competition, and the documentary "Wood Carved Bear" filmed by Ge Chifei won the second prize, the best sound effect award, and the best popularity award. The documentary tells the story of Xiong Yinghua, the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage Tongshan wood carving, who has been passing on the intangible cultural heritage skills for many years. Tongshan wood carving, this "embroidery on wooden boards", has also been seen by more people.
Pioneering and innovative, with cultural business cards to promote industrial development
Xiong Yinghua is more than a rare person, and the non-genetic inheritance, innovative development and industrial promotion of Jiugong wood carving are the topics that run through Xiong Yinghua's life, and it is the cause that he has used a lifetime of energy, a lifetime of talent, and all his emotional investment.
"My father is the heir, and so am I, and the heir should have the responsibility of the heir." Xiong Baoxing introduced that Tongshan wood carving has not completely got rid of the old sales road of customer word of mouth or furniture factory customization, and in order to form industrial development, it is necessary to innovate the marketing model. Therefore, they plan to truly revitalize the cultural business card of Tongshan wood carving through the "Tongshan Wood Carving National Non-genetic Inheritance Base".
Two buildings, a yard, more than 900 square meters. Under the leadership of Xiong Baoxing, the reporter had the honor to visit the "Tongshan Wood Carving National Non-genetic Inheritance Base" under construction. "We have not only planned and designed the exhibition area, but also set up a handicraft experience platform for citizens and tourists to participate in handicraft and experience the charm of wood carving." Xiong Baoxing knows very well that it is not two or three years of hard work to make an industry bigger, and to run this base well is to make Tongshan wood carving really go out.
Also under the influence of his grandfather, Xiong Baoxing's son also decided to return to his hometown to learn wood carving skills after graduating next year. Xiong Baoxing said that he believes that young people with the addition of Internet thinking and new media technology, through new marketing forms such as live streaming and online stores, will surely revitalize the sales channels of intangible cultural heritage products, make traditional crafts last for a long time, and let intangible cultural heritage and its intellectual achievements be preserved, developed, and combined with modern civilization.
Nowadays, with the continuous support and attention of the state to the cultural industry, wood carving artists have a broader creative space and a stage to display their skills. Xiong Yinghua's father and daughter Ren will continue to strive for excellence in wood carving creation, and wood carving, an artistic wonder that blooms in Jiugongshan Town, will continue to bloom in the long river of years.