Walk the canal and see the ecology
Ancient pottery tells the memory of the canal; modern pottery balls continue the context of the canal; the production experience is vivid and interesting... Jin Baozheng, the main disseminator of provincial intangible cultural heritage and carved pottery ball clay sculpture craft, built the Grand Canal Pottery Culture Museum on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dongguang County, and carved a piece of laterite out of the "flower". Today, the Pottery Museum is a cultural punching place along the Grand Canal.
The memory of the canal bursts into view
Pottery bristles similar to Ding, pottery scales that are almost inseparable from iron scales, pen holders, ashtrays, lamps... All are fired from clay. Walking into the Toko Grand Canal Pottery Culture Museum, the ancient pottery is engraved with time imprints, which is dazzling.
Jin Baozheng, the owner of the museum, said that pottery has been made in ancient times, and human beings invented pottery when they invented fire. From ancient times to the present, pottery from building materials bricks and tiles, daily necessities pots and pots, to sacrificial supplies pottery figurines, playing with teaching aids impressions, handicraft carved pottery balls, etc., involving all aspects of people's lives. Pottery production along the Grand Canal has a long history, and pottery products along the canal are transported to all parts of the country through the canal. Many of the pottery in the museum contain memories of the canal, and visitors can deeply feel the rich cultural heritage of the Grand Canal.
Stepping into the pottery ball and impression exhibition area, the "painting style" suddenly changes. Here, the land of acrobatics, the iron lion of Zhenhai, the hometown of the poetry... 10 pottery balls with different patterns are combined together to vividly display Cangzhou's "Top Ten Cultural Business Cards". Over there, in the carved pottery ball pattern, the meandering canal water, the layers of rammed dams, the tree-lined river embankments, stop and look at the details, and the majestic Xiejiaba Jump into your mind. Further on, the small impression hides "Qiankun", and the characters of "Journey to the West" and the zodiac signs are vivid.
Born into a pottery family, the 55-year-old Jin Baozheng is the main disseminator of provincial intangible cultural heritage and The clay sculpture craft of Toko carved pottery balls. For more than 20 years, he has collected more than 5,000 pieces of ancient pottery along the canal while inheriting the carved pottery ball clay sculpture process. With the advancement of the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt in our city, in 2019, Jin Baozheng built the Grand Canal Pottery Culture Museum on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dongguang County. He told reporters that every piece of pottery in the Pottery Culture Museum is a microcosm of the Grand Canal culture, and he wants to pass on the canal story behind it to more people.
The intangible cultural heritage classes are lively and interesting
"Everyone listened carefully to me, and after the visit, they had to answer the questions." Every time tourists come to visit, Jin Baozheng has to assign a task to people.
"Grandpa, why are these two pottery balls different in color?" A girl asked. Jin Baozheng introduced: "The one with a slightly red color is made of red glue clay along the canal; the one with white color is made of foreign soil." The soil along the canal is very delicate, and the pottery balls made are beautiful in color and not easy to crack. In addition to this difference, the pattern on the pottery ball is different, and the content reflected is also different. Look closely, is the pattern on this pottery ball like the number '1500' and the word 'Cangzhou'? These 10 pottery balls were all made in 2017 to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of the founding of Cangzhou. These pottery balls are not ordinary ornaments, not only recording the years of Cangzhou with special significance, but also integrating the canal culture, each of which is a work of art. ”
After visiting the museum, Jin Baozheng distributed a study report to visitors. "Tao Ding is an ancient cooking utensil, generally three feet and two ears." "Flutter full, also known as money bucket, piggy bank, is a container for storing coins." Some people asked each other, some ran to the exhibits to find answers, and they were full of interest.
In order to let visitors experience the fun of pottery ball making for themselves, Jin Baozheng specially built an experience hall next to the museum. "First grab a piece of mud into a hollow ball, pinch out a few sides, then print your own genus on each side with a small seal, hang a tassel on the bottom to decorate it, and a mini pottery ball is completed." The production process introduced by Jin Baozheng sounds simple, but it is not so easy to do it. How can I divide several noodles evenly? How to engrave the texture shades? He kept answering questions for tourists.
In the past two years, the state has advocated the living inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, and Jin Baozheng has sprouted new ideas. He wants to build the Grand Canal Pottery Culture Museum into a non-genetic inheritance classroom, so that people can inherit the intangible cultural heritage in the visiting experience and feel the profundity of China's excellent culture.
A piece of dirt carved out of the "flower"
"When did the carved pottery ball originate?" How is it made? Every year when I go to Beijing to participate in the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition at the Foot of the Great Wall", many people come to Jin Baozheng's booth to inquire.
Over time, Jin Baozheng felt that the ancient pottery and carved pottery balls collected over the years should not be placed in the house. As the most distinctive intangible cultural heritage along the canal, how can pottery culture be innovated and passed on to the public? It is his original intention to collect ancient pottery and inherit the carving pottery ball clay sculpture process for many years.
The delicate red glue mud on the banks of the Grand Canal, after many days of exposure, after drying, the injected water is stirred into a mud, and then filtered out the impurities to dry and cook, and the soft red glue mud can be "shaped". Next, after carving, drying, and firing, pottery balls, impressions and mud whistles are driven by the family to sell them. Recalling the scene where the whole family worked tirelessly around the mud, Jin Baozheng still remembers it vividly. Over the years, the family's adherence to this old craft, in addition to making a living, is also a nostalgia for canal culture. In particular, his father often told him the words: "The skills handed down over the years must not be lost."
"Old Jin played with mud and played 'devilish'." Over the years, not only family, but also colleagues and friends around me have said so. During the long vacation, Jin Baozheng went to collect ancient pottery in other places. The holidays are short, and they are surrounded by the surrounding antique market. But whenever he was a little free, he would sit at home and make pottery balls. In 2013, the carved pottery ball clay sculpture process was rated as a provincial intangible cultural heritage, and the belief in Jin Baozheng's inheritance was even stronger.
"Tao qiu should not only inject cultural heritage, but also reflect real life. The combination of traditional culture and local culture is a successful work. "In the design of carved pottery balls, Jin Baozheng integrates a number of intangible cultural heritage works such as paper-cutting, wood carving, stone carving, etc., and the pattern pattern has reached more than 3,000 kinds. Today, he can not only make large pottery balls with a diameter of more than 70 centimeters and cut-out pottery balls with six or seven layers, but also develop a variety of practical pottery balls such as pottery ball pen holders, aromatherapy, ashtrays and so on. At present, the Pottery Museum has a total collection of more than 10,000 kinds of ancient pottery and modern pottery, and is applying for the Guinness Book of World Records. Jin Baozheng said that he wanted to carve out a "flower" out of a piece of laterite clay, so that the Pottery Culture Museum would become a cultural punching card on the banks of the Grand Canal, so that the pottery culture of the Grand Canal would continue to live and be passed down from generation to generation.
Source: Cangzhou Daily
Reporter: Qi Jie
Correspondent: Zhu Linlin Meng Yue
Photography: Chen Lei