As an important part of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, jade carving culture carries a rich historical and cultural connotation.
In China's first documentary film showing the art of jade carving, "Dagong Chopping Jade", which is currently being released, the audience can see the birth process of a series of jade carving artworks, appreciate the magical charm of jade carving, and feel the unique "jade road" of Chinese civilization.
At the same time, the film uses the unique artistic language of documentary film to show the artistic life of Cui Lei, a master of Shanghai-style jade carving and the inheritor of national intangible cultural heritage.
At the beginning of the film, Cui Lei's artistic context and inheritance story are told with relaxed brushstrokes, leading the audience to feel the mental journey of the master's life.
Through Cui Lei's experience and perception of "recognizing" jade, "carving" jade, "playing" jade, and then "creating" jade, the skills of jade carving, a national intangible cultural heritage, and the joys, sorrows, and sorrows of inheritors are closely displayed:
Cui Lei went from his ignorance and love for art in his childhood, to the hard study of art in his youth, and then to becoming a leader in Shanghai-style jade carving, his artistic road was full of ups and downs and persistence.
Cui Lei, who has been attacking jade for 30 years, also summed up the sixteen methods of jade, which have benefited many later scholars.
In an exclusive interview with a reporter from the morning newspaper, Cui Lei, who was born in Tianjin and now lives in Shanghai, told about his fate with Shanghai.
As early as 1993, Cui Lei got the admission letter from Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, but he was worried that his family had no money to study.
At that time, there was a jade carving studio in Shanghai to recruit people, Cui Lei thought that he had learned ivory and jade, and he could make up enough tuition for the first year, so he came to Shanghai Tang with "newborn calves are not afraid of tigers".
"After coming over, I felt that it was fate, and I found that I could control it very well, and it would not be very tiring and relaxed, so I felt that this profession was very suitable for me, so I didn't want to change it. ”
Cui Lei, who has been living in Shanghai for many years, is very grateful to this big city for its inclusiveness, and the meaning of "Shanghai style" lies in this.
"In the Shanghai jade carving group, each individual retains a sense of existence. What kind of creation you want to do in this place, do what you think is beautiful, we will accept you and applaud you. And then I made something completely different from you, and everyone can accept it. Therefore, these most powerful masters in China now, each of them has their own studio, their own style, their own aesthetic points, their own technical expression, and everyone can be integrated in one city, which is very good. For example, the exchange of technology or art is not an assimilation exchange, but I understand what you do, I appreciate what you do, but my design direction and creative direction may be the opposite of your direction, and there is diversity, which is very rare. ”
At the premiere of "Dagong Chopping Jade", according to film producer Sun Guangyang, "Dagong Chopping Jade" has won many honors at domestic and foreign film festivals, such as being shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Golden Angel Award at the 19th Sino-American Film Festival and the Red Maple Leaf Award at the 11th Vancouver International Chinese Film Festival.
Director Zhang Weidong said that he hopes that through this documentary, more people will understand and pay attention to the traditional art form of jade carving and feel its unique charm. At the same time, we also hope that through the story of Master Cui Lei, the jade carving culture will be presented to audiences at home and abroad who love Chinese culture and art, so that the world can understand Chinese stories and let Chinese culture go to the world.
In the jade carving industry, Cui Lei hopes that traditional culture can be preserved by history and remembered by time in the contemporary or future generations, so the best way is to let it participate in life, "Let each generation of young people know what jade carving is, what is the root culture of Chinese tradition, this is particularly important, jade can go to the big screen, is a channel to the life of all people, to the world stage." ”