When we think of lacquer, the first impression may be that of the old yellowed furniture, exuding a simple and heavy texture.
But lacquer is not only a practical product, it is also a treasure of traditional Chinese culture, a unique natural paint, containing infinite charm.
But it's unbelievable that it's "too durable" nowadays has become "unwanted", why is that?
Harvested from dense forests and tempered for thousands of years
Lacquer, also known as natural lacquer or raw lacquer, is the natural sap collected from the lacquer tree.
As early as the Neolithic Age, more than 7,000 years ago, ancestors began to use lacquer to bind and decorate tools and utensils.
In many provinces in southern China, such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places, there are a large number of canyon forests suitable for the growth of lacquer.
Collecting lacquer is a labor-intensive task.
Collectors should wear simple equipment such as hats, waterproof clothing, and belts, and go deep into the dense forest and old tree areas in the mountains at an altitude of 500-1,500 meters, and carefully use sharp knives to carefully draw a zigzag "lacquer mouth" on the trunk of the tree to make the sap slowly seep out.
These fresh lacquers are pale yellow or reddish in color, and the surface slowly oxidizes to a dark brown color, giving off a unique fragrance that is characteristic of good lacquer.
The collected lacquer is also mixed with impurities such as bark and dust, and needs to go through multiple processing steps.
First, fine silk is used to filter and remove impurities, and then the water is removed by distillation, exposure, stirring and other methods to accelerate the polymerization reaction of the resin, so that it slowly thickens from the liquid and the color will become darker.
This is called "cooked lacquer" and can be used in the painting process when the temperature is slightly cooler.
The mainland's original lacquer processing technique is called "lacquer method".
Craftsmen will use a stone mill to crush the cooked lacquer, and then mix it with sawdust, straw ash and other materials to boil, repeatedly pound and mix until there are no bubbles, and the light can be seen.
This raw lacquer, which is concentrated many times, is called "lacquer".
It has a stronger tinting power and can apply a thicker and smoother paint film, making it an excellent choice for making high-end lacquerware.
The mainland has a long history of lacquer processing, and a unique school of lacquer technology has been formed in various places.
For example, the "mulberry paint" of Sangzhi in Hunan Province has a mild color and luster, bright and thorough, the "Yibin paint" in Yibin, Sichuan Province has an elegant "jade red" tone, and the "Zunyi paint" in Zunyi, Guizhou Province has a delicate and heavy texture.
Because of their unique texture and color, these local lacquers are highly sought after by collectors and conservators.
The collection and processing of lacquer are manual operations, which are complex and labor-intensive, and at the same time have extremely high requirements for the collection environment and quality control.
This makes truly high-quality lacquer very rare and expensive.
However, it is precisely because of the unique ecological attributes and excellent performance that the lacquer and lacquer process will become the treasure of the Chinese nation and are known as the "Oriental Plastic".
If you want to experience the craftsmanship of your ancestors, you might as well try painting.
But I'll let me tell you in advance, this is a university question, and you're not just going to have a brush and a bucket of paint in front of you.
Lacquer painting may seem simple, but it is a complex process that requires exquisite craftsmanship.
The black wood furniture we commonly use is the result of lacquer coating.
These antique old objects, after decades of wind and sun, the lacquer surface still glows with a warm luster.
The most basic tool for applying lacquer is a paint brush.
This kind of brush should be made of ponytail or human hair, and after repeated washing and rubbing, it can be made into soft and fine bristles, so as to paint a paint surface without pits and marks.
These bristles must not dry out when starched repeatedly, otherwise they will have to be replaced with new brushes and start over.
The lacquer should be applied very gently, as too much force will leave scratches on the wood, and too light will not form a uniform film.
Therefore, the painting should be repeated until the feel is mastered.
More importantly, it is important to control the direction, sequence and interval of application, which is related to the thickness of the paint and the uniformity of the texture.
Each lacquer is left to be half dry before being gently polished, and then the next one is applied, and so on many times.
The tables, chairs, and utensils inside the house should be painted 10-15 times, and the fine handicrafts should be painted 20-30 times.
When it accumulates to a certain thickness, it can be sanded and polished to form a polishing surface that can be seen in the light.
The mainland lacquer coating has formed the craft school of "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea".
This comes from the floating posture of the eight immortals in the folk paintings, alluding to the appearance of the lacquer workers as their brushes fly when they apply.
This technique can paint a thick and smooth lacquer surface, and the texture of the hair marks is faintly visible, which is beautiful.
The unique charm of lacquer application comes from its strong adhesion to the wood and the effect of changing colors.
After application, the lacquer can have a strong chemical reaction with the tannic acid in the wood, so that the paint film is firmly embedded in the surface of the wood for eternity.
At the same time, lacquer handicrafts will show rich color levels under the change of light and angle.
With a little depth in the dark, and a mirror refraction in strong light, this unique visual experience and texture is difficult to achieve with any synthetic paint, and it shows the extraordinary charm of raw lacquer application.
Its unique artistic value has also made the lacquer craft listed among the world's intangible cultural heritage.
Fire and water do not invade, and poisons do not invade?
However, in the face of the excellent performance of lacquer, we can't help but ask, what is this sacred?
What makes lacquer unique is the amazing properties of its main ingredient, urushiol.
This is a class of natural styrene compounds that can polymerize with free radicals under air contact to form a stable three-dimensional network structure.
It's like a giant "chemical cobweb" that securely wraps around the surface of the smear.
This unique molecular structure gives the cured paint film extremely high mechanical strength, light stability and corrosion resistance.
Scientific tests have shown that the water resistance of raw lacquer is 3-5 times that of high-quality acrylic paint, and the bending and impact resistance is far superior to that of ordinary paints and varnishes.
Because of this, raw lacquer will be known as "water and fire do not invade, and all poisons do not invade".
Lacquer is also very useful in practical applications.
In ancient times, the mainland developed a seafaring industry, and many large wooden ships were painted with lacquer, making the hull light and durable.
These "lacquer boats" are as light as goose feathers, but they can cross the ocean.
Chang Yun, an official of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, took a lacquer ship to Japan, and crossed the sea for more than 10,000 miles, which is still a good story.
Many ancient lacquerware unearthed in the mainland have been exposed to wind and sun for more than 1,000 years, and still maintain their original luster.
Among them, the three towers of Chongsheng Temple in Dali, Yunnan Province unearthed the Tang Dynasty gold and silver lacquer four gods Jingzuo, the lacquer at the bottom of the Jingzuo is only slightly cracked, and the gold and silver lacquer is still shining.
This undoubtedly demonstrates the excellent weather resistance of lacquer.
In addition to being durable, the lacquer coating is also very aesthetically appealing, with rich layers and color variations.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial craftsmen took advantage of this characteristic and carefully combined gold and silver powder with raw lacquer to paint lacquerware with brilliant luster and magnificence, which was loved by the imperial family.
When the burial lacquerware was unearthed 2,000 years later, it was still recognizable, and the raw lacquer penetrated into the weaving made the clothes waterproof and insect-proof......
It is precisely because of these extraordinary characteristics of lacquer that in ancient times, the wives and concubines who could keep a complete set of lacquered furniture were very good daughters-in-law.
You see, this lacquer is really not an idle person!
Why is it that lacquer, which can be called a peerless longevity, is becoming less and less common in people's homes today? The reason for this, in a word, is really ...... That's great!
It does not need to be maintained after use, and its life is very tough
Yes, the ultra-long service life has become a "dead hole" that raw lacquer is not welcomed.
Compared with new products such as plastics, raw lacquer, which is an "honest" thing, may not be able to stand up for a lifetime, and cannot be eliminated and replaced as frequently as FMCG, so the market demand is naturally limited.
In addition, the source of raw lacquer is limited, either picked in the mountains or artificially raised, which can be described as a labor-intensive industry.
A pound of high-quality lacquer, to say the least, also requires "a thousand knives" to have.
This price, in the homes of ordinary people, is really a little extravagant.
Of course, there is another point, the small "toxicity" of lacquer also makes many people daunting.
Ingredients such as urushiol can cause allergies and, in severe cases, blisters, which require the painter to either desensitize them for a long time or rely on drugs to survive.
For various reasons, raw lacquer gradually withdrew from the field of vision of ordinary people, and became an example that only old shops and cultural relics restorers would deal with.
This ancient and unique skill is now facing the dilemma of breaking the dynasty, but fortunately, in recent years, the Chinese people's attention to traditional culture has increased.
Faced with the risk of being lost, some volunteers set up studios on their own, hoping to pass on the lacquer craft.
They even tried to make creative goods out of lacquer, helping it find a foothold in modern society.
On the other hand, natural paints and plastic alternatives similar to lacquer are also quietly emerging.
These new materials combine the advantages of lacquer and avoid its disadvantages, and may gradually replace lacquer in the future and become the new favorite for the protection of cultural relics and the production of handicrafts.
With the development of technology and the inheritance of culture, we look forward to the revival of lacquer craft in modern times, and its unique charm deserves to be discovered, appreciated and applied by more people.
Resources
菏泽日报，山东手造·创艺菏泽 | 传承创新中绽放“大漆”之美2023-10-10
Shanxi Pictorial, "Intangible Cultural Heritage" Guo Ximei's Lacquer Art Story - Keeping Pace with the Times, Keeping Integrity and Innovation2022-07-19
Hunan Museum, Nie Fei, Examining the Inheritance and Variation of the Functional Craftsmanship of Lacquerware in the Early Han Dynasty from the Tombs of Western Han Dynasty Nobles in Hunan: Also on the Origin of Lacquerware in the Early Han Dynasty in Hunan
What is lacquer One minute lets you know more about lacquer