Original title: "Marching China" Research Trip Vitality Gansu|Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance, Beginning with Love and Ending with Perseverance
People's Daily Online "March China" Gansu Research and Interview Group
You Luping is concentrating on making clay sculptures. Photo by People's Daily Online Li Gen
Dressed in a light-colored cotton and linen Chinese short coat, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, and holding a wooden sculpture knife, he stood firmly in front of the workbench.
His name is You Luping, the non-genetic inheritor of Dunhuang color sculpture skills. Less than 30 years old, he has participated in the restoration and replication of painted sculptures in Mogao Grottoes and Yulin Grottoes many times.
Scraping, pressing...... A clay sculpture of three groups of people has begun to take shape.
"On the left are the cave workers, and on the right are the painters and sculptors, all of whom have made the Mogao Grottoes brilliant." As he spoke, You Luping's work in his hands was not delayed for a moment.
Talking about why he studied sculpture and why he was able to persist on this path, You Luping smiled shyly: "I'm doing something I like."
Because of his love for the excellent traditional Chinese culture, You Luping began to contact, understand and learn sculpture. After visiting the Mogao Grottoes, he felt the charm of Dunhuang colored sculptures, and You Luping worshiped Du Yongwei, the intangible inheritor of Dunhuang colored sculptures, as his teacher, and began to learn the skills of Dunhuang colored sculptures.
"Now there will be no more cave statues, but the spirit of Dunhuang craftsmen can be continued, and the techniques formed by generations of craftsmen who have been continuously improved and innovated need to be inherited and carried forward." Du Yongwei, who is over sixty years old, talks about the Dunhuang colored sculptures with a look of respect.
From the age of 17 to be admitted to the Dunhuang Academy of Fine Arts Research Institute, under the tutelage of Mr. Sun Jiyuan to learn sculpture, to independently undertake the copying and restoration of Dunhuang statues, and then to become the representative inheritor of Gansu Province's intangible cultural heritage Dunhuang color sculpture skills, Chinese arts and crafts masters, Du Yongwei rooted in Dunhuang for more than 40 years, deeply love this skill, "people who love traditional art are seedlings, as long as they take root and grow, they will grow into towering trees." ”
Du Yongwei briefed reporters on the situation of the craftsman village. Photo by People's Daily reporter Wang Jinxue
"The hidden hands in the market inherit the thousand-year-old Dunhuang stunts, and the famous teachers in the park continue a kind of Mogao spirit", the couplet at the entrance of the Mogaoli Artisan Village writes the ideal of Du Yongwei inheriting the intangible cultural heritage. Six years ago, he came to this village, which is only more than 10 kilometers away from the Mogao Grottoes, and with the support of local policies, based on the original pattern of the ancient village, he built it into a multi-functional training base integrating Dunhuang cultural lecture hall, mural calligraphy study, art design, colored sculpture and mural production teaching, and seal carving art, and continued to participate in the rescue, protection, inheritance and innovation of Dunhuang's intangible cultural heritage.
Masons, carpenters, caverners, blacksmiths, painters, sculptors, painters, etc...... There is a row of glass display cases in the artisan village, displaying groups of craftsmen of different shapes.
"The height of this row of display cases is about 80 centimeters, and some adult tourists complained that it was difficult to bend down to watch, hoping to raise the cabinets, but I refused." Du Yongwei said, "There are many children who come to study every year, and this height allows them to see it really." I hope that through watching and learning, they can better understand the birth process of China's excellent traditional culture and the difficulty of making intangible cultural heritage. ”
The display case is designed to fit the height of the child, and adults need to bend down to look at it. Photo by People's Daily Online Li Gen
In addition to carrying out research, Du Yongwei and his apprentices also started live video. You Luping said: "Every time I make a work, I shoot a video. Some people will ask if Dunhuang colored sculptures can be learned, how long to learn, and whether it is difficult, and this kind of communication is also a kind of communication. Up to now, many people have watched the video to experience and learn Dunhuang colored sculptures. ”
"Through the video, I still have to accept a foreign apprentice." Du Yongwei said with a smile that a Thai graduate student named Chen Jinghao watched the video of himself making colored sculptures, contacted him, and is currently working hard to learn Chinese, preparing to come to Dunhuang to learn art within the year.
"We are turning ourselves into exhibits, which is called living inheritance, and every creative process is presented publicly, which is a good way to disseminate and pass on." Talking about the newly awarded honor "The First Batch of Rural Craftsmen in the Country" in April this year, Du Yongwei smiled indifferently. "For me, this is not only an affirmation of me personally, but also a praise for the artisan community, and the importance and promotion of intangible cultural heritage." Du Yongwei hopes that the honor given by the state will enable more people to ignite their interest in intangible cultural heritage, join in the inheritance and protection of intangible cultural heritage, and continuously expand the team of intangible cultural heritage talents.
This sculpture, which pays tribute to the ancient craftsmen, will be installed at the entrance of the craftsman village when it is completed, welcoming visitors from all over the world. Photo by People's Daily Li Gen (the work is titled "Dunhuang Craftsman")
After the interview, say goodbye. You Luping picked up the sculpture knife and continued to work.
Outside, the roar of construction can be heard in the distance. According to the planning of Dunhuang City, in the future, the surrounding area of Mogaoli Artisan Village will be expanded into an art tribe, which will effectively integrate Dunhuang cultural elements with rural tourism, attract a group of intangible cultural heritage inheritors, traditional craftsmen and artists to settle in, and continue to carry forward the classic skills left by the ancestors with the love for China's excellent traditional culture. (Liu Hong, Wang Jinxue, Xu Donger, Tang Jiayi, Li Gen, Wang Shaoshao, Zhao Wen, Huang Jinxiaohu)