Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1770: Advancing with the Times

"If the kid hadn't reminded me, I would have looked through the books on lacquerware published in recent years and really overlooked this area." Mr. Wang couldn't help but sigh: "There are so many new archaeological discoveries now, but everyone is still staying in the old rut and not introducing these new discoveries and new research. This is a bit inappropriate."

"Let's talk about lacquerware, starting from the Hemudu red lacquer wooden bowls, to the Majiabang trumpet-shaped bases, to the Liangzhu culture's geometric black pottery red lacquer jars, red lacquer inlaid white jade cups, to the Shang and Zhou dynasties' inlaid mother-of-pearl lacquer jars, to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States thin-bodied and ramie-clad colored lacquerware, to the Qin Dynasty's black-ground red-patterned lacquerware, to the Han Dynasty's piled lacquer, painted bells and beams, Tang Dynasty's zithers, mirrors, ramie-clad seated Buddhas, Five Dynasties' sutra boxes, Song Dynasty's tea utensils, mother-of-pearl, gold-inlaid, piled-red, and rhinoceros-carved lacquer boxes, and statues."

"During the Yuan Dynasty, lacquer carving and gold inlay techniques developed greatly, and gold inlay crafts were very popular in the island countries, and most of them went there."

"In the Ming Dynasty, gold inlay had reached its peak, and in addition to rhinoceros horn carving and red carving, lacquer carving also developed more complex color carving and black carving."

"In this period, inlaid gold developed into carved and filled lacquerware, which means that after filling with colored lacquer or drawing patterns, the inlaid gold technique is used to reflect the outline or texture of the pattern. This technique is naturally much more gorgeous and noble than the pure inlaid gold technique of simply filling gold with inlaid scratches without colored patterns."

"This colorful lacquer box with a double dragon playing with a pearl inlaid with gold is a product of the development of carving and filling in lacquerware to a considerable level." Mr. Wang handed the lacquer box to the host Wang: "It was not until the Ming Dynasty that it was invented."

"So the craftsmanship of ancient my country has been improving and developing." Host Wang asked: "This is also the key to determining the age of artifacts? Right, Mr. Wang?"

"It is the key, but the most important thing is that we must understand the internal logic of the ancient craftsmanship," the old man said. "The example the child gave me is very good. He said that it is just like ancient mathematics. The ancients used the mathematical knowledge and tools known at the time to solve very profound mathematical problems through ingenious ideas and exquisite methods. For example, Zu Chongzhi's son Zu Geng inherited Liu Hui's ideas and used the ingenious idea of ​​the square lid of the Mou box to solve the problem of calculating the volume of a sphere."

"The same is true of ancient craftsmanship. Take porcelain for example. How could people create artistic treasures that are still unattainable with electric kilns and chemical glazes even though the clay is not fine enough, the glaze is not pure enough, and the temperature control is not precise enough? This is the role of people."

"In addition to domestic lacquerware, I think if I were to rewrite the "Explanation of Lacquerware Records", I would definitely include a separate chapter on foreign lacquerware." Mr. Wang said: "The Japanese Maki-e and Goryeo mother-of-pearl inlay are both derived from traditional Chinese lacquer art, but they have also blossomed in both countries and have extremely high artistic value."

"The historical records of the island country show that the island country accepted the lacquer art of the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China from Korea during the Asuka period, and learned a variety of lacquerware techniques in the Tang Dynasty. In the ninth year of Chunxi in the Song Dynasty, Chen Heqing, a famous lacquerware craftsman from eastern Zhejiang, crossed the sea to the east and brought lacquer carving techniques with him."

"Goryeo was more influenced by China, and in terms of mother-of-pearl inlay, tortoise shell inlay, and gold and silver wire ring inlay, it even developed to the point of exporting to China."

After saying that, he took out two exquisite small boxes from his pocket, each as big as a medicine bottle, one had a light brown background covered with golden threads like reeds, and the other was inlaid with peony patterns using luminous shells and tortoise shells, both were extremely beautiful.

"Is this the island country's Maki-e and Goryeo inlay?" asked host Wang.

"Yes." The old man said as he gently shook the small Maki-e box, and a "chi chi chi" sound immediately came out from inside.

"Oh my? You're raising katydids?" Host Wang was shocked. "Which dynasty is this from? Isn't this a bit extravagant, old man?"

The old man smiled mischievously, opened the box, and poured out a plastic stick that looked like chewing gum. "This is a toy designed for me by a kid, a modern craft. They said that I am too old to go to the city wall to look for katydids anymore, so I have this to satisfy my craic."

"Aren't we just talking about Maki-e and Goryeo mother-of-pearl inlay? I remembered that I just happened to have two small samples on me, and I could show you what they look like." Host Wang imitated the old man and shook the mother-of-pearl inlaid box. Immediately, a "jia jia jia" sound came out of the box. The sound was also very pleasant, but very different from before.

I tried to open the box and found another small plastic stick inside with a small speaker on the top, a plug on the butt, and several electronic buttons on the side.

"Hey! This is high-tech!"

"The one just now was a leech, and this one is called Jie'er," said Mr. Wang very proudly. "I recorded all of them from a few friends who raise good insects. Isn't it fun?"

These two boxes are gifts that Zhou Zhi brought to the old man. It is not accurate to call them modern handicrafts. They should be called modern times. However, in the old man's eyes, modern times are almost the same as modern times. After all, as a country with great craftsmanship, China has a very long history of lacquerware.

Later, he heard that the old man was still catching crickets under the wall of Xiannongtan Temple at such an old age. Zhou Zhi thought it was no big deal, so he customized two small MP3 players with type-c interfaces to entertain the old man.

As the saying goes, old people become younger as they get older. Mr. Wang, who has always been playful since he was a child and can now type on a computer, became familiar with this thing in a few seconds. He recorded "steel sounds" at his friends' homes in East City and West City, and then took them to his friends who didn't know the truth to scare them. He had a lot of fun playing with it.

"So, our ancestors said it well, keep pace with the times." Mr. Wang concluded: "We should do the same when we study."

In fact, the interview is almost over here. The old man is too knowledgeable, so the interview method is just to talk about what comes to mind. Anyway, the old man talked about a lot of things, and we can make one or two episodes by just editing them. This way of shooting is more natural.

It was already the end of the program, and the host Wang said to Grandpa Wang: "Grandpa, what about the Mouhe Fanggai you just mentioned, are there any examples of it in our domestic cultural relics? We may also take some photos while we sort out the materials to enrich the content of the program."

"This is quite common on square bronze vessels from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Many square Yi, square Ding, and square Lei have similar lids." Old Master Wang said with a smile, "Hey, why don't you go collect materials for the Fang Lei? This is something that the public doesn't know about yet, so it's pretty big news."

"Really? Then please elaborate on it, old man." Host Wang did not expect that he had captured a good material with just one sentence, and quietly gestured for the camera to continue filming.

"It is a bronze vessel from the late Shang Dynasty. It got its name because of the inscription on the mouth of the vessel, which reads '皿而全作父己尊沂'. It should have been called 皿方沂, but this was the naming method for bronze vessels during the Republic of China period, so it was named 皿方罍."

"So this is a bronze artifact that was discovered very early?" asked host Wang.

"Yes, it was in Taoyuan County, Hunan Province in 1919. According to the Taoyuan County Annals, in the eighth year of the Republic of China, Ai Qingyan, a farmer from Shuitian Township, dug up an ancient tripod while farming at the foot of Maoshan Valley. He didn't know what it was."