The Immortal Road of Rebirth

Chapter 22 Picking Red Dressing Box (2)
Unexpectedly, a dressing box has such a touching story.

"Inherited from a family, a lady from a famous family, a childhood sweetheart, devoted herself to the revolution, touching the affection of the family."

Beautiful feelings, magnificent history.

The Ye family who listened to grandma's story gradually fell silent.

Seeing that the atmosphere was gloomy, Xiaoxiao gave full play to the role of pistachios, holding the box in one hand, while throwing herself at grandma's face, kissed her twice, and giggled triumphantly.

Xiaoxiao's laughter broke the silence, and grandpa continued to comment on the box:
"Don't underestimate this dressing box. It's a very precious antique."

"This Tihong dressing box should be a representative work of the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. Every emperor in the Ming Dynasty had his own favorite things. Yongle liked Tihong the most, and that period was also a glorious period for the development of Tihong."

"Dad, what does ticking red mean?"

The little uncle asked if he didn't understand.

Grandpa laughed and scolded:

"You little bastard, you just don't want to read more books, and you just know how to throw yourself on A Duwu all day long."

He reprimanded, but there was not much anger in his tone.After all, even though Uncle Ye went to sea, he didn't take advantage of his family's power to make troubles and criticize the white wolf with empty gloves.

Looking at the children and grandchildren who were also puzzled, Grandpa Ye explained:
"Tihong belongs to lacquerware and is one of the varieties of carved lacquer. It is also called carved red lacquer or red carved lacquer. This technique matured in the Song and Yuan Dynasties and developed in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The so-called carved lacquer is something carved out of lacquer.This kind of craft is quite complicated. In the process of making red, one should first paint a layer of red paint on the mold, and then paint another layer when it is half dry. After dozens of layers of paint, the paint will become nougat It looks like it.Ancient lacquer, that is, pure lacquer, is not the same as today's paint. Today's paint is diluted and neutralized, so it is easy to brush, but don't even try to carve the paint into a work of art.Ancient lacquer can be painted layer by layer, and after brushing thick, directly use lacquer to carve out what you want.However, the ancient lacquer is very viscous and solidifies very quickly. When brushing, each layer must control its curing time. The lacquer cannot be completely hardened or too soft. The heat must be in place, otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted.After these paints are painted, there is another difficult step, which is to wait for an optimal time.The lacquer is easy to cure, and when it dries, it becomes very crisp and cannot be carved with a knife.But if it is too viscous, the lacquer will stick to the carving knife, making it impossible to continue carving.Therefore, the pattern must be carved when it is not sticky to the knife and not brittle. It is not easy to grasp the timing, and if you make a mistake, you have to start all over again.Even if the fire is controlled, the decoration must be carved in a very short period of time. If the time exceeds and the lacquer hardens, it will be impossible to continue carving, and it will only be a semi-finished product in the end.Putting these crafts together is really not easy.

In addition, there is another very important point. The more layers of paint, the shorter the optimal time. Many red layers are also the most intuitive proof of the craftsman's level.Generally speaking, seventy or eighty layers of lacquer in Tihong is very remarkable, and those with more than 200 layers are rare, and those with more than [-] layers must be masterpieces of masters at that time. What comes out is effort and experience. "

Speaking of his favorite antiques, Grandpa Ye became more and more eloquent:

"Xiuya's vanity box has more than 200 layers of red paint, and each layer of red paint is very thin. The thickness of all these layers of red paint is less than ten millimeters. It is definitely the work of a top master. Works are rare even in ancient times. My grandmother was born in a family of officials and officials, and only this can explain the origin of this dressing box."

"The vanity box itself is a rare work of art in terms of craftsmanship, and it has been passed down in an orderly manner and well preserved. From the perspective of antique collection, it is a very valuable collection."

Mother Ye was also moved by Grandpa's narration, and asked curiously:

"Dad, is this kind of craftsmanship still circulating?"

Hearing Mama Ye's question, Grandpa regretted in a tone of hatred:

"It's gone, it's gone."

"War, turmoil, sports. Our nation is full of disasters. So many traditional crafts have been lost. It makes people sad!"

After pulling Grandpa's hand, Grandma Ye persuaded:
"Today is a happy day, don't think so much. It's all over, and it will definitely get better and better in the future."

And teasing and laughing:

"Hey, my good girl, grandma will give you such a precious antique, and let your grandpa envy you, okay?"

Xiaoxiao, who had become a habit of pretending to be a baby, didn't answer, but grandma and grandma kept calling, making Grandma Ye laugh so happily.

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"Picking red, that is, carved red lacquer.... Made in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Tibetan front is clear, the concealment is smooth, slender and exquisite."

——Ming Huangcheng's "Painting Decoration Record; Kun Collection; Carving Tenth; Picking Red"

(End of this chapter)