Guangzong Handmade Wood Turning Technique
Guangzong's handmade wood turning technique originated in the Ming Dynasty and has been passed down from generation to generation. In the past when handicrafts were the main industry, it was glorious for several times. Handmade wood turning technique is a traditional folk handicraft art with a long history. Its characteristics are that it uses wood as the base material and the central axis as the basis. The raw materials are turned through turning to make production and daily necessities and handicrafts of different shapes, which are widely used in many fields of society. Guangzong County is located in the alluvial plain of the Yellow River. It has a profound historical and cultural heritage and profound folk skills. Since ancient times, the folk customs have been simple and the natural ecology is good. The Baili Sand Belt runs from north to south. The forests are deep and lush, and the shrubs are overgrown, which reserves rich original resources for agricultural processing such as wood turning techniques. The technical process of handmade wood turning is simple, but the skills are fine and rigorous. According to the required requirements, it can be made into turning products of different sizes. In other words, as long as the circular products with a symmetrical axis can be found, they can be turned. Its products mainly include arts and crafts: such as wooden figures, gourds, flower hammers, wooden vases, spinning tops (not modified), etc.; daily necessities: large and small rolling pins, garlic hammers, spoon handles, knife handles, cloth hammers, etc. Furniture products: table legs, chair legs, bed legs, official chair armrests, stair handrails, drawer handles, etc.; others: gong and drum hammers, ingot wheels, leather money, prayer beads, official seal materials, sets of slides, whip handles, shaft pegs, detective pens, writing sticks, wooden pulleys, etc. In the 1960s and 1970s, this technical processing became an agricultural and sideline industry in Yangqing Village, Guangzong County. Several production workshops were collectively established, and its products were wholesaled all over the country. With the development of the times and the advancement of science and technology, the skill of manual wood turning has gradually faded. The application scope of its products has gradually narrowed, and its skills have been replaced by modern machinery and equipment. Since the 1980s, the workshops have stopped working, the staff have changed their jobs, and some family workshops have also been in a semi-paralyzed state. The number of practitioners has been reduced from more than 400 in the 1970s to 17 now, and these 17 people only occasionally process some during the slack season. As an important artistic carrier, spinning skills have played a huge role in the continuation of Chinese civilization. It is also the crystallization of the long-term wisdom of the working people, reflecting the process of human development, and has high historical and artistic value. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)