Lacquer carving technique
The Beijing lacquer carving technique is a technique of applying a certain thickness of natural lacquer on the base, and then using a knife to carve patterns on the piled-up flat lacquer base. The carved lacquerware products are simple in shape, exquisite in decoration, bright in color, elegant in form, and are moisture-proof, heat-resistant, acid-resistant, alkali-resistant, non-deformable, and non-deteriorating. It embodies the superb skills and wisdom of Chinese arts and crafts artists and is a treasure of the traditional crafts of the Chinese nation. The carved lacquerware technique originated in the Tang Dynasty. Due to Beijing's special political, economic and cultural background, it finally settled in Beijing after the development of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In the process of hundreds of years of development, the Beijing carved lacquerware technique has integrated the culmination of the carved lacquerware techniques of the north and south of China, and is one of the outstanding representatives of Chinese lacquerware techniques. In the 30th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1904), artists Xiao Le'an and Li Maolong opened the first modern folk carved lacquerware manufacturing workshop "Jiguzhai" in Beijing. After 1949, Beijing convened the descendants of Jiguzhai lacquerware scattered among the people to establish the Beijing Lacquerware Production Cooperative. In 1958, it was transformed into the Beijing Lacquerware Factory, which became the main base for the inheritance and development of Beijing lacquerware craft. Beijing lacquerware craft products are of various types and rich in themes. Its design and creation integrate carving, painting and craftsmanship, and have solemn and elegant artistry. It plays an irreplaceable role in improving people's aesthetic literacy and beautifying life in modern society. Beijing lacquerware craft concentrates on China's long-standing cultural tradition of lacquerware craftsmanship, and is an indispensable and important content for studying traditional Chinese arts and crafts. In the 1990s, due to market transformation, long production cycle, large investment and changes in management system, the lacquerware industry shrank. Beijing Lacquerware Factory is in name only, and there are fewer and fewer real hand-made lacquerware products. The technicians in the lacquerware industry are facing the cruel reality of aging age structure and no new successors. From the current situation, the Beijing lacquerware craft that has lasted for hundreds of years is on the verge of being lost.