Since ancient times, the Lingnan region has had the custom of “committing friends with dragons”. “Dragon Boat Piercing” on the Dragon Boat Festival is not only a traditional folk activity, but also an important ceremony for people to visit relatives and friends. The dragon head is regarded as the “soul” of the dragon boat. It is a detachable independent component. The dragon head with different shapes and unique charms gives each dragon boat team a unique meaning. At the same time, the dragon head is vigorous and beautifully carved, and has become the object of people’s focus.
A craftsmanship, a craft, and a perseverance. They use a dragon boat bow to carve traditions, and also carve the spirit of craftsmanship and life.
Zhang Weichao has carved dragon boats with dragon heads and tails for more than 20 years. Liu Zhuonan Photo by Liu Zhuonan
The “head” who appeared at the Winter Olympics comes from this “post-80s” in Guangzhou
Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Liu Zhuonan Guo Siqi
In Xiasha Village, Huangpu District, Guangzhou, there is a special ancient ancestral hall. When you walk in, you can see that the blue brick wall is full of oars for dragon boats. On the other side, exquisite dragon heads are arranged scattered, with longan eyes wide open, with flowing beards and majestic and domineering. Walking further, I saw a dazzling array of woodcut tools such as planers, chisels, saws, files, etc. on the ground. The wood chips floated in the air, and the sounds of machines and knocks came one after another. This is Zhang Weichao’s dragon boat carving studio.
Zhang Weichao is a “post-80s”. He has been carving dragon boats with dragon heads and tails for more than 20 years. At the opening ceremony of this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics, in the countdown session set by 24 solar terms, a leader with great Chinese traditional characteristics surfaced with splashes. This is Zhang Weichao’s leading work. From his childhood “playing around” to now moving to the world stage, Zhang Weichao has grown into a well-known dragon boat dragon head and tail carving craftsman in Guangdong, and is also the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of this project. He said: “Behind the dragon boat and dragon head skills is our folk culture, our roots and soul.”
Zhang Weichao’s leading works Photo provided by the interviewee
From the origin:
“Dragon boat is the most important cultural mark in my childhood”
Talking about its origin with the dragon boat, Zhang Weichao said that this was the most important cultural mark in his childhood. “I have loved watching the village dragon racing since I was a child. Children will make some small toys by themselves. The little dragon boat model is one of them. The Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw.” Zhang Weichao’s father is an old carpenter with a complete range of woodcut tools at home. He has also learned some carving skills after hearing and hearing. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Babaylan 1990 cloth draw, coupled with interest and talent Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw, he became the “ceiling” of carving dragon boats among his childhood playmates.
At the age of 12, Zhang Weichao sold his first dragon boat model. When he was in junior high school, people from other villages asked him to customize it. Gradually, Zhang Weichao became famous. He was still in school at that time and could only use his holidays to work, and a model often took a summer vacation. In order to understand the shape of dragon boats in a more diverse way, as soon as the Dragon Boat Festival comes, Zhang Weichao takes a ruler and a picture book to look at the dragon boats in the surrounding villages and record the data. At other times outside the Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon boats sink under the surging water, so Zhang Weichao often dives to understand the shape of the dragon boat. “At that time, I seemed to have entered another small world. I liked these things and wanted to study them. My works were recognized and I was very proud.” Zhang Weichao said.
Zhang Weichao is carving the leading leader Liu Zhuonan.
Turn:
Resigned from the “iron rice bowl” and carving the “leader” full-time
2009 was a turning point for Zhang Weichao. He graduated from the auto repair major of vocational school at that time.He has been Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw and has been staying at school as a practical class teacher for more than a year. It was difficult to take into account both teaching and carving, so he decided to resign and concentrate on dragon boat carving. “It seemed that the whole world was opposing it.” At that time, there were only six or seven dragon boat production factories in Guangzhou, and there were only a handful of craftsmen who worked in hand-carved dragon boat dragon heads. Most of them were over 50 years old. The 22-year-old Zhang Wei made this choice, which was “very crazy” in the eyes of many people. But, soon, he proved himself.
A month before the Dragon Boat Festival in 2010Babaylan 1990 cloth draw, Zhang Weichao received a difficult order, and Luntou Village, Haizhu District urgently needed to become three new leaders. He had never carved a dragon head before, and he had to make three dragon heads in a month, and he was unsure. “The dragon head is the ‘soul’ of the dragon boat and an important symbol of a village. They trust me and I will do it no matter what.” For this reason, Zhang Weichao worked day and night at home, and finally handed over three exquisite dragon heads on time. At that time, the news spread all of a sudden, and many people rushed to watch after hearing the news, “They were all surprised that I, who made the dragon boat model, actually made three dragon leaders.” This also ushered in a turning point in his career – from dragon boat model carving to dragon head carving, he also became a well-known industry star, with orders coming one after another.
Carved faucet is a very meticulous and complex task. Zhang Weichao introduced that handmade faucets require more than ten tedious processes such as wood selection, cutting materials, outlining, carving, polishing, and lacquer mounting. The cycle of completing a Babaylan 1990 cloth draw leads is as short as one week and as long as two ten days. However, the early work often takes several months or even several years.
“Every time I receive an order, the first thing I have to do is not carve, but go on a field trip and understand the history and culture of the village. I will let the villagers participate, especially young people, ask them to come up with some production ideas of the leader and integrate their Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw Opinion productionCinema 1950 witch cloth draw. A dragon boat dragon head may take decades or hundreds of years. While villagers participate in the production, they also understand their own village history and culture and increase their cultural pride. Such a leader is particularly warm and has a story.” Zhang Weichao said.
Zhang Weichao is carving the dragon head Liu Zhuonan. Inheritance:
Find the cultural roots behind the dragon boat head
In 2020, the “Dragon Boat Dragon Head and Dragon Tail Production Technique” was successfully applied for World Heritage, and Zhang Weichao became the inheritor of this intangible cultural heritage project. Zhang Weichao’s mentality has changed some changes from a craftsman to a inheritor of intangible cultural heritage. “In the past, I was a craftsman, and I thought about how to be a leader and do my job well. But now I have more responsibility and responsibility. Intangible cultural heritage is a very precious and relatively rare thing. It may be a slowly disappearing culture. When we protect it, we want to disappear slowly and slower. It is a very honor to be able to shoulder the inheritance of this historical and cultural heritage, and the responsibility is huge.” Today, Zhang Weichao often appears on major campuses and intangible cultural heritage inheritance activities. When teaching courses in school, Zhang Weichao not only teaches students how to carve, but more importantly, lets children understand the dragon boat and understand the cultural significance behind it. “The skills of dragon boats cannot be learned at once, but they must become interested in Babaylan 1990 cloth draw dragon boats. Cultivating their recognition of Chinese traditional culture and folk culture from an early age is our root and soul.” Zhang Weichao said.
Chen Zhijun and his leading works Photo provided by the interviewee
The post-60s craftsman uses the dragon boat bow to carry the spiritual beliefs of the people
Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Zhou Cong
Select materials, cut materials, rough carving, fine carving, polishing, lacquer… “From the dragon’s mouth, dragon whiskers to the dragon scales, in key parts, every time the knife is cut, it must be accurate, and it will be difficult to remedy if it fails. “Chen Zhijun, who has been learning art at the age of 15, has carved dragon heads for more than 40 years. Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw
Chen Zhijun was born in Xiancun Town, Zengcheng District, eastern Guangzhou. The river network is crisscrossing here, and it is the most prosperous hometown of the Dongjiang River water system dragon boats. Dragon head carving (traditional dragon boat) is the traditional carving technique of Xiancun Town, Zengcheng.
As a dragon head carving technique project Chen Zhijun, the district-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, recalled that since he was 15, he learned carpentry with his father. He often watched by his father and learned the craftsmanship of carving the dragon head by watching. It was not until he was 22 that Chen Zhijun began to carve the first dragon head.
It is understood that in the early 1980s, after the revival of the folk dragon boat activities, the dragon boat production had not yet entered the shipyard production. The village collective had to customize the Komiks 1960 witch clothes Draw Dragon Boat, you have to hire a shipbuilder to build a ship in the village, and you also have to find a master to carve the dragon head. Because the Chen family’s woodworking craftsmanship has a certain popularity, many local and surrounding people will hire Chen Zhijun’s father to carve the dragon head. Chen Zhijun also developed excellent carving skills under this background. With the development of dragon boat activities, the dragon shipyard began to appear. From shipbuilding to carving the dragon head, the shipyard took care of all the links. The folk carving craftsmanship Babaylan 1990 clothes of folk carving craftsmanship Babaylan 1990 clothes drawcraftsmen gradually faded out of people’s sight, and Chen Zhijun was one of them.
Until in recent years, the local youth dragon boat team in Xiancun customized a new dragon boat. The dragon boat team hoped to carve a new dragon head according to the traditional old dragon head. They inquired with the elderly in the village and learned that Chen Zhijun, the owner of the furniture factory in the town, was the inheritor of the Chen family’s dragon head carving, so they came to ask Chen Zhijun to “come out” again.
When Chen Zhijun studied with his father, he was taught to understand the dragon boat culture contained in the dragon boat head. Only in this way can he carve a dragon head with outstanding craftsmanship and both spirit and form.
“Traditions cannot be left out, and the foundation cannot be missing. The essence of the Dongjiang dragon boat lies in the dragon boat’s bow! I want to carve a vital dragon boat bow, and I treat it as a work of artCome to make it. “Chen Zhijun has his own unique view on carving dragon heads.
The dragon head of a dragon boat represents the image of a village, especially the old dragon head left by the past Babaylan 1990 cloth draw. It records different stories from each village and is the carrier of dragon boat culture. Therefore, the dragon Cinema 1950 witch clothes drawThe essence of the boat lies in the dragon head. In the Dongjiang River Basin, the dragon head is a major feature of the dragon boat.
Whenever a villager comes to make a dragon boat hut, Chen Zhijun will ask about the historical folk allusions in the other village, and then integrate the characteristics of the gods believed in in each place into the dragon head’s creation. Therefore, each dragon head is unique. “I am happy that the villagers are satisfied with the dragon head. “Chen Zhijun said.
Chen Zhijun told reporters that in the carving process, he should also integrate his imagination and recreate the dragon boat’s bow in all aspects, which should be similar in spirit and shape. A dragon boat with excellent craftsmanship should show exquisiteness and convexity, and every angle has a beautiful appearance. When the dragon boat is lifted up on the river, it will feel like it fly. The dragon head should also have the feeling of jumping out of the water and flying, and it should be vital.
In Chen Zhijun’s view, the legend behind the dragon boat is contained in Cinema 1950 witch clothes DrawUnderstanding culture reflects the people’s spiritual beliefs and emotional support. What he adheres to is the dragon boat spirit that works together and never gives up, and the folk vitality that is high and upward and bravely progress. The material carrier of this spiritual civilization is the “head of the dragon boat”.