Since ancient times, Lingnan has had the custom of “committing friends with dragons”. “Picking dragon boats” on the Dragon Boat Festival is not only a traditional folk activity, but also an important ritual 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, because the dragon head is vigorous and beautifully carved, it has also 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. Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw
Zhang Weichao has been carving the dragon boat’s dragon head and tail for more than 20 years. Liu Zhuonan. Photo by Liu Zhuonan. The “leader” who appeared at the Winter Olympics comes from the “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 in a scattered manner, with longan eyes wide open, elegant beards and domineering. Walking further, I saw a wide range of woodcut tools such as planers, chisels, saws, and files on the ground. 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 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, which is also the projectthe inheritor of intangible cultural heritage. He said: “Behind the dragon boat and dragon head skills is our folk culture, our roots and soul.”
Zhang Weichao’s leading work Photo provided by the interviewee
Result:
“Dragon boat is the cultural mark of the most important in my childhoodCinema 1950 witch cloth draw“
Talking about its origin with the dragon boat and dragon head, Zhang Weichao said that this was the most important cultural mark of his childhood. “Since I was a child, I loved watching dragon boat racing in the village. Children would make some small toys by themselves, and the model of the dragon boat is one of them.” Zhang Weichao’s father is an old carpenter with a complete range of woodcut tools in his home. He also learned some carving skills. With his interest and talent, he became the “Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw” for 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 and buy 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 Lunar New Year was reached, Zhang Weichao took a ruler and a painting to see 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 like these things and wanted to study them. My works were recognized and I was very proud.” Zhang Weichao said.
Zhang Weichao is carving the dragon head Liu Zhuonan Photo
Turn:
Resigning from his “iron rice bowl” and full-time “Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw”
2009 was a turning point for Zhang Weichao. At that time, he graduated from the auto repair major of vocational school and had been staying at school as a practical 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 like 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. Zhang Weichao, 22, made this choice, which was “very crazy” to many people. But Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw is, soon, he proves himself.
One month before the Dragon Boat Festival in 2010, 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 headBabaylan 1990 cloth draw 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.
Caring a faucet is a very meticulous and complex task. Zhang Weichao introduced that handmade Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw as a faucet requires more than ten tedious processes such as wood selection, cutting materials, outlining, and carving to polishing, polishing, and lacquer mounting. Complete the cycle of a leading, at least one week, at mostIt took ten to twenty days, but the early work often took several months, even Babaylan 1990 clothes draw to several years.
“Every time I receive an order, the first thing I have to do is not carve, but go on a field inspection Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw to understand the history and culture of the village. I will let the villagers participate, especially young people, ask them to put forward some ideas for making the leader and make them in combination with their opinions. A dragon boat dragon head may take decades or hundreds of years. While the 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
20Komiks 1960 witch cloth drawIn 20 years, 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. “I used to be a craftsman, and I thought about how to be a leader and do my job well in my hands. 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. I am very honored to be able to carry this kind of historical and cultural heritage. I am very honored and have a huge responsibility.” Today’s Zhang Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw. It is a great honor and great responsibility.” Cloth drawThe great wave often appears on major campuses and intangible cultural heritage inheritance activities. When teaching courses in school, Zhang Weichao not only taught students how to carve, but more importantly, he lets the childrenUnderstand 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 dragon boats. Cultivating their recognition of Chinese traditional culture and folk culture from an early age is our roots 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, every time they are cut, it must be accurate every time they are cut, and it is difficult to remedy if they fail.” Chen Zhijun, who has been learning art at the age of 15, has carved the dragon head for more than 40 years.
Chen Zhijun was born in Xiancun Town, Zengcheng District, eastern Guangzhou. The river network here is crisscrossing, making it the most prosperous hometown of the Dongjiang River Dragon Boats. Dragon head carving (traditional dragon boat) is a traditional carving technique in Xiancun Town, Zengcheng.
As the leading carving technique projectBabaylan 1990 cloth draw District-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, Chen Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw Zhijun recalled that since he was 15 years old, he learned how to carve the leading carving technique with his father. Since he was 18 years old, he often learned the craftsmanship of carving the leading carving from his father by watching. It was not until the age of 22 that Chen Zhijun began to carve the first dragon head.
It is understood that in the early 1980s, after the revival of folk dragon boat activities, dragon boat production had not yet entered shipyard production. If the village Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw collectively wanted to customize dragon boats, they had to hire a shipbuilder to build ships in the village, and they also had 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 dragons. Chen Zhijun also developed excellent carving skills under such a background.
As the development of dragon boat activities, the dragon shipyard began to appear in Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw, from shipbuilding to carving faucets, the shipyard takes care of all the links. The craftsmen who carved dragon leaders in folk began to fade 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 boat in accordance with the traditional old dragon head. They inquired with the elderly in the village and found out 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.
“Traditionality cannot be lost, and the foundation cannot be missing. The essence of the Dongjiang dragon boat lies in the dragon boat’s bow! I hope to carve a vital dragon boat’s bow, and I will use it as a work of art.” 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 behind in the past. It records different stories from each village and is the carrier of dragon boat culture. Therefore, the essence of dragon boat lies in the dragon head. In the Dongjiang River Basin, dragon head is a major feature of dragon boats.
Whenever a villager comes to make a dragon boat bow, 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 creation of the dragon head, so each dragon head is unique. “I am happy that the villagers are satisfied with the leader,” said Chen Zhijun.
Chen Zhijun told reporters that during the carving process, he should also integrate his imagination and recreate all aspects of the dragon boat bow, which should be similar in spirit and shape. Babaylan 1990 cloth drawA 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 feels like it is flying. The dragon head should also feel like it jumps out of the water and fly up, and should be vital.
In Chen Zhijun’s view, the traditional culture behind the dragon boat 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 of uplifting and uplifting. The material carrier of this spiritual civilization is the “Dragon Boat Head”.