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Celebrating Hangzhou arts at Expo
By Zhang Qian |
June 9, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Hangzhou City Day at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai not only offered a colorful stage performance of dance, music and fashion, but also featured famous handicrafts: fans, figurines and carved seals.
In the celebration last Sunday, three famous handicrafts organizations and representative craftsmen demonstrated their intangible cultural heritage.
The show featured Wangxingji Fan Industry Co, Xiling Society of Seal Arts and Qinghefang Folk Art Association. Hangzhou is famous for all three.
Fans
Fans are not only devices for cooling people down, hiding coy maidens' smiles and giving signals in symbolic traditional Chinese operas - they are also work (including artwork) involving bamboo, calligraphy and brush painting.
Basic fans, called zhang ri (sheltering against sunshine), were made of palm fronds or feathers, but more elaborate fans were later produced involving a high degree of skill and artistry.
Fans have developed into delicate products and works of art with complicated processing. Frames can be made of bamboo, wood, paper, ivory, turtle shell and other materials. They can be decorated with beautiful calligraphy, poems and paintings. Many famous artists used fans as their canvas.
Hangzhou has been famous for its fans since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when it served as the capital city. Many artisans gathered in Hangzhou, learning from and competing with each other.
It is said that there were more than 50 fan stores on Qinghefang Street alone in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). And Wangxingji Fan Store, the predecessor of the current Wangxingji Industry Co, was among them.
Wangxingji Fan Store was started in 1875 by Wang Xingzhai, a Hangzhou native, and gained nationwide fame for its delicate fans. Some were so beautiful they were given as tribute in the Qing Dynasty. They were considered among the "Hangchan Sanjue" (Three Peerless Hangzhou Products), together with Zhejiang silk and Longjing tea.
Wangxingji Fan Co today produces a wide range of fans, including black paper, sandalwood, white paper, silk and decorated fans. An ordinary fan requires at least 16 processing steps, while its famous black paper fans (these were favored by scholars) require 86 steps, according to Du Juan, a senior member of the staff.
"That (black) fan is especially strong and it won't wrinkle or split even if it is soaked in water or exposed to the sun for hours," says Du. "It can produce a slight cooling breeze and shelter you from sun and rain. That's why it's called 'one fan and half an umbrella'."
Clay sculpture
Vividly colored clay figurines of celebrities attracted the attention of many Expo visitors and some asked sculptors to mold their own image.
Clay sculpture is a traditional folk art dating back 2,000 years to the Warring States Period (471-221 BC). Artisans first produced ritual objects and later folk art for decoration.
The craft reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and two major schools were identified in the Qing Dynasty - the north school represented by Tianjin "Clay Sculpture Zhang" and the south school represented by Wuxi "Da Afu."
But Hangzhou clay sculpture was also famous around the country as the city was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, according to Xu Yuanwei, a clay sculptor of the Qinghefang Art Association.
A sweet-faced boy carrying a lotus leaf is a typical subject of traditional Hangzhou clay sculpture, just as "Da Afu" (Mr Big Fortune) is a common subject for the Wuxi school.
Young Ka Ye, the famous Buddhism monk, is said to be the original model for the typical Hangzhou figurine.
Hangzhou sculpture languished since the Qing Dynasty, but is enjoying renewed popularity, says Xu.
Vividness and liveliness are the criteria of a good sculpture. The legend goes that clay artists once created figurines of Su Xiaoxiao, the famous singing girl in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (AD 420-589).
Royalty and noblemen at the time spent great sums for beautiful statues of their idol, since they could not possess her themselves.
The clay sculpture industry started to revive in Hangzhou in the 1990s and many people want statues of themselves.
Xiling seals
Though without much practical use today, seals are widely appreciated as works of art that combine the arts of stone carving and calligraphy.
The Xiling Society of Seal Arts, established in 1904, is widely recognized as a center of seal carvers, artists and a museum of great seal art and carved steles.
Seals were very popular during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties, especially in the Yangtze River Delta region, which has rich cultural traditions.
Many different schools of seal carving and engraving arose in the region, as did many independent carvers and calligraphers.
Xiling Society was established as a national academic center of learning, research and art, according to Shen Yingli, an artist. Today it still provides a platform for artists of different schools and steles to exchange views and experience.
The seal society contains several museums of seals and seal-related art. It invites seal artists from around the world to discuss the ancient art. Most are from Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and from China.
"Not many people today know about seal art," says Shen. "I hope our demonstration at the Expo can generate interest and encourage people to learn about it."
In the celebration last Sunday, three famous handicrafts organizations and representative craftsmen demonstrated their intangible cultural heritage.
The show featured Wangxingji Fan Industry Co, Xiling Society of Seal Arts and Qinghefang Folk Art Association. Hangzhou is famous for all three.
Fans
Fans are not only devices for cooling people down, hiding coy maidens' smiles and giving signals in symbolic traditional Chinese operas - they are also work (including artwork) involving bamboo, calligraphy and brush painting.
Basic fans, called zhang ri (sheltering against sunshine), were made of palm fronds or feathers, but more elaborate fans were later produced involving a high degree of skill and artistry.
Fans have developed into delicate products and works of art with complicated processing. Frames can be made of bamboo, wood, paper, ivory, turtle shell and other materials. They can be decorated with beautiful calligraphy, poems and paintings. Many famous artists used fans as their canvas.
Hangzhou has been famous for its fans since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when it served as the capital city. Many artisans gathered in Hangzhou, learning from and competing with each other.
It is said that there were more than 50 fan stores on Qinghefang Street alone in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). And Wangxingji Fan Store, the predecessor of the current Wangxingji Industry Co, was among them.
Wangxingji Fan Store was started in 1875 by Wang Xingzhai, a Hangzhou native, and gained nationwide fame for its delicate fans. Some were so beautiful they were given as tribute in the Qing Dynasty. They were considered among the "Hangchan Sanjue" (Three Peerless Hangzhou Products), together with Zhejiang silk and Longjing tea.
Wangxingji Fan Co today produces a wide range of fans, including black paper, sandalwood, white paper, silk and decorated fans. An ordinary fan requires at least 16 processing steps, while its famous black paper fans (these were favored by scholars) require 86 steps, according to Du Juan, a senior member of the staff.
"That (black) fan is especially strong and it won't wrinkle or split even if it is soaked in water or exposed to the sun for hours," says Du. "It can produce a slight cooling breeze and shelter you from sun and rain. That's why it's called 'one fan and half an umbrella'."
Clay sculpture
Vividly colored clay figurines of celebrities attracted the attention of many Expo visitors and some asked sculptors to mold their own image.
Clay sculpture is a traditional folk art dating back 2,000 years to the Warring States Period (471-221 BC). Artisans first produced ritual objects and later folk art for decoration.
The craft reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and two major schools were identified in the Qing Dynasty - the north school represented by Tianjin "Clay Sculpture Zhang" and the south school represented by Wuxi "Da Afu."
But Hangzhou clay sculpture was also famous around the country as the city was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, according to Xu Yuanwei, a clay sculptor of the Qinghefang Art Association.
A sweet-faced boy carrying a lotus leaf is a typical subject of traditional Hangzhou clay sculpture, just as "Da Afu" (Mr Big Fortune) is a common subject for the Wuxi school.
Young Ka Ye, the famous Buddhism monk, is said to be the original model for the typical Hangzhou figurine.
Hangzhou sculpture languished since the Qing Dynasty, but is enjoying renewed popularity, says Xu.
Vividness and liveliness are the criteria of a good sculpture. The legend goes that clay artists once created figurines of Su Xiaoxiao, the famous singing girl in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (AD 420-589).
Royalty and noblemen at the time spent great sums for beautiful statues of their idol, since they could not possess her themselves.
The clay sculpture industry started to revive in Hangzhou in the 1990s and many people want statues of themselves.
Xiling seals
Though without much practical use today, seals are widely appreciated as works of art that combine the arts of stone carving and calligraphy.
The Xiling Society of Seal Arts, established in 1904, is widely recognized as a center of seal carvers, artists and a museum of great seal art and carved steles.
Seals were very popular during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties, especially in the Yangtze River Delta region, which has rich cultural traditions.
Many different schools of seal carving and engraving arose in the region, as did many independent carvers and calligraphers.
Xiling Society was established as a national academic center of learning, research and art, according to Shen Yingli, an artist. Today it still provides a platform for artists of different schools and steles to exchange views and experience.
The seal society contains several museums of seals and seal-related art. It invites seal artists from around the world to discuss the ancient art. Most are from Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and from China.
"Not many people today know about seal art," says Shen. "I hope our demonstration at the Expo can generate interest and encourage people to learn about it."
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