In China, falling in love with intangible cultural heritage (approaching Chinese culture and building bridges of friendship)
2025-01-16
Diligently practicing lyrics, music, and acting skills, stepping onto diverse stages, showcasing the international charm of fast-paced performance art; Deeply cultivate the art of painting, study painting techniques, and explore the cultural stories behind handmade porcelain craftsmanship; In recent years, more and more foreign friends have fallen in love with Chinese intangible cultural heritage and become inheritors and disseminators of Chinese intangible cultural heritage by delving deep into the mountains and forests, searching for rare wood lacquer, and creating artworks in their daily lives using lacquerware production techniques. From Germany, Bai Renrui expresses his artistic pursuit through the use of fast-paced boards. "A gust of wind blows in all directions, howling! The king of fierce tigers emerges, and when Wu Song sees the tiger coming, his whole body is excited and his spirit is long..." Bai Renrui is preparing for a performance at his home in Beijing. Although he has a foreign face, he is dressed in Chinese style clothing, speaks standard Mandarin, recites words with ups and downs, and has a long and varied tone. Despite being familiar with many selected segments, Bai Renrui still gives himself two weeks of rehearsal time before each performance without hesitation. On the dialogue book, pinyin, stress marks, punctuation prompts... are densely marked. Bai Renrui comes from W ü rzburg, Germany. As early as on the stage of a university evening party, he had performed the fast-paced short segment "Speak Big Words". At that time, without professional guidance, he self studied through online videos, listening, reading, and imitating word by word and sentence by sentence, winning applause from the audience with his lifelike performance. After coming to China to work in 2012, Bai Renrui was determined to pursue professional training in fast-paced performance. Introduced by friends, Ding Guangquan, a crosstalk artist, met Yao Fushan, a famous clapper talk artist, at his "Happy Class" lecture for foreigners. Subsequently, with his research and passion for the art of Kuaiban performance, Bai Renrui became one of Yao Fushan's foreign apprentices as he wished. Kuaiban performance art integrates various skills such as rap, clapping, and performance, with extremely high requirements for rhythm and melody. Especially for the rap part, it is necessary to accurately grasp the pronunciation and intonation, which is undoubtedly a great challenge for foreigners. Bai Renrui never slackens, insisting on "continuous learning, continuous review, and continuous practice", gradually growing from a novice to a professional fast-paced actor. In recent years, the Chinese cultural performance market has been booming, and Bai Renrui has become a frequent guest of various performances. He has also participated in activities such as the International Rap Art Alliance and the Kuaiban Salon, dedicated to promoting Kuaiban performing arts. Only by attracting more attention and love can this art truly flourish and develop, "said Bai Renrui. On the Chinese stage, Bai Renrui expresses his artistic pursuit through the use of allegro. In his hometown, he transforms into a disseminator of allegro performance art and holds lectures on allegro knowledge in Frankfurt, Hanover, and other places in Germany. For foreign audiences, the field of Kuaiban is somewhat unfamiliar. Although the lecture is only a preliminary introduction, it can help them understand that Quyi originated in China and is also a priceless treasure in the world art hall. "Bai Renrui introduced that he condensed his experience and insights from more than 10 years into a book called" Playing Kuaiban, Learning Chinese - My Story ". This book, which introduces the performing arts of Allegro in English for the first time, not only records the history and playing methods of Allegro in detail, but also shares the story of foreigners learning Allegro performance. Bai Renrui is planning to pursue a doctoral degree in the field of Chinese folk art, and then write a foreign language doctoral thesis introducing Kuaiban, in order to help Kuaiban performing arts better enter the world. Vincent, from France, is obsessed with lacquerware making techniques. "Teacher Wen, where are you going?" "Go play in town." In front of a two-story old wooden house deep in Daba Mountain, Chengkou County, Chongqing, Vincent is speaking fluent Chongqing dialect with villagers, who affectionately call him "Teacher Wen. Vincent was born in the Pyrenees Mountains in southwestern France and developed a strong interest in art from a young age. After graduating from school, he devoted himself to the restoration of antique furniture and lacquerware, and thus became acquainted with Chinese lacquerware making techniques. In 2007, Vincent, who was 30 years old, came to China and traveled to Sichuan, Chongqing and other places. He also went deep into the mountainous area of Daliangshan to learn from the inheritors of lacquer art intangible cultural heritage. I quickly adapted to life here and decided to stay and continue my lacquer art career. "Vincent rooted himself in Chongqing and took lacquer as his surname, naming himself Vincent Lacquer. Chengkou County is located in Dabashan District, where the production of large wood lacquer is high and the lacquer quality is excellent. Vincent rented a wooden house in Beiping Township, Chengkou County and established his own studio nearby. He often treks deep into the mountains, harvesting precious raw lacquer bit by bit. Although Vincent may sometimes experience allergies due to contact with unpainted skin and may also be in danger from encountering wasps, he always finds pleasure in the pain. The abundant high-quality lacquer provides a solid guarantee for Vincent's creation, allowing him to draw inspiration from rural life in China and create unique works of art. He also used large wood lacquer to decorate daily necessities such as bamboo and rice bags. After they solidified, they were carefully polished and polished, and embellished with gold foil, giving these objects a brilliant luster. Rooted in the deep mountains and blending Chinese and Western styles, Vincent's works have gained recognition in the industry. He has held multiple solo exhibitions both domestically and internationally, and his works have been collected by private collectors in multiple countries. These profits not only helped Vincent find a balance between art and life, but also strengthened his determination to develop his career in China. Recently, Vincent has been busy making a suit of armor. He carefully selected cowhide, dried and chopped it, coated it with large wood paint, and made it into shining golden armor pieces. Then, with exquisite craftsmanship, he wove these armor pieces into a pair of beautiful and sturdy armor. I want artistic works to be immortal in time. In recent years, Chengkou County has actively developed large-scale lacquer tree planting, promoted "Chengkou lacquer art", and promoted the development of the lacquer art industry. Vincent actively participated in it, established workshops, recruited a group of apprentices, and taught skills without reservation. Villager Zheng Yongping is one of Vincent's disciples, and he is making a batch of large lacquered wooden bowls. Our works are not as exquisite as Teacher Wen's, but they can support the family and make a fortune, and also inherit the skills of our ancestors, "Zheng Yongping said with a smile. From the Pyrenees to the Daba Mountains, Vincent's rural life in China is full of vitality, and he has a deep sense of belonging to this land. Vincent actively participates in cultural exchange activities between China and the West, often sharing his rich rural life in China with French friends. Vincent often said, "Don't just look at what you lack, look at what you have. I have a 'golden mountain and silver mountain' in rural China." Dylan from Türkiye - feeling the infinite possibilities of ceramic creation, painstakingly sketching, snake like dragon pattern and peony pattern intertwined, leaping on the blue and white porcelain plate. This work was written by a Türkiye girl, Dilan. She said, "I try to build a bridge between Chinese culture and Türkiye culture in my creation." In 2023, Dilan, 26, came to Jingdezhen Ceramic University to study for a doctorate. Her hometown, Iznik, is known as the "Ceramic Capital" of Türkiye. Hundreds of years ago, blue and white porcelain was introduced into Türkiye through the ancient Silk Road. Local craftsmen gradually explored the reproduction of blue and white porcelain and formed a unique artistic style. Dylan learned the traditional ceramic skills of Türkiye when she was young. Jingdezhen has long been her favorite place. Iznik porcelain and Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain may seem to have many similarities, but in practical operation, there are many differences Dilan recalled that when she first arrived in Jingdezhen, she attempted to apply her hometown's porcelain making techniques to local materials, but encountered failure because Iznik porcelain often used low-temperature firing, while Jingdezhen porcelain was accustomed to high-temperature firing. Dylan also found that there are many differences between Türkiye's painting style and China's. She realized that in order to create satisfactory blue and white porcelain works, she must also have a deep understanding of traditional Chinese painting. She gradually mastered the painting techniques of blue and white porcelain patterns by consulting local masters and copying ancient porcelain. In Jingdezhen, Dilan not only delved into the knowledge of blue and white porcelain, but also came into contact with about 100 types of glazes during the learning process. He also began to study other types of Chinese porcelain such as Linglong porcelain and color glazed porcelain, and felt the infinite possibilities of ceramic creation. Jingdezhen constantly provides new opportunities for ceramic professionals. If you want to learn about ceramic culture or improve your ceramic production skills, this is definitely the best choice, "she said. Hundreds of years ago, the mineral cobalt material Su Ma Li Qing, produced in the Persian region, came to China along the ancient Silk Road. Jingdezhen craftsmen, after repeated attempts, innovated the stunning blue and white porcelain that amazed the world. Nowadays, many "foreign landscape drifters" like Dylan use ceramics to understand the cultural characteristics of different periods in China. Dylan said that she hopes to integrate Chinese and Türkiye elements in her works and explore the relationship between them. Her graduation design will also focus on this theme. In her spare time, Dilan likes to visit the Jingdezhen Chinese Ceramic Museum or go to ceramic studios to communicate with ceramic craftsmen from all over the world. Dilan sighed and said, "Jingdezhen has a profound cultural heritage. The Ceramic Museum displays ceramic treasures from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad. The studio also inherits the oldest handmade porcelain craftsmanship." Craftsmen from all over the world continuously bring new ideas and techniques, and handmade porcelain craftsmanship continues to develop through inheritance and innovation
Edit:Yi Yi Responsible editor:Li Nian
Source:people.cn
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