“Ding-dang-ding-dang-ding...” As a chisel struck by, mountains and waters, ladies with hairpins, and dancing butterflies appeared on a porcelain in an instant.
Liu Bao from Hungary has loved traditional Chinese culture since childhood. However, Liu Bao, good at painting, never imagined that the touching Chinese ink painting could be so charmingly displayed on porcelain. In the newest episode of “Craftsmanship in Liaoning”, Scarlett and Liu Bao experienced “the Chinese ink painting on porcelain” – the unique charm of porcelain carving.
Porcelain carving is a traditional ceramic decorative art integrating painting, calligraphy, and carving; with pens, ink, colors, and knives as tools, it is praised as “embroidery on porcelain”. With porcelain used as the paper and a knife as the pen, figures, landscapes, flora, animals, etc., anything that can be depicted by a pen and ink, can be carved on porcelain. Zhong Liwei, the representative inheritor of Liaoning’s provincial intangible cultural heritage porcelain carving project, presented to Scarlett and Liu Bao the porcelain carving works, containing rich traditional Chinese culture, which greatly shocked them.
The two were confident because of their painting basics, and eager to try, believing they would easily make it. However, they didn’t expect that “carving dots into lines”, the most basic part, was already making them feel “powerless”. Scarlett could not carve the dots into a straight line, while Liu Bao’s hands were trembling and sweating profusely. Under Zhong Liwei’s patient guidance, the two gradually mastered the basics after practicing for a long time.
“It is difficult to carve porcelain, and the difficulty lies in the operation of the knife.” In Zhong Liwei’s hands, the carving knife changed between thin and thick, and the lines on the porcelain plate changed between elegant and vigorous. Different patterns require different knives and different carving techniques to show the best results. The Five Tigers carved with the engraving technique is lifelike and hair can be clearly seen; the “Lanting Xu (The Orchid Pavilion)” presented with the pushing technique is natural, unrestrained, and smooth... These works look like paintings, but you can only find out, when you touch them with your hands, that every line is carved with charm.
“A work requires more than a dozen processes and tens of thousands of carvings. It’s really a matter of millimeters!” Liu Bao said, deeply in thought. “Without patience, perseverance, and carefulness, there is no way to hold on, and that shows how amazing Mr. Zhong is.”
The tinkling sound knocking on the porcelain also knocks on people’s hearts. The meticulous craftsmanship of porcelain carving conveys the rich and profound traditional Chinese culture and the perseverance and inheritance of the craftsmen.
