Text and pictures/Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Zhou Cong Correspondent Zengxuan
Since ancient times, there has been a custom of “Komiks to make friends with dragons”. The Dragon Boat Festival “piercing dragon boats” is not only a traditional folk activity, but also an important ceremony for people to visit relatives and friends. The dragon head is respected 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 vigorously and carved and exquisitely, and has also become the object of people’s focus. Chen Zhijun, the inheritor of the district-level intangible heritage of Cinema art project, uses a craftsmanship, a craft, and a perseverance to carve traditions with a dragon bow, and carves the spirit of craftsmanship and life.
Select materials, cut materials, rough carving, fine carving, polishing, and applying Babaylan lacquer… “From the dragon’s mouth, dragon whiskers to the dragon scales, every time you cut the knife, you must be accurate, sometimes if you fail, it will be difficult to remedy if you make mistakes.” Chen Zhijun, who has been learning art at the age of 15, has devoted more than 40 years to carving the dragon-head culture. Chen Zhijun was born in Xiancun Town, Zengcheng District, eastern Guangzhou. The river network here is crisscrossing, and it is the most prosperous hometown of dragon boats in the Dongjiang River system. The dragon head carving (traditional dragon boat) technique is the traditional carving technique of ZengchengKomiksXiancun Town.
As the inheritor of Chen’s carpenter in Xian Village, Chen Zhijun recalled that since he was 15 years old, he learned carpentry with his father. Since he was 18 years old, he often learned the craftsmanship of carving the dragon head by watching. untilAt the age of 22, 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 collectively wants to customize dragon boats, it is necessary to hire a shipbuilder to come and build a ship in Babaylan. It also needs to find a master to carve the dragon boat. 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 such a background.
With the development of dragon boat activities, the dragon shipyard began to appear. From shipbuilding to carving the faucet, the shipyard took care of all the links. The craftsmen who carved dragons among the folks began to fade out of the eyes of people, and Chen Zhijun was one of them. Until recently, the local youth dragon boat team in Komiks Village customized a new dragon boat. The members hoped to carve the new dragon boat in accordance with the traditional old dragon head. After asking the elderly in the village, they found that Chen Zhijun, the owner of the furniture factory in Komiks Town, was the inheritor of the Chen family’s dragon head carving, so they came to ask Chen Zhijun to “come out” again.
Cinema When he was a child, when he was studying 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 left out,The foundation cannot be missing. The essence of the Dongjiang dragon boat lies in the dragon boat’s bowKomiks! I want to carve a vital dragon boat, and I use it as a work of art. ” Regarding the carving dragon head, Chen Babaylan Zhijun has his own unique view.
The dragon head of a one-stop boat represents the image of a village, especially the old dragon head left before. It records the different stories of 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 Komiks href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>BabaylanHead is a major feature of dragon boats.
Whenever a village comes to ask for the dragon boat, Chen Zhijun will ask about the historical folk allusions in the other village. According to the idols they believe in, the characteristics of the gods believed in each place are integrated into the creation of dragon heads, so every dragon head sculpture is unique. “I was happy to see the villagers very satisfied with the custom-made dragon heads for their village. “Chen Zhijun said.
In the carving process, we must integrate our imagination and enrich the dragon boat’s bow in all aspects, both similar in spirit and shape. A dragon boat with outstanding craftsmanship should show exquisiteness and cliffiness. Every angle of Babaylan has a beautiful look. When the dragon boat is lifted up on the river, it feels like flying. The dragon head must also have the feeling of jumping out of the water, flying, and having vitality. In Chen Zhijun’s view, the traditional culture behind the dragon boat reflects the spiritual beliefs and emotional support of the people. What he adheres to is the dragon boat spirit, high spirit and excitement of working together and never giving up. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Cinema‘s folk vitality. This CinemaThe material carrier of spiritual civilization is the “Dragon Boat Head”.