Treasures of Folk Art with Bayu Features and Charm

Chongqing， located in Southwest China， has a long history and rich culture. Its historical and cultural tradition is unique and rich. Thanks to the local artisans' wisdom and inheritance， there are many amazing folk non-material cultural heritages. Now， these exquisite artistry and art miracles have become the name card of Chongqing for the outside world.

Treasure of Folk Art: Qijiang Farmer’s Engraving Prints

（Picture from Zhou Deyou）

Qijiang County， located in South Chongqing， has a long history and rich culture with beautiful mountains and rivers. There are 16 nationalities including Han，Miao， Yi， Tujia and so on， endowing Qijiang with strong ethnic characteristics. It is this wonderful land that breeds Qijiang famer's engraving prints.

Qijiang Farmer's engraving print originates from the plank New Year painting in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. First， the patterns are engraved on the plank with a knife. Then， it is rubbed with hand. Its lively compositions and brilliant colors derive mostly from the masses' life， featuring strong folk customs and fl avor of rural life. The presentation technique combines simple instruction of painting techniques with abundant folk art techniques， such as the popular wood carving， stone inscription， cloth-pasting， cross-stitch work， plank painting， paper-cut， blue-print cloth， etc.，achieving a pristine and romantic effect.

The plank print has the same creative concepts with traditional Chinese painting，featured with distinctive Chinese lingering charm， coloring and subjective expressions. It rejects realism， advocating the free expression of mind without any constraints. Although there are no fixed techniques， it is never done for effect. With the artisan's understanding and affection of life， the prints are vivid and lively. They have become a fabulous art work for interior decoration， home appreciation and gifting for its unique artistic charm and aesthetic value. In 2011， Qijiang farmer's engraving print was listed into the third group of nonmaterial cultural heritage in Chongqing.

Yanxing Paper-cut: One of the Three Folk Treasures

Assimilating various presentation techniques like traditional Chinese painting，print， pyrography， and cloth-pasting，Yanxing paper-cut possesses strong Bayu cultural features. It has been known as one of Chongqing's “Three Folk Treasures”together with “Qijiang engraving print” and“painting of the figures of ladies from the Tang Dynasty in Zhongxian County”.

Chinese paper-cut can be mainly divided into two schools： the northern and the southern schools. The former features bold outline and the latter， delicate outline like a lady in southern China. Yanxing paper-cut， famous for its exquisiteness and fi neness， is the symbol of the southern school. Absorbing the essence of Chinese paper-cut， it presents exquisite patterns by cutting and carving. It combines thick lines with thin ones and skillfully uses spots，lines and covers as well as the change from sparse layout to dense layout. All of these techniques shape Yanxing paper-cut with a distinctive feature of strong oriental charm and lyric flavor， helping the artist to cut many a pattern within a small piece of paper. Moreover， the theme of Yanxing paper-cut is extensive and possesses strong life fl avor. Whether it is the blessing for auspiciousness or a popular historical story， legend or figure， it shows the artisan's wisdom and rich imagination.

This art not only carries the deep cultural significance of Chinese paper-cut， but features the unique Bayu folk customs. With the connotations of extensive Bayu culture， it reflects both the local customs and strong characteristic of the times. So far， 12 exquisite pieces of paper-cut works have been collected respectively by the Chinese Paper-cut Museum and Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum. In April 2011， Yanxing paper-cut was included into Chongqing non-material cultural heritage list.

Hechuan Ravine Ink-slab: The Top of Bayu Three Ink-slabs

Hechuan Ravine ink-slab， also named as the dark jade inkslab and Jialing Caojie ink-slab， is a unique artifact made by ancient Han nationality. It is made from natural ravine stone in Libi canyon of Jialing River， Hechuan District. In 2009，Hechuan Ravine ink-slab was included into the fi rst group of non-material cultural heritage list in Chongqing.

The ravine ink-slab is characterized by its fi ne stone texture and pale color. It is easy to rub down the ink sticks and produce ink without any damage to the tip of the writing brushes. The ink in the slab can be kept for days without drying or becoming smelly， and the stone slab itself is hard to be effl oresced. Containing alumina， the ink-slab is also a hard metal for peeling gold and jade and sharpening knives. The artisans carve the ink-slab with knife， drill， hammer， grinding apparatus and techniques like flat carving， rilievo， hollow carving， and intaglio. After a dozen of procedures， the inkslab is vivid and lively with different patterns. Men of letters cherished it for hundreds of years and praised it as the top of Bayu three ink-slabs （i.e. Three Gorges ravine ink-slab， Jinyin ink-slab， and Kui ink-slab）.

The technique of ravine ink-slab originated from the Song Dynasty and fl ourished in the Qing Dynasty with a long history. As early as in the Ming Dynasty， Jialing ravine ink-slab enjoyed a high reputation. Li Shiyong， a Hezhou minister of Personnel Affairs Ministry at that time， extolled it with the poem： “The hut is remote near the ravine， and the ingenious artisan carves the stone； I write with the ink like a fl ying dragon， and words are pouring from my hand； the stone is delicate like a jade， and the slab-making skill passes down to the next generation； the ink-slab is a treasure for calligraphers， and it is one of the four treasures in writing materials”. Contemporary calligraphers and painters like Feng Yuxiang， Yu Youren， and Xie Wuliang also wrote poems to praise the ravine ink-slab. As one of the 12 best products in Bayu， the ravine ink-slab was displayed as one of the fi nest products in Chinese traditional stationers such as Sibaozhai Shop in Shanghai， Old Hu Kaiwen Shop in Huizhou， and Zou Ziguang Shop in Hankou.

The Folding Fan from Rongchang County: A Good Rival against Fans from Suzhou and Hangzhou

Generally speaking， people tend to think of fans from Suzhou and Hangzhou whenever talking about a folding fan. As a matter of fact， the folding fan from Rongchang County， which is located at the economic corridor of Chengdu and Chongqing， enjoys a reputation similar to its counterparts from Suzhou and Hangzhou. Rongchang County is characterized by hills， high quality of soil texture and typical subtropical monsoon climate. Thanks to its mild climate and plentiful rainfall， especially its stuffy and rainy climate in summer， the bamboo plants and tung trees grow everywhere. With the natural advantage， local people make fans to dispel summer-heat， use the bamboo to make framework of the fan and papers for the section of the fan. Sometimes they also use silk or linen fabric as the section of the fan with the tung oil as adhesive and coloring agent. In this process， the unique traditional fan-making art is formed.

Rongchang folding fan originated from the Song Dynasty. According to historical records， Rongchang folding fan， as the tribute to the royal court， enjoyed a high reputation. A folding fan consists of a fixed framework with a bamboo nail at the bottom， a blade and a section of the fan. Though simple， it needs 16 procedures and 145 operating steps. Each step is strictly required. So the skill of making is exquisite. Compared with Suzhou silk fan and Hangzhou painting and calligraphy fan， Rongchang folding fan can rival with them for its exquisite technique.

In 2008， Rongchang folding fan was included into the national protection catalog of non-material cultural heritage. From a tribute to royal court to non-material cultural heritage， Rongchang folding fan has experienced historical changes through hundreds of years.

（Picture from Ma Yanyan）