论文部分内容阅读
“文物”进了皇极殿
2005年年底，北京故宫皇极殿迎来一件崭新的“文物”：一件由东阳木雕顶尖艺人复制的乾隆皇帝宝座。对于这件代表当今木雕工艺最高水平的作品，故宫的专家组表示：“在摆进皇极殿的那刻，这宝座就升格为当今最年轻的历史文物了！”
200多年前，全国最顶尖的木雕高手们集聚京城，花了整整3年时间，雕刻出当时全国最华贵最具权威的椅子——乾隆皇帝使用的蟠龙宝座。这宝座被安放在皇宫金碧辉煌的皇极殿，后来成为乾隆退位后的座椅。然而到了上世纪60年代，这把宝座被送到了沈阳故宫博物院，并一直留在那里，由此，故宫的皇极殿便缺了一个宝座。40年来，宝座的“缺位”，给北京故宫留下了深深的遗憾。
令人欣慰的是，如今皇极殿又重新迎来乾隆宝座，这个宝座由浙江省东阳市木雕工艺大师黄小明领衔复制成功！黄小明用精湛的技艺，在这座具有“补白”性质的宝座上刻写了东阳木雕的精彩篇章。
再现盛世奢华
在浙江新东阳木雕有限公司，笔者有幸看到了宝座复制的最后一道程序：贴金。尽管有着充分的心理准备，但当工作人员小心翼翼地取出一叠巴掌大小的薄如蝉翼的金箔时，笔者还是屏住了呼吸，生怕一不小心就会把它吹乱。这些金箔都是含金量达98%的库金，据估计，宝座上所用的全部金箔价值30多万元！
黄小明告诉笔者，为了“做旧如旧”，他们还恢复了已经失传多年的一项油漆工艺：先用细麻布仔细包裹龙椅的每个部位，然后刷上传统的生漆，经过多道复杂工艺后，麻布全部被漆在油漆里层，外观上已根本看不出麻布痕迹。这样做，是为了解决木材的接缝、收缩、开裂等问题。
做出200多年前的油漆效果不是一件容易的事。据说在整个复制工程工序中，最难的就是雕刻和油漆，为此油漆工按照大漆的色重，光样板就做了二三十块。
乾隆宝座复制成功，康乾盛世的奢华顿时扑面袭来。但黄小明复制的绝不是奢华本身的物质意义，而是对古老百工艺术的一种追溯和膜拜。“如果不是这次机会，恐怕我也不知道古代的制作工艺是如此繁琐和精致。而且通过这个机会，我们发掘、恢复了不少古老失传的工艺。”黄小明说。
承载光荣历史
早在2005年1月，中国竹工艺大师、黄小明的岳父何福礼经过故宫大修专家组成员的重重考核，入选修缮“倦勤斋”的竹丝镶嵌和翻簧部件，当时何福礼“举贤不避亲”，建议在修缮“倦勤斋”工程中，其翻簧雕刻部分由其女婿黄小明承担，得到了专家们的同意。就在“倦勤斋”工程进行中，黄小明得到了另一条重要信息：故宫的皇极殿缺了一把蟠龙宝座，故宫正在全国范围内寻找木雕高手复制。
黄小明学习岳父敢拼敢闯的精神，立马前往故宫“揭榜”。故宫给前来“揭榜”的多家单位和个人一张相同的龙椅局部图案，要求每个行家按照图纸做出样品，在此基础上故宫再确定入选者名单，参加国务院招标办举行的招标会。结果在国务院举办的招标会上，从东阳小山村走出的、时年40岁的黄小明一举中标，并担任了复制乾隆宝座的总设计师和总指导。
乾隆皇帝宝座包括地台、屏风和龙椅三个部分，其中龙椅是核心。宝座复制工艺包括绘画、选材、脱水、雕刻、油漆、组合，其中最难做的是雕刻和油漆。龙椅的扶手有13条别具一格的金龙腾空盘旋，支撑点很少，镂空难度更高。黄小明说，当时预计整个工程需花费5000工，工期8个月，总造价达126万元。但施工结果大大超出了预算，工期一再延长，投入也被一再追加。“我不是为了经济效益复制宝座，做什么都比做这个要赚钱，但龙椅不是谁都有机会做的。”黄小明真诚地告诉笔者，“我去‘揭榜’时想得更多的是为了提高东阳木雕的知名度。数百年前东阳木雕工匠就参与了故宫的建造，作为东阳木雕的传人，我有责任重续东阳木雕的辉煌。故宫专家组寻找的是全国顶尖的木雕高手，如果我能入选，就是对东阳木雕的最大肯定。这把由我们承制的宝座，也承载着东阳木雕的光荣历史。”
演绎百工精彩
黄小明拿到中标通知书后，并没有急于着手制作，他首先带一班人马专程赶赴沈阳故宫，对先前的那个乾隆宝座进行了全方位的“解析”。在沈阳故宫博物院，黄小明拍照、制图，对这座宝座的所有的构件都进行了仔细研究，甚至钻到宝座底下进行测绘，他说：“原版宝座的每一个犄角旮旯都被我们测量过了！”在黄小明的电脑里，乾隆宝座的图片存得满满的，在制作过程中每每遇到一点疑问，他就马上打开电脑里的图片资料查询。黄小明说，让师傅们到沈阳故宫不光是为了测数据，更重要的是为了让他们彻底了解历史文化，感受皇家风范。这种宏大威严的感受平日是无法想象的，只有身临其境才能感受得到，才会做出大作品。
从沈阳回来后，木雕师傅们花了一个多月时间，按照l∶5的比例制作了“缩微龙椅”，这是开工前的一次“彩排”，诚如木工老师傅申屠梅荣所言：“没有做出这个样品前，我们谁也没底儿，过了一遍手，我们就有数了，复制宝座就有信心了。”
宝座上的蟠龙是木雕中最关键的工艺，也是最难的技术活。黄小明说，龙椅的靠背和扶手有13条蟠龙，首尾相连，盘根错节；龙椅背靠高大屏风，顶部的“屏帽”又雕刻着7条蟠龙，而宝座的其他部位也布满姿态各异的龙。为此申屠老师傅经常被前来参观的人追问：“整个乾隆的宝座中到底有多少条龙？”其实申屠师傅也搞不清具体数目：“我想近千条是会有的，再问得细我就干脆告诉他们，大概是999条龙！”说着他也笑了。
在近千条龙中最难的就是乾隆椅上13条蟠龙的雕刻。申屠师傅说，他家祖孙六代都从事木雕，对于东阳木雕各个时期的风格都比较熟悉，他在沈阳故宫看到的宝座上的木雕技法，是典型的东阳木雕风格，这给了他很大的信心。但是万万没有想到做龙椅上的蟠龙还是这么难，因为13条龙全都腾空盘旋，支撑点很少，镂空难度更高。不过经过一番苦思冥想，他们还是想出一个方法：先制作出蟠龙的泥模，然后用木头分段雕刻拼接。由于制作精细，这种拼接让人硬是无法看出痕迹，可谓“天衣无缝”。
黄小明说：“整个宝座没有一处地方是简单的，所以原定截止的工期一拖再拖。这是个大作品，不能留下遗憾，我不能砸了东阳木雕的牌子。”整个制作过程中，黄小明去了四次沈阳故宫，他要将宝座复制得万无一失！
2005年8月29日，在故宫专家组的验收中，大家最后以“完美”两字作为总结词，而且还称赞“某些细节的处理甚至超过了200年前的工艺水平”。面对专家组的肯定，黄小明谦逊地说：“这件作品是大家共同完成的，在整个过程中我得到了许多人的帮助，我只是尽我所能。”
追寻艺术理想
黄小明出生于1965年，从16岁起他就开始学习木雕，并师从中国工艺美术大师冯文土。二十多年的从艺经历，磨练出他娴熟的木雕工艺、创新能力以及广博的美学修养。诚如中国工艺美术学会副理事长兼秘书长陈兴国所言，他有扎实的传统木雕创作技法又具现代艺术理念，是一位有思想的青年艺术家。
作为东阳木雕的后起之秀，黄小明以他一批构思精巧的木雕作品起步，继以革新东阳木雕在新民艺建筑装饰中的作用而扬名，他曾获国家级金奖、银奖十余项，省级大奖二十多项。他的《新世纪的呼唤》获中国工艺美术创作大展世纪杯金奖；《悟》《和平发展》《卧薪尝胆》分获首届（杭州）国际民间手工艺品展览会金、银奖；《鲁班的故事》获第三届（2003杭州）国际民间手工艺品展览会金奖；在2005年西博会第五届中国工艺美术大师作品暨工艺美术精品博览会上，他的《香山九老图》《九龙图》《国色天香》分获金、银、铜奖。他将传统的木雕工艺和竹艺运用于建筑装饰领域，在新民艺方面作了积极的探索。2002年10月杭州雷峰塔重建完工，黄小明应邀设计制作大型东阳木雕挂屏《雷峰塔诗词画意》，他采用古代竹简形式，独出机杼，运用木雕艺术中文字或阴雕或嵌翠、风光与人物插图或浮雕或镶嵌的手法，让诗、书、画、雕四位一体，珠联璧合，使雷峰塔彰显出历史文化底蕴；他承接设计装饰的北京饭店、昆明翠湖宾馆、宜兴红漪园茶馆，或庄重高雅雍容华贵，尽显富丽堂皇之气势，或风情浓郁落落大方，体现和谐融合的诗情画意，或古朴典雅温婉柔媚，道尽江南文采风流与人文兴盛。
Masters Reproduce the Dragon Throne
By Fang Lu, Wu Xuhua
In December 2006, the Hall of the Norms of Government in the Forbidden City in Beijing welcomed a brand new historical replication: the dragon throne of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Top experts commented that the minute it was placed in the hall, the throne became the newest antique treasure in the 600-year-old palace.
Over 200 years ago, top woodcarving masters from all over China gathered in Beijing and spent three years making the dragon throne for Emperor Qianlong (who reigned from 1736-1796). The emperor kept it even after he abdicated the throne. However, in the 1960s, the throne was transferred to the Shenyang Palace Museum in northeast China. It remains there. For four decades, the Hall of the Norms of the Government in the Forbidden City had been without a dragon throne.
So when the Forbidden City underwent a repair project in the 21st century, a proposal for remaking a dragon throne for the hall was put on the agenda.
In 2005, He Fuli, a veteran handicraft master from Dongyang, Zhejiang Province with more than fifty-year experience in the art of bamboo-weaving, was chosen to repair some furniture in the imperial study (See Cultural Dialogue No.4, 2006 for details). He Fuli led a team to the Forbidden City. His son-in-law Huang Xiaoming, a key expert on the team, was there when the Forbidden City administration posted a “Wanted”notice to the masters involved in separate repair projects on the premise of the palaces, hoping to enlist woodcarving masters to remake the dragon throne.
Huang Xiaoming offered to do the job. He and other bidders were asked to do a sample part of the throne and present their replications to the public bidding office under the State Council.
The forty-year-old Huang from a small mountain village was finally chosen to be in charge of designing and reproducing the throne. When explaining his motivation, Huang could not help but let his pride in his art shine: “When I signed myself up to do the job, I meant to further enhance the reputation of the Dongyang woodcarving. Masters from Dongyang took part in the construction of the Forbidden City. As a woodcarver from Dongyang, I shoulder the responsibility for carrying on the honor and the fine tradition. The experts“panel from the Forbidden City was looking for the best carvers in the country. If I was chosen, it would be the best recognition for the Dongyang woodcarving. The new throne would carry the past glory of Dongyang carving.”The throne is by no means something easy to reproduce. Huang Xiaoming headed a panel of masters from his company in Dongyang and conducted a field study at the Shenyang Palace Museum. The Emperor Qianlong’s throne was photographed in detail. Drawings were made. All the structure pieces on the throne were meticulously studied and measured. He even got under the throne to take measures. It was a thorough research and Huang’s computer became a library where all the photographs and drawings and other data were stored.
After the field study, the carvers at Huang’s company made a replicate five times smaller than the original. Making the replicate was like a dress rehearsal, enabling the masters to know exactly what to do. The masters also became aware that the woodcarving skills embodied in the original throne were typical of the Dongyang woodcarving. They became more confident.
But confidence was one thing and getting the job done was another. The throne was a three-part challenge: a platform, a chair and a standing screen. The chair was the most important and most difficult to make. In particular, the thirteen gilded dragons soaring and circling on the armrests and the backrest looked like a mission impossible. The openwork carving has only a few supporting spots. The masters discussed the issue thoroughly and then figured out a way to do the openwork carving. They carved parts first and then put separate parts together to form a complete piece. The jointing was done so meticulously that none of the joints can be seen on the dragons. The whole throne was coated with gold spangles as thin as cicada’s wings.
In order to make a perfect throne, Huang Xiaoming visited the throne at the Shenyang Palace Museum four more times during the remaking.
Although it had been mapped out that the throne would require an input of 5,000 man-days and a budget of 1.26 million yuan and would last eight months, it turned out that more funds and time were needed.
On August 29, 2006, experts from the Forbidden City inspected the complete work. “Perfect”was the final and unanimous verdict. It was pointed out that some details surpassed those made 200 years before.
Though modest in saying that the work was a team achievement and that he received a lot of help, Huang has every reason to be proud.
Born in 1965, Huang started woodcarving at 16 under the tutelage of Feng Wentu, a national master of crafts. Over the two decades, Huang had matured artistically and become a celebrated master of innovation and aesthetics. He is the recipient of a dozen of national gold and silver medals and more than 20 provincial first-place honors for his woodcarving masterpieces. The woodcarving projects he has undertaken include a large-scale wall carving piece for the Pagoda on Thunder Peak in Hangzhou and carvings for Beijing Hotel.
(Translated by David)
2005年年底，北京故宫皇极殿迎来一件崭新的“文物”：一件由东阳木雕顶尖艺人复制的乾隆皇帝宝座。对于这件代表当今木雕工艺最高水平的作品，故宫的专家组表示：“在摆进皇极殿的那刻，这宝座就升格为当今最年轻的历史文物了！”
200多年前，全国最顶尖的木雕高手们集聚京城，花了整整3年时间，雕刻出当时全国最华贵最具权威的椅子——乾隆皇帝使用的蟠龙宝座。这宝座被安放在皇宫金碧辉煌的皇极殿，后来成为乾隆退位后的座椅。然而到了上世纪60年代，这把宝座被送到了沈阳故宫博物院，并一直留在那里，由此，故宫的皇极殿便缺了一个宝座。40年来，宝座的“缺位”，给北京故宫留下了深深的遗憾。
令人欣慰的是，如今皇极殿又重新迎来乾隆宝座，这个宝座由浙江省东阳市木雕工艺大师黄小明领衔复制成功！黄小明用精湛的技艺，在这座具有“补白”性质的宝座上刻写了东阳木雕的精彩篇章。
再现盛世奢华
在浙江新东阳木雕有限公司，笔者有幸看到了宝座复制的最后一道程序：贴金。尽管有着充分的心理准备，但当工作人员小心翼翼地取出一叠巴掌大小的薄如蝉翼的金箔时，笔者还是屏住了呼吸，生怕一不小心就会把它吹乱。这些金箔都是含金量达98%的库金，据估计，宝座上所用的全部金箔价值30多万元！
黄小明告诉笔者，为了“做旧如旧”，他们还恢复了已经失传多年的一项油漆工艺：先用细麻布仔细包裹龙椅的每个部位，然后刷上传统的生漆，经过多道复杂工艺后，麻布全部被漆在油漆里层，外观上已根本看不出麻布痕迹。这样做，是为了解决木材的接缝、收缩、开裂等问题。
做出200多年前的油漆效果不是一件容易的事。据说在整个复制工程工序中，最难的就是雕刻和油漆，为此油漆工按照大漆的色重，光样板就做了二三十块。
乾隆宝座复制成功，康乾盛世的奢华顿时扑面袭来。但黄小明复制的绝不是奢华本身的物质意义，而是对古老百工艺术的一种追溯和膜拜。“如果不是这次机会，恐怕我也不知道古代的制作工艺是如此繁琐和精致。而且通过这个机会，我们发掘、恢复了不少古老失传的工艺。”黄小明说。
承载光荣历史
早在2005年1月，中国竹工艺大师、黄小明的岳父何福礼经过故宫大修专家组成员的重重考核，入选修缮“倦勤斋”的竹丝镶嵌和翻簧部件，当时何福礼“举贤不避亲”，建议在修缮“倦勤斋”工程中，其翻簧雕刻部分由其女婿黄小明承担，得到了专家们的同意。就在“倦勤斋”工程进行中，黄小明得到了另一条重要信息：故宫的皇极殿缺了一把蟠龙宝座，故宫正在全国范围内寻找木雕高手复制。
黄小明学习岳父敢拼敢闯的精神，立马前往故宫“揭榜”。故宫给前来“揭榜”的多家单位和个人一张相同的龙椅局部图案，要求每个行家按照图纸做出样品，在此基础上故宫再确定入选者名单，参加国务院招标办举行的招标会。结果在国务院举办的招标会上，从东阳小山村走出的、时年40岁的黄小明一举中标，并担任了复制乾隆宝座的总设计师和总指导。
乾隆皇帝宝座包括地台、屏风和龙椅三个部分，其中龙椅是核心。宝座复制工艺包括绘画、选材、脱水、雕刻、油漆、组合，其中最难做的是雕刻和油漆。龙椅的扶手有13条别具一格的金龙腾空盘旋，支撑点很少，镂空难度更高。黄小明说，当时预计整个工程需花费5000工，工期8个月，总造价达126万元。但施工结果大大超出了预算，工期一再延长，投入也被一再追加。“我不是为了经济效益复制宝座，做什么都比做这个要赚钱，但龙椅不是谁都有机会做的。”黄小明真诚地告诉笔者，“我去‘揭榜’时想得更多的是为了提高东阳木雕的知名度。数百年前东阳木雕工匠就参与了故宫的建造，作为东阳木雕的传人，我有责任重续东阳木雕的辉煌。故宫专家组寻找的是全国顶尖的木雕高手，如果我能入选，就是对东阳木雕的最大肯定。这把由我们承制的宝座，也承载着东阳木雕的光荣历史。”
演绎百工精彩
黄小明拿到中标通知书后，并没有急于着手制作，他首先带一班人马专程赶赴沈阳故宫，对先前的那个乾隆宝座进行了全方位的“解析”。在沈阳故宫博物院，黄小明拍照、制图，对这座宝座的所有的构件都进行了仔细研究，甚至钻到宝座底下进行测绘，他说：“原版宝座的每一个犄角旮旯都被我们测量过了！”在黄小明的电脑里，乾隆宝座的图片存得满满的，在制作过程中每每遇到一点疑问，他就马上打开电脑里的图片资料查询。黄小明说，让师傅们到沈阳故宫不光是为了测数据，更重要的是为了让他们彻底了解历史文化，感受皇家风范。这种宏大威严的感受平日是无法想象的，只有身临其境才能感受得到，才会做出大作品。
从沈阳回来后，木雕师傅们花了一个多月时间，按照l∶5的比例制作了“缩微龙椅”，这是开工前的一次“彩排”，诚如木工老师傅申屠梅荣所言：“没有做出这个样品前，我们谁也没底儿，过了一遍手，我们就有数了，复制宝座就有信心了。”
宝座上的蟠龙是木雕中最关键的工艺，也是最难的技术活。黄小明说，龙椅的靠背和扶手有13条蟠龙，首尾相连，盘根错节；龙椅背靠高大屏风，顶部的“屏帽”又雕刻着7条蟠龙，而宝座的其他部位也布满姿态各异的龙。为此申屠老师傅经常被前来参观的人追问：“整个乾隆的宝座中到底有多少条龙？”其实申屠师傅也搞不清具体数目：“我想近千条是会有的，再问得细我就干脆告诉他们，大概是999条龙！”说着他也笑了。
在近千条龙中最难的就是乾隆椅上13条蟠龙的雕刻。申屠师傅说，他家祖孙六代都从事木雕，对于东阳木雕各个时期的风格都比较熟悉，他在沈阳故宫看到的宝座上的木雕技法，是典型的东阳木雕风格，这给了他很大的信心。但是万万没有想到做龙椅上的蟠龙还是这么难，因为13条龙全都腾空盘旋，支撑点很少，镂空难度更高。不过经过一番苦思冥想，他们还是想出一个方法：先制作出蟠龙的泥模，然后用木头分段雕刻拼接。由于制作精细，这种拼接让人硬是无法看出痕迹，可谓“天衣无缝”。
黄小明说：“整个宝座没有一处地方是简单的，所以原定截止的工期一拖再拖。这是个大作品，不能留下遗憾，我不能砸了东阳木雕的牌子。”整个制作过程中，黄小明去了四次沈阳故宫，他要将宝座复制得万无一失！
2005年8月29日，在故宫专家组的验收中，大家最后以“完美”两字作为总结词，而且还称赞“某些细节的处理甚至超过了200年前的工艺水平”。面对专家组的肯定，黄小明谦逊地说：“这件作品是大家共同完成的，在整个过程中我得到了许多人的帮助，我只是尽我所能。”
追寻艺术理想
黄小明出生于1965年，从16岁起他就开始学习木雕，并师从中国工艺美术大师冯文土。二十多年的从艺经历，磨练出他娴熟的木雕工艺、创新能力以及广博的美学修养。诚如中国工艺美术学会副理事长兼秘书长陈兴国所言，他有扎实的传统木雕创作技法又具现代艺术理念，是一位有思想的青年艺术家。
作为东阳木雕的后起之秀，黄小明以他一批构思精巧的木雕作品起步，继以革新东阳木雕在新民艺建筑装饰中的作用而扬名，他曾获国家级金奖、银奖十余项，省级大奖二十多项。他的《新世纪的呼唤》获中国工艺美术创作大展世纪杯金奖；《悟》《和平发展》《卧薪尝胆》分获首届（杭州）国际民间手工艺品展览会金、银奖；《鲁班的故事》获第三届（2003杭州）国际民间手工艺品展览会金奖；在2005年西博会第五届中国工艺美术大师作品暨工艺美术精品博览会上，他的《香山九老图》《九龙图》《国色天香》分获金、银、铜奖。他将传统的木雕工艺和竹艺运用于建筑装饰领域，在新民艺方面作了积极的探索。2002年10月杭州雷峰塔重建完工，黄小明应邀设计制作大型东阳木雕挂屏《雷峰塔诗词画意》，他采用古代竹简形式，独出机杼，运用木雕艺术中文字或阴雕或嵌翠、风光与人物插图或浮雕或镶嵌的手法，让诗、书、画、雕四位一体，珠联璧合，使雷峰塔彰显出历史文化底蕴；他承接设计装饰的北京饭店、昆明翠湖宾馆、宜兴红漪园茶馆，或庄重高雅雍容华贵，尽显富丽堂皇之气势，或风情浓郁落落大方，体现和谐融合的诗情画意，或古朴典雅温婉柔媚，道尽江南文采风流与人文兴盛。
Masters Reproduce the Dragon Throne
By Fang Lu, Wu Xuhua
In December 2006, the Hall of the Norms of Government in the Forbidden City in Beijing welcomed a brand new historical replication: the dragon throne of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Top experts commented that the minute it was placed in the hall, the throne became the newest antique treasure in the 600-year-old palace.
Over 200 years ago, top woodcarving masters from all over China gathered in Beijing and spent three years making the dragon throne for Emperor Qianlong (who reigned from 1736-1796). The emperor kept it even after he abdicated the throne. However, in the 1960s, the throne was transferred to the Shenyang Palace Museum in northeast China. It remains there. For four decades, the Hall of the Norms of the Government in the Forbidden City had been without a dragon throne.
So when the Forbidden City underwent a repair project in the 21st century, a proposal for remaking a dragon throne for the hall was put on the agenda.
In 2005, He Fuli, a veteran handicraft master from Dongyang, Zhejiang Province with more than fifty-year experience in the art of bamboo-weaving, was chosen to repair some furniture in the imperial study (See Cultural Dialogue No.4, 2006 for details). He Fuli led a team to the Forbidden City. His son-in-law Huang Xiaoming, a key expert on the team, was there when the Forbidden City administration posted a “Wanted”notice to the masters involved in separate repair projects on the premise of the palaces, hoping to enlist woodcarving masters to remake the dragon throne.
Huang Xiaoming offered to do the job. He and other bidders were asked to do a sample part of the throne and present their replications to the public bidding office under the State Council.
The forty-year-old Huang from a small mountain village was finally chosen to be in charge of designing and reproducing the throne. When explaining his motivation, Huang could not help but let his pride in his art shine: “When I signed myself up to do the job, I meant to further enhance the reputation of the Dongyang woodcarving. Masters from Dongyang took part in the construction of the Forbidden City. As a woodcarver from Dongyang, I shoulder the responsibility for carrying on the honor and the fine tradition. The experts“panel from the Forbidden City was looking for the best carvers in the country. If I was chosen, it would be the best recognition for the Dongyang woodcarving. The new throne would carry the past glory of Dongyang carving.”The throne is by no means something easy to reproduce. Huang Xiaoming headed a panel of masters from his company in Dongyang and conducted a field study at the Shenyang Palace Museum. The Emperor Qianlong’s throne was photographed in detail. Drawings were made. All the structure pieces on the throne were meticulously studied and measured. He even got under the throne to take measures. It was a thorough research and Huang’s computer became a library where all the photographs and drawings and other data were stored.
After the field study, the carvers at Huang’s company made a replicate five times smaller than the original. Making the replicate was like a dress rehearsal, enabling the masters to know exactly what to do. The masters also became aware that the woodcarving skills embodied in the original throne were typical of the Dongyang woodcarving. They became more confident.
But confidence was one thing and getting the job done was another. The throne was a three-part challenge: a platform, a chair and a standing screen. The chair was the most important and most difficult to make. In particular, the thirteen gilded dragons soaring and circling on the armrests and the backrest looked like a mission impossible. The openwork carving has only a few supporting spots. The masters discussed the issue thoroughly and then figured out a way to do the openwork carving. They carved parts first and then put separate parts together to form a complete piece. The jointing was done so meticulously that none of the joints can be seen on the dragons. The whole throne was coated with gold spangles as thin as cicada’s wings.
In order to make a perfect throne, Huang Xiaoming visited the throne at the Shenyang Palace Museum four more times during the remaking.
Although it had been mapped out that the throne would require an input of 5,000 man-days and a budget of 1.26 million yuan and would last eight months, it turned out that more funds and time were needed.
On August 29, 2006, experts from the Forbidden City inspected the complete work. “Perfect”was the final and unanimous verdict. It was pointed out that some details surpassed those made 200 years before.
Though modest in saying that the work was a team achievement and that he received a lot of help, Huang has every reason to be proud.
Born in 1965, Huang started woodcarving at 16 under the tutelage of Feng Wentu, a national master of crafts. Over the two decades, Huang had matured artistically and become a celebrated master of innovation and aesthetics. He is the recipient of a dozen of national gold and silver medals and more than 20 provincial first-place honors for his woodcarving masterpieces. The woodcarving projects he has undertaken include a large-scale wall carving piece for the Pagoda on Thunder Peak in Hangzhou and carvings for Beijing Hotel.
(Translated by David)