The work "Three Kingdoms" took seven years. Photo by Chen Feiyi
The Han Guang porcelain landscape micro-book "Tao Te Ching" exhibited in Paris. Photo provided by interviewee
The author only writes with naked eyes, but the viewer needs a magnifying glass to see clearly. Photo by Chen Feiyi
Walking into Wang Zhiwen’s Ceramic Micro-Shu Art Museum is rather like walking into a miniature art museum. Various ceramic micro-book works are displayed in different spaces: tea cups, porcelain plates, vases, hanging screens... small porcelain contains the great universe.
Do you believe it? More than 100 Chinese characters can be written on 1 square centimeter of porcelain surface. The reporter held a magnifying glass and looked at the ceramics one by one. The Chinese characters under the magnifying glass were exquisite and detailed, and the writing was smooth and smooth with varying strengths. When the magnifying glass was removed, the densely packed Chinese characters actually "revealed the mountains and dews", and the mountains were undulating and layered. Stacked, it looks like an ink painting of a mountain landscape.
More than a month ago, two works created by Wang Zhiwen, a master of Chinese arts and crafts and a representative inheritor of representative projects of national intangible cultural heritage, were selected into the Chinese Art Exhibition "From Beijing to Paris - Olympic Tour of Chinese and French Artists". Once again, this national-level intangible cultural heritage project will appear abroad and amaze the world. This technique, which perfectly integrates two major Chinese art forms - micro-writing and ceramics, was founded by Wang Zhiwen and was also carried forward by him.
The daily work that Wang Zhiwen calls "big sesame seeds and big mung beans" is actually condensing the essence of traditional Chinese culture into a small space. Ceramic micro-shu works frequently go abroad and to the world, not only winning widespread praise from the international community, but also stimulating a strong interest in traditional Chinese culture among many art lovers around the world.
●Nanfang Daily reporter Chen Feiyi
Ingenuity and ingenuity make it difficult to refine the true "gold"
Ceramic crafts and micro-writing techniques have a long history in China, and the unique art form of ceramic micro-writing created by combining the two did not appear until the end of the 20th century.
Wang Zhiwen, who has been interested in calligraphy, fine arts and other arts since childhood, is not only good at writing, but also likes to read ancient classics. After coming into contact with Weishu, one of the Chinese calligraphy arts, he became deeply addicted to it. Micro calligraphy is a very small form of calligraphy. To practice it requires the unity of mind and hand, and the naked eye to use the pen. Each stroke must be meticulous and legible, and the practice process is laborious. Therefore, there have been very few people who have mastered this art since ancient times.
In the 1980s, Wang Zhiwen was assigned to the ceramics factory to be responsible for design work. After systematically learning the process of colored porcelain there, a "curious idea" sprouted in his mind: why not write micro inscriptions on ceramics. This idea breaks the tradition and moves the micro-shu art from silk and paper to ceramics, which can be said to be an "unprecedented" initiative. This started Wang Zhiwen's creative journey.
Wang Zhiwen introduced to reporters that ceramic micro-bookTo create, you must first choose porcelain plates, bottles, plates, pots, cups, ordinary porcelain, Hanguang porcelain, and jade porcelain that are similar to the content and artistic conception of the work; then you need to make your own writing tools according to the artistic form and carrier material of the work, such as strong writing fonts Lang Hao, Yang Hao with round fonts, and Micro Pen that combines Lang Hao and Yang Hao; at the same time, writing micro-scripts also has high requirements for ink. You need to choose ink suitable for writing on porcelain glaze, and choose various high-temperature-resistant colorants for painting. .
Creative tools are one thing. Whether the work can be completely "baked" through repeated firing at high temperatures determines the success or failure of the work. The reporter observed that on the first floor of the Ceramic Weishu Art Museum, there are dozens of ceramic microshu works that failed to be fired. Some of these works have slight cracks on the porcelain surface, and some have vertical and horizontal cracks.
Wang Zhiwen said that after writing and painting with high-temperature resistant glaze ink colorants, each ceramic micro-book work needs to be fired three times: the first time is to fire the blank, the second time is to ink and then fire. The third time is to add color and then burn. "Porcelain must be fired in the kiln repeatedly to allow the color ink to blend into the glaze layer to form a picture. Once cracks form during the firing process, the work will fail."
Recalling the firing process of the work "Three Kingdoms" that set the Guinness record, Wang Zhiwen was still very excited, "Recalling the final stage of firing "Three Kingdoms", it was really painful until the work was successfully fired. , I let go of the big stone in my heart." "Three Kingdoms", which took seven years to be written on a ceramic quiver with a height of 85 cm and a diameter of 29 cm, has a total of 352,963 traditional Chinese characters, which is still difficult to surpass in the field of ceramic micro-writing. peak.
Using all things as the title to write about thousands of rivers and mountains
The author only writes with naked eyes, but the viewer needs a magnifying glass to see clearly. This is why ceramic micro-books are called "miraculous". Appreciate the ceramic micro-shu works in detail, most of which contain ancient Chinese poetry and classical literature.
It is worth mentioning that Wang Zhiwen combined calligraphy with traditional Chinese painting. Part or even the entire picture in the ceramic works is composed of micro-scripts, or words are used to match the paintings, or words are used to compose the paintings, forming the idea that "from a distance, it is a painting, and from a close look, it is a word" , the artistic effect of "paintings in words, words in paintings".
The reporter looked at a ceramic micro-book work from a distance. The mountains are stacked with mountains, deep above and shallow below, as if clouds and mist enveloped the mountains. Picking up a magnifying glass and taking a closer look, the mountain peaks are all composed of tiny words, and the content is actually a Tang poetry and Song Dynasty poem describing the strange peaks. , people are so amazed! Wang Zhiwen told reporters that in order to express the depth and depth of the mountain, as well as the sense of distance and distance, the ink, pen and writing strength used when "writing the mountain" are different.
It can be said that ceramic micro-shu is not a simple calligraphy work, but also an exquisite aesthetic work of art. When the tiny text blends with the huge picture, it integrates "poetry, calligraphy, painting, and porcelain" into one, blending the fine brushwork skills of Chinese painting, the outlining, coloring, and dyeing techniques of colored porcelain, and the mountains, trees, flowers, birds, and insects are integrated into one. Fish and other subjects are included in the creation. The author uses ceramics as a board and writes about thousands of rivers and mountains with a pen, painting a vast world.
Ceramic micro-book requires artists to have a solid foundation in calligraphy, painting and literary literacy in terms of artistic accomplishment. Physically, they need to have excellent eyesight to see the subtle details. When inhaling and exercising, the mind should not be distracted. The qi is formed in the hand and can be seen in the pen. Learn from the pen and avoid the hustle and bustle. Wang Zhiwen revealed to reporters that he usually starts creating at midnight when everything is silent, and lasts until dawn. This period of time is a precious time for him to focus on creation.
Lin Hao, a student of Wang Zhiwen and the municipal intangible cultural heritage inheritor of ceramic micro-book, has been practicing art for more than 20 years. He said that the core part of studying the art of ceramic micro-book is to "have a calm heart and the tenacity to persevere." Lin Hao believes that the techniques and techniques for creating ceramic micro-books are important, but the biggest test is whether you can devote yourself wholeheartedly and endure loneliness.
Lin Hao said that the ceramic micro-book project also faces challenges in terms of inheritance. The creation of ceramic micro-books requires long-term, focused and precise operations, and requires extremely high levels of patience and perseverance. It is often difficult for the younger generation to persevere for a long time. "When I was young, I couldn't bear the boringness and chose to give up ceramic micro-books, so I can understand why young people give up halfway."
Nowadays, Lin Hao has become a municipal-level inheritor of intangible cultural heritage. He said that the country’s emphasis on intangible cultural heritage projects has also made more young people realize the value of traditional culture and become interested in the skills of intangible cultural heritage, which is of great significance to The inheritance of ceramic micro-books is a positive side.
The online exhibition hall of Works spread all over the world opens a new chapter
In addition to inheritance, Wang Zhiwen also made a lot of efforts in the dissemination and promotion of ceramic micro-books. In recent years, he has frequently represented Shantou and even China, holding or participating in exhibitions at home and abroad, bringing the art of ceramic micro-calligraphy to all over the world. His works are not only praised domestically but also internationally, and are collected by multiple museums and art institutions. In addition, Wang Zhiwen also actively participates in cultural exchange activities, showing the unique charm and profound cultural heritage of ceramic micro-books to people around the world.
Lin Hao has often followed his teacher to participate in exhibitions around the world in recent years. He told reporters that when his works are exhibited abroad, there are often many foreigners holding magnifying glasses in front of the works to look at them carefully for a long time. "We would curiously ask him if he could understand Chinese characters, but they actually couldn't. They were just surprised by this skill and found it incredible." Lin Hao said with a smile.
At the Chinese Art Exhibition "From Beijing to Paris - Olympic Tour of Sino-French Artists", Wang Zhiwen's Han Guang Porcelain Landscape Micro-script "Tao Te Ching" and Tianqiu Vase Landscape Micro-script "Seven Character Rhymed Poems" attracted countless The gaze of foreign visitors.
In the work "Tao Te Ching", Wang Zhiwen laid out the mountains according to the shape of ceramics, and used micro-scripts to form a rain shape, creating a small artistic conception of all the mountains at a glance. The work is magnificent and has strong visual impact and artistic appeal. The scenery of the work "Seven Character Rhythm Poetry" is pleasing to the eye. Wang Zhiwen wrote micro-scripts of winding mountains and placed them in a conspicuous position at the top. The poetry, calligraphy and painting are integrated into one, making the viewer feel like they are in the painting, and have endless aftertaste.
Wang ZhiWen said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, and is also the China-France Cultural Tourism Year. It is a particularly important year for cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and France. "Through the display of ceramic micro-shu works, overseas audiences can appreciate the subtleties of traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting, understand the unique beauty of ceramic art, and thereby enhance their understanding and recognition of traditional Chinese culture."
He believes that many overseas tourists are amazed by the ceramic micro-book skills, which shows that the ceramic micro-book works not only demonstrate the breadth and depth of the traditional Chinese culture, but also further enhance the international influence of Chinese culture and art.
In addition to physical exhibitions, Wang Zhiwen also uses modern media and Internet platforms to spread the art of ceramic micro-writing. According to reports, in order to create an online exhibition hall, Wang Zhiwen specially hired an experienced multimedia team. They used advanced VR and AR technology to three-dimensionally scan every corner and every work in the art museum. and modeling. People who cannot visit the site in person can just scan the exclusive QR code to visit the art gallery online and appreciate the beauty of ceramic micro-books.
