China's paintings and calligraphy are recognized as treasures of oriental art in the world. With the traditional painting and calligraphy mounting art, the painting and calligraphy mounting technology is also unique to the Chinese nation. Thanks to the mounting process, the treasures of calligraphy and painting in the past dynasties have been preserved for a long time. Later, it spread to Japan and some Asian countries, becoming a unique craft in the East and cherished by all countries in the world. So, how did this unique national craft in China develop? Like other things, painting and calligraphy mounting also has a development process from scratch and from shallow to deep. 1973 A picture of a dragon king unearthed from the Chu Tomb of the Warring States Period in Hunan Province provides us with valuable raw materials for understanding this regular problem. This precious cultural relic is "wrapped in a thin bamboo strip at the top and horizontal edges and tied with a brown silk rope." Later, there was a further discovery on the silk painting unearthed from the No.1 Han Tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha: "The top of the D-shaped silk painting was wrapped with bamboo poles and tied with brown ribbons, and the two lower corners of the middle and lower parts were decorated with cylindrical tapestries made of cyan linen." These specific characteristics show the original motivation of the ancients to appreciate painting, which plays a very important role in studying the origin of painting and calligraphy mounting.
Through the above information, the history of painting and calligraphy mounting can be completely pushed back to the Warring States period more than 2,000 years ago. If further inference is made, bamboo will be abundant, and the earliest paintings in China will be unearthed many times. It is not unreasonable that the crux of painting and calligraphy mounting lies in Hunan as the birthplace of mounting technology.
Although the history of painting and calligraphy mounting is long, there are not many written records left. Judging from the existing literature, the earliest record of mounting historical materials should be Zhang Yanyuan's Record of Famous Paintings in Past Dynasties in Tang Dynasty, which mentioned: "Since the Jin Dynasty, Ye Fan has not been properly mounted." Ye Fan, the author of the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, the satrap of Xuancheng in the Southern Song Dynasty and a famous historian, is an early master of mounting in the history of mounting in China. Emperor Taizong made great efforts to collect Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and famous paintings of past dynasties, appointed Wang Hang to mount them directly, and Wang Zhijing supervised them, which shows that the Tang Dynasty attached importance to painting mounting. At that time, envoys from Nara, Japan, came to China to study mounting technology, and Emperor Taizong personally ordered Zhang Yanyuan to teach mounting technology. Since then, our mounting technology has spread to Japan and taken root and blossomed in foreign countries. In the Five Dynasties, mounting technology was further developed. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Huizong founded the Painting Academy, and put mounting into his official position, which became one of the six pending actions of Siwen Painting Academy. Under the advocacy of the royal family and on the basis of careful exploration by painters and framers, the famous "Xuanhe Mounting" format was finally formed. This indicates that China painting and calligraphy mounting technology was introduced to the people, especially in the five hundred years of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Mounting technology became a specialized industry for opening shops to mount paintings, and many well-known painting and calligraphy mounting shops appeared in Suzhou, Yangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hunan, Hubei and Kaifeng.
For a period of time after liberation, for various reasons, the mounting industry once declined. Later, some cultural relics and museum units set up painting and calligraphy mounting institutions. In the middle and late 1970s, profound changes took place. Painting and calligraphy mounting, like an awakening spring breeze, has changed the past silence and greatly increased the number of employees. Many explorations and reforms have also been made in mounting technology and mounting materials, and they are moving towards the road of combining traditional technology with modern technology.
Painting and calligraphy mounting equipment and tools
(1) Studio (also called mounting room): Requirements: worry-free, bright, clean and tidy, safe and convenient, with moderate temperature and humidity.
(2) Wall-making (also called big wall and board-making): used for leveling and drying painting cores, mounting pieces and various mounting materials. Requirements: Flat, smooth, ventilated and dry.
(3) Desk (also called installation desk): Requirements: the desk board is hard, the desktop is smooth and flat, and the height of the desk is generally about 80 cm.
(4) Air drying rack (also called air drying pole): used to dry processed backing paper, colored paper and various materials.
(5) Copying table: glass desktop with built-in fluorescent lamp, which is used to uncover and mount old paintings.
(6) Ladder: used to step on the wall during installation.
(7) Combination brush: used for mounting silk, silk, paper, painting heart and painting.
(8) Brown brush: used for mounting silk, silk, paper, painting hearts, painting mounted pieces on the wall, etc.
(9) Paper cutter: used for drawing Fang Zhengzhi Heart, cutting and matching painting materials, etc.
(10) Ruler and chopping board: used to draw a square heart and cut and match painting materials.
(1 1) awl needle and tweezers: used for drawing hearts and picking out sundries.
(12) Bottle opener: used to uncover the mounting pieces and various materials on the wall.
(13) Oil paper (also called pulp paper and paste insulation): used for shaping leftover bits and pieces and paste insulation.
(14) Stone (also known as grindstone): used to grind and smooth the back of the installation.
(15) Wax board: It is used to rub and coat the back of the mounting when the mounting is calendered.
Other tools: scissors, duster, fork, watering can, basket screen, wood saw, electric drill, pliers, copper wire, washbasin, towel, brush, pigment, ink, palette, plastic film, etc.
Three-pack material
(1) Xuan paper: It can be divided into raw Xuan and cooked Xuan, mainly produced in Anhui.
(2) Silk, silk, brocade, brocade, hemp, etc.
(3) Sky pole, ground pole, crescent pole, shaft head, hand-rolled sheet, label, etc.
(4) Ribbons, ribbons, brass buttons, etc.
(5) Flour, gelatin and alum.
Four mounting styles of painting and calligraphy
(a) Vertical axis, nave
(2) couplets
(3) Cross dressing
(4) Strip screen, Tong Jingping
(5) Lenses and sectors
(6) Handroll
(7) Album page
Five installers
Pulping-Drawing Heart-Square Drawing Heart-(Dyeing Material)-Ingredients-Mosaic-Cutting Big Edge-Wrapping (Wrapping)-Sticking String (Connecting Mouth and Sticking Rod)-Matching Back (Mounting Back Paper)-Veneering (Living)-Grinding (Drawing)
Evaluate the quality of six mounting parts.
The standard for evaluating the quality of mounted parts is simply: smoothness, smoothness, softness and harmony.
Specifically, it can be divided into:
(a) exquisite workmanship, even and fine inlay.
(2) The exhibition is smooth and generous, and the picture is smooth and clean.
(3) The color of the picture is harmonious.
(4) Soft and moderate in thickness.
(5) After winding, it shall be neat without unevenness.
On Mounting of Ancient Paintings and Calligraphy
(A) Zhang Yanyuan's "Famous Paintings of the Tang Dynasty"
(2) The History of Calligraphy and Painting by Mi Fei in the Northern Song Dynasty.
(3) Zhou Mi Dong Qiyu Ye in the Southern Song Dynasty (Volume 6) Painting and Calligraphy Style of Shaoxing Hanlin Academy
(4) Tao's "South Village Dropping out of Farming" in Yuan Dynasty.
(5) Wen Zhenheng's Chronicle of Long Events in Ming Dynasty.
(6) Painting Mountain by Zou Yigui in Qing Dynasty
Exhibition and collection of framed paintings and calligraphy
Due to the different mounting forms of calligraphy and painting works, different forms of works have different ways of display and collection.
(A) the vertical axis of the exhibition
It is best for two people to hang the vertical shaft at the same time. One person holds the pole and belt with both hands, and the other person holds the shaft heads at both ends of the pole and unfolds it slowly. Whether hanging on the wall or hanging on the wall, it is forbidden to support the back of the painting with your fingers, which will leave creases as the painting unfolds.
Collection: If possible, you can make a special wooden cabinet (preferably made of camphor wood), which should be laid flat layer by layer and cannot be squeezed. If there is no special cabinet, you can make a painting tube or box for each work, and then put mothballs on it.
(2) Handroll exhibition and collection
Because the hand roll is narrow and long, it can't be hung on the wall, so the exhibition of hand roll must be held on the table. If there are two people, one person slowly unfolds the paper with both hands, and the other person rolls it up at the speed of exhibition. If you are alone, stick your right hand to the zenith, hold the middle waist of the hand roll with your left hand, and then collect it for exhibition. After unfolding, a heavy object must be pressed at each end to prevent rolling.
Collection method is the same as vertical shaft.
(3) Display and collection of album pages
The album is different from other books. We can't turn pages like books. We should put it flat on the table. After opening the album, it is best to insert the bamboo piece dedicated to the middle finger (or forefinger) of the right hand into the gap under the page and turn it to the right (or upward).
Collection: Most books are made of brocade and satin, wrapped and laid flat.
(4) the display and collection of cross-string.
The transverse arm is not convenient to roll relative to the vertical shaft, so the specific requirements are different.
First, lay it flat on the table. One person gently presses the right lever, and the other person holds the upper and lower edges of the mounting piece with both hands and unfolds it slowly. When hanging on the wall, two people must cooperate with each other to flatten the work and firmly fix it on the wall nails on the left and right sides. (If it is a crescent pole, you need to add a piece of wood with the same size on the back of the crescent pole and fix it on the wall together, so that the work can be isolated from the wall to avoid getting wet. ).
The set is the same as the vertical axis.
(5) Display and storage of lenses
After the lenses are installed, most of them are put into frames. However, works that are not mounted should be placed flat on wooden cabinets or wooden cases. When stacked, Xuan paper should be placed between works, or it can be rolled up and put into a painting tube or box.
In short, paintings and calligraphy works must be replaced after hanging for a period of time. When cleaning the mounted film, you should not brush it with a brush, let alone wipe it with a wet towel. It is best to gently dust off the dust with a soft cloth or feather duster. Always wear gloves when touching calligraphy and painting works (especially framed works) to avoid sweat polluting the works and distorting them.
Nine. Interpretation of installation terms
(1) vertical axis
Vertical axis is also called hanging axis, hanging width, banner, vertical width, mountain and axis; Especially narrow, some people call it "the piano bar". The large calligraphy and painting hanging in the center of the hall is also called "nave".
Due to historical reasons and people's appreciation habits, vertical shaft has become the most popular and fashionable device.
The common traditional installation styles of vertical shaft are: monochrome installation, two-color installation, three-color installation, Song-style (Xuanhe) installation, poetry hall installation, half-wire installation, paper inlaid wire edge installation, splendid installation, interval monochrome installation, frame two-color installation, shaft back installation and so on.
(2) screen
Screen is also called fan screen and screen □ (this word means "home" and "clothing" below). According to the different hanging environment, it is called Kangping, Lying Screen, Hanging Screen and Royal Screen (referring to the screen used in court). Originally used for shelter and decoration, it was called a screen. There is a silk painting on the front. Screen bar is an independent device based on vertical axis, which combines the characteristics of vertical width with the screen.
The screen is mainly divided into screen bar and Tong Jingping.
(3) couplets
Couplets are also called couplets, door couplets, word couplets, book couplets, pairs, door couplets and couplets. Double-line long sentences are also called Longmen couplets.
Couplets are composed of two calligraphy works with the same number of words, the same content, the same heart size and the same mounting specifications. When hanging, the upper part is on the right (also called antithesis) and the lower part is on the left (also called antithesis). Two are in accordance with the vice.
(4) Rolling
Scroll is also called hand scroll, horizontal scroll, axial scroll, horizontal axis, horizontal view, hand axis, paper and line view. Horizontal decoration is an ancient form of decoration. The scroll is small and light, suitable for collection. But you can only put the table flat, which is not convenient to hang.
The picture scroll consists of a celestial head, a waterproof head, a leading head and a trailing head, which are connected with the painting center. Although the installation types are different, the requirements and specifications of each part are basically the same.
Reels are generally divided into: edge collision roller, flanging roller, wrapping roller and back roller.
(5) Horizontal examination and approval
Horizontal batch is also called horizontal hanging. Horizontal load. Horizontal batch solves the contradiction that banner paintings and calligraphy are inconvenient to hang.
(6) Mirror Center
The mirror center is also called a lens. Named for being placed in a frame. It belongs to the same type as the early screen painting and the "paste" of the Qing palace (a simple mounting piece attached to the palace wall). Both horizontal and vertical are ok. This is a simple and convenient installation.
(7) Album page
Album pages are also called leaves. It is a decoration influenced by book binding.
The mounting styles of album pages are mainly divided into: butterfly mounting, tent mounting, folding mounting, flat album pages, flanging album pages and so on. But no matter how many kinds there are, there are only two.