"Wow!" Mai Xiaomiao came to the display window and exclaimed like many girls who had seen it before: "Is this the "Dragon Son"? Going to see it in person is much more beneficial than looking at photos."
This is another peculiarity of Nanhong's products. They show great workmanship, but they always lose points when expressed through photography, which is far from as stunning as seeing it with your own eyes.
As a result, Mai Xiaomiao's next move caught everyone's attention. She rolled up a sleeve and showed a string of red beads on her wrist: "Elbow, is it carved from the stone we picked up?"< br>
The people around him all looked at her strangely. If it weren't for the beautiful string of red beads on Mai Xiaomiao's wrist, some of them would probably have ridiculed her.
Zhou Zhi quickly pulled down Mai Xiaomiao's hand and pulled off his sleeve to cover her: "Your string is carefully selected water seeds. They are played with the original ecology and the varieties are different. Yours is flame red. Master Chu and the others The color is cherry red, and the viewing direction is different.”
"Does this classmate understand the origin of this cherry-red color? Then can you tell us about it?" A middle-aged man in the crowd heard this and asked Zhou Zhi for advice: "Such a beautiful stone, at first glance, it feels like glass. , it turned out that the introduction said it was made of natural material. How come something like this has not been discovered before?”
"Oh." Zhou Zhi thought for a while and decided not to miss this precious opportunity to promote Nanhong: "Speaking of this stone, it was used as a gemstone in our country for a long time, but it faded out later when the mineral resources were exhausted. It’s our vision.”
"This kind of stone is called Nanhong, which is a kind of agate. But what makes it different from ordinary agate is that the texture of this kind of agate can be pure and uniform. The ancients used it as a substitute for coral. It is even better because of its hard texture. The earliest one used was It is made from Longnan material, so it is called 'Nanhong' based on its origin and color. ”
"The Qing Dynasty used a large amount of coral pearls, and a large amount of jewels were needed to win over the Mongols and Tibetans. Therefore, Gannan red was quickly used by the court after it was discovered, and within a hundred years it was all mined."
"In the Qianlong period, people discovered another vein in Baoshan, central Yunnan. The texture and color are close to Gannan red. The only problem is that the material is too broken."
"Defective products are better than nothing. In addition, the road to transport Yunnan copper has been opened. The development of Baoshan Nanhong has quickly become a hot topic. Even the more fragmented materials have been mined quickly."
"From the late Qianlong period to the past few years, apart from some cultural relics left in the Forbidden City, some loose beads can occasionally be seen in the antique market, while the rest are rare."
"Until the year before last, someone discovered some scattered mineral veins in the upper reaches of the Jinsha River, which also produced a kind of red agate, but the patterns were various. There were cinnabar spots on the white ground, called Bingpiao, and full-flesh ones. solid color , called persimmon red, mixed with meat jelly, called flame red, with a slightly transparent texture, and a bright red color like a cherry. For example, the material used to carve this "Hundred and Eight Dragon Sons" is called a cherry. Red.”
"Then you just said that what this little sister is holding is called water seeds..."
"Oh, that's another way to classify it." Zhou Zhi said: "Nanhong is produced in mud caves on the mountain. Due to landslides and debris flows, some mineral materials will be brought to streams and rivers. Agate is even more valuable than Hetian jade. It is hydrophilic. After a long period of washing and friction by water and sediment, the stones will become round and the essence can be left behind. ”
"Just like the earliest Hetian jade, the earliest Hetian jade refers to the seeds in the two rivers." The middle-aged man understood: "The quality left after being washed in the water for millions of years is better than The ones picked out in the mountains are much better.”
"That's what it means." Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "Nanhong also has water seeds, but among the water seeds, flame patterns are the most common. If there are pure colors, their quality is generally much better than mountain materials. This is most easily reflected in In terms of color, bright red is like the color of the national flag. It is the best among persimmon reds, and is called 'Jinhong'." "Although there are rose reds in Nanhong that are darker in color and more purple, and there are also oxblood reds that are redder but darker in color. In the end, both are the same. It’s one step behind Jinhong.”
"So that's it, I've learned a lesson." The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Thank you classmate for clarifying our doubts, but where is the specific place of origin of this material?"
"I heard from the elders that it comes from a tributary in the upper reaches of the Jinsha River." Zhou Zhi is determined to remain mysterious about this: "But here, Nanhong is just a material, a carrier of the exquisite craftsmanship of the masters."< br>
"Everyone must not buy a casket for a pearl, but pay more attention to the masters' exquisite workmanship and ingenuity."
"I found a profession that is very suitable for you." Mai Xiaomiao squeezed out from the crowd and held on to Zhou Zhi's hand: "As a tour guide, you can tell a story about anything."
"This is the palace of Chinese arts and crafts. Let's not show off our skill in drilling holes in stones." Zhou Zhi said, "We have wasted a lot of stones and the holes we drilled are not aligned."
< br>
Thinking of this, Wheat Miao also found it a bit funny. The rows are like mountains. The agate material is extremely hard and relatively brittle. To drill holes in it, you need to use a diamond grinding needle. How to drill the precise holes you want is really a problem.
If you penetrate directly from one end to the other, it will definitely be broken down near the exit. You must remove the stones when you are about to reach the exit, and start drilling from the other end. Only when the holes meet in the middle of the stone can the hole be drilled successfully.
However, the stone is natural and has an irregular shape, which makes it difficult to align the holes twice. How to ensure that the existing holes in the stone are vertical on the fixture so that the vertical grinding needle can be driven in from the other side? It took a lot of careful thinking.
"I think your work looks better. It's more red than those dragons and grandsons. It's not as smooth, reflective, and unassuming."
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"Don't say that when you meet some masters soon." Zhou Zhi couldn't laugh or cry: "I'm afraid of being scolded by them and saying that we are wasting materials. Even a small pebble the size of a peanut can be transformed into something in the hands of Su Gong's skilled craftsmen." It’s a beautiful handicraft, let’s take a look.”
The Hundred Flowers Award works exhibited here are not only from this year. Many important entries were collected by the National Art Museum of China directly after the competition, especially those completed by the light industry systems of various provinces. Glory.
This phenomenon has begun to gradually change in recent years, because in addition to the traditional participating units, there are now more private customization companies from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and even craftsmen from Taiwan and Taiwan send works to the competition. These award-winning works are no longer good for Gome Intercepted.
Fortunately, the award criteria are still at a high level and have not declined as significantly as in later generations after pure commercialization. Every award-winning work is a well-deserved masterpiece. (End of chapter)