Lingnan’s “Grey Chronicles Top Scholars” and “Music Masters” all come from Sanshan Village, Shawan Town, Panyu
In Shawan Town, Panyu, Guangzhou, there is an ancient village called “Craftsman Village”. The ancient temple of the ancestors in the village is also the only “Lu Ban Temple” discovered in Guangdong Province.
In the old days, 70% or 80% of the men in Sanshan Village were ancient buildings repair craftsmen, involving many types of ancient building plasterers, gray sculptures, brick carvings, carpenters, murals and other jobs. They traveled along the waterways across the Pearl River Delta and made a living by relying on good skills.
What kind of story does this ancient craftsman village have? Recently, the reporter came to Sanshan Village for an in-depth interview.
There is an ancient: Sanshan Craftsmen wherever the waterway reaches.
Sanshan Village is located at the west gate of Panyu District, separated from ShunCinema. The village has many farmlands and ponds. It is a typical Lingnan water town. The “three goodnesses” in Sanshan Village refer to “goodness, virtue and blessing”, which embodies the beautiful wishes of the ancestors.
”Before 1949, more than 75% of the males in Sanshan Village were ancient building craftsmen. At that time, women farmed at home and took children, while males took boats to work in mud and water along the waterway.” Huang Qunqing, 65 years old this year, is from Zini Village, Shawan, and is neighboring Sanshan Village. “Although they are two villages, they are as close as the same village.”
Huang Qunqing also came from a family of craftsmen and dealt with ancient buildings all his life. “I am familiar with every job in ancient building construction and decoration. I am familiar with civil engineering, decoration, gray plastic, brick carving, and wood carving.” At the age of 15, Huang Qunqing followed his father to travel to the Pearl River Delta, “doing mud and water work”, and participated in the renovation of Baomo Garden and Yuyin Mountain House.
When talking about the wandering life of craftsmen, Li Guangyong, a villager engaged in mural restoration, told reporters: “My father, Li Jieming, is also a muralist. He has been engaged in mural drawing and restoration for more than 40 years. He has traveled all over the entire Zhu San San’an corner area, and it is all about rowing. If there is no convenient waterway, there will be no famous craftsmen in Sanshan Village.”
Li Guangyong is creating a gray sculpture work. Photo/LiBo
Li Guangyong told reporters that Sanshan Village is close to the Zi Ni River and Shunde Waterway, and is connected to the main channel of the Pearl River. “Where the river flows to and where passenger ships arrive, there are craftsmen in Sanshan Village.”
It is understood that the craftsmen in Sanshan Village often go to include Dongguan, Foshan, Taishan and other places. In Li Guangyong’s memory, every year on the fourth and fifth day of the Lunar New Year, craftsmen leave home and return to the construction site. During the mid-year festival, craftsmen who go out may not come back. However, on the day of “Master’s Day” (the 13th day of the sixth lunar calendar every year), they will definitely return from rowing, dress neatly, come to the temple early, say hello to each other, and visit the “ancestor” Lu Ban.
Architectural: The Aoshan Ancient Temple Group uses a saddle-type fire wall
Recently, the reporter followed ancient construction experts and Cinema villagers to visit the Aoshan Ancient Temple Group. The ancient temple is located in Fuchun Road, Sanshan Village. It covers an area of 557.7 square meters, with a sturdy and magnificent appearance.
The ancient temple group is backed by the green Aoshan, and in front of the temple is a square and a Fengshui pond. The ancient temple group is arranged from north to south, namely Shennong Ancient Temple, Xianshi Ancient Temple, Aoshan Ancient Temple, Baoen Temple, and Chaoyin Pavilion, so it is called the “Ancient Temple Group”.
Aoshan Ancient Temple Group located in Sanshan Village Photo/Li Bo
Ancient architecture experts said that the Aoshan Ancient Temple Group is one of the few large temple groups in Panyu District. The architectural layout and sculpture art of the temple group have high artistic value. In 2000, it was announced as a historical and cultural protection zone controlled by Guangzhou City; in July 2002, it was incorporated into “Aoshan Ancient Building” and announced as a cultural relics protection unit in Guangzhou City.
Experts said that the uniqueness of the Aoshan Ancient Temple Group lies in the design of the fire wall. Most Lingnan buildings use a wok-ear house-style fire wall, but the Aoshan Ancient Temple Group uses a saddle-style fire wall, which is very rare in the entire Guangdong Province.
Herry-shaped volcanic gable wall, gray-shaped volcanic ridge picture/Li Bo
It is said that except for Fengning Temple in Shiwan Town, Foshan City and Pan Family Ancestral Hall in Shixiang Village, Shixiang Town, Duyang Town, Yunfu Yuncheng District, it is difficult to find traces of saddle-style volcanic walls in Guangdong Province.
Craftsmen: The gray sculptures and wood carvings of the Chen Family Ancestral Academy are both handed by craftsmen of SanshanKomiks Liang Mou, a researcher in folk culture in Panyu District, introduced that in the Ming Dynasty, many folk craftsmen had gathered in Sanshan Village. “In the Qing Dynasty, the court selected skilled craftsmen from all over the country. Only after passing the assessment could they participate in the construction of the Summer Palace. At that time, the craftsmen from Sanshan Village were selected to participate.” Li Zhipei, chairman of Sanshan Village, introduced that Sanshan Village also produced many famous ancient architecture craftsmen in the history of Sanshan Village. The most representative figures were Jin Yaosheng and Lao Cuixi. Jin Yaosheng was the “top scholar of the gray batch” in Lingnan, Lao Cuixi was the “master of murals”. Many of the murals in the Chen Family Ancestral Gray Sculptures and Lingnan buildings around Panyu were written by the two of them. In addition, many exquisite wood carvings in the Chen Family Ancestral Hall, the most famous ancestral hall in Guangzhou, are also masterpieces of the Sanshan craftsmen back then.
Lao Yaochun, an 81-year-old villager in Sanshan, was once an ancient building construction technician. He worked as a deputy manager at Shawan Construction Company. He also has another identity – the grandchild of Lao Cuixi.
”My brother Lao Zhuoqian and grandfather Lao Cuixi are both muralists, and many murals in the Nanfanshun area are from them.” Usually, Lao Yaochun always likes to visit the ancient temple complex of Aoshan. “When you look up here, you may see the murals of grandpa and brother.”
When talking about another Lingnan gray sculpture master Jin Yaosheng from Sanshan Village, Lao Yaochun gave a thumbs up. “The gray sculpture work of Chen Jiaci was made by Master Jin Yaosheng as the foreman.” In Sanshan Village, Jin Yaosheng’s gray sculpture work “Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust” is still placed under the front eaves of Luban Temple. Its style is like the landscape of the southern country, with a refreshing cultural texture.
It is understood that as the Chen Family Ancestral Hall of the Chen Family Family in the 72 counties in the province, the entire project gathers famous craftsmen and manufacturers from all over the province. Among them, gray plastic decoration was provided by Jin Yaosheng, the “gray batch top scholar” at that time. It is precisely because of these top craftsmen that the great architectural art of Lingnan has been created.The fine ancient building of Chen Family Temple.
Villages restore Luban Temple and later generations praise craftsmen
Luban has been respected by craftsmen as the “ancestor” and “father of all craftsmen” since ancient times. The Luban Temple in Sanshan Village is hidden in the Aoshan ancient temple group in the village. The ancient temple group is connected by five ancient temples. The most distinctive of them is the ancient temple of the ancestors, who is dedicated to Luban. The temple is currently the only folk-industry temple dedicated to “Lu Ban” discovered in Guangdong Province. It has a history of more than 300 years. Sanshan Village still retains the traditional celebration of “Master’s Birth”.
LuKomiks Ban Temple in Sanshan Village Photo/Li Bo
The most distinctive among the ancient temple groups is the ancient temple of the ancestors, namely the Lu Ban Temple. The temple was built during the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty and has been renovated several times. Expert survey data shows that the ancient temple of the Master is located northeast and southwest, with three rooms and three entrances, covering an area of 105.74 square meters.
The second and third entrances are hard tops, with herringbone sealed volcanic gable walls, gray plastic and ancient ridges, gray tube tiles, and blue brick walls. As soon as he entered the worship pavilion, he was decorated with many murals. The murals were rich in content, including figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, etc., and his painting skills were superb. The granite stone door frame of the mountain gate, the stone forehead is engraved with the “Xianshi Ancient Temple” and the wall fence is decorated with the mural of the “Eight Immortals Drunk”.
”In 1993, I took the villagers to rebuild this ancient temple. The Lu Ban statues were remade based on old photos. “Huang Qunqing told reporters that before the rebuilding, some parts were collapsed and were dilapidated. “The best preserved are the murals on the wall and the bricks on the ground. At that time, many murals were painted with white ash, and the workers carefully cleaned them, so that these exquisite murals would be seen again.”
At the two entrances of the rebuilt ancient temple, the reporter saw two couplets. The couplets at the back gate were “The great craftsman and the high doors were all inclusive; the rules and regulations were established to guide Huai (the word “Huai”) to know the present”; the couplets at the front gate of the front gate were “The rules set the square and round Yi Shike followed this method, and the ink rope was divided into curves and straight crafts and used the materials well.”
Huang Qunqing told reporters that these two couplets were written by later generations during the renovation, demonstrating the connotation and professional principles of craftsmanship.
Huang Qunqing said that since the restoration of Luban Temple, Sanshan Village will also spontaneously hold a master’s birthday (i.e. Luban’s birthday). If you cannot come back, the craftsmen of Sanshan Village will celebrate at the construction site. “I have a special relationship with this Luban Temple., I will come back every year when my master gives birth to me. ”
Development: Selected as the second batch of national characteristic towns
Li Zhipei, chairman of Sanshan Village, said that in the past, 70% of men in the entire village were engaged in the construction industry, but now only a few craftsmen are still sticking to it. “In the past, the construction of ancient buildings focused on slow work and meticulous work. Sometimes a worker could only build 25 blue bricks and 3 step bricks a day. In the eyes of young people, craftsmen dealing with bricks and mud is a physical job, and they don’t like to do it. “Li ZhipeiBabaylan said.
The famous gray plastic craftsman Liang Mian is from Sanshan Village. His father was a Shawan plasterer. He studied art with his father since he was a child and has devoted himself to studying gray plastic arts for more than 50 years. His works have been used in Shawan Aoshan Ancient Temple, Baomo Garden, Nanyue Garden, QinghuiBabaylan Garden, Xishan Temple, Huanan Temple, Shunfeng Park, etc. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Komiks.
Now, Liang Mian opens a learning studio in Sanshan Village to inherit the skills of gray plastic. “I have a small gray plastic workbench at home. My grandchildren like it very much. They can learn it as soon as I free myself. ”
Grey plastic famous craftsman LiangmianBabaylan Cinema Photo/Li Bo
Building craftsmanship has always been passed down in the form of master and apprenticeship, and has never entered the school to become a discipline. However, Sanshan Village opens gray plastic in primary schools and kindergartensKomiks are popular among children.
In a small street shop in Sanshan Village, Li Guangyong is creating a gray-sculpted work called “Eight Immortals Picture”. “This work was originally prepared to participate in the village’s Luban Festival exhibition this year, but unfortunately it was not enough and missed it. If you miss Babaylan, you can calm down and polish it slowly. ”
Li Guangyong chatted with reporters, Cinema was holding a handful of multi-head wood cone and pressing it on the gray plastic panel, making it easier for the panel to hang clay. “It’s not time to display this year, so I’ll wait for next year to display it. ”
Cinema In 2017, Sanshan Village was selected into the second batch of national characteristic towns. Li Zhipei said that Sanshan Village has a history of more than 800 years, and the commemoration of Luban will become the annual festival in the village – “Luban Festival”.
Li Zhipei also proposed to build a Luban cultural square to the north of the ancient temple and build a craftsman museum to collect and exhibit craftsmen’s works across the province to attract more young people to learn. In the future, Sanshan Village will be built into a characteristic town of ancient architecture craftsmen in Lingnan.
Inheritance: Let young craftsmen see career prospects
Zhu Qiuli said that urban and rural historical and cultural heritage is mainly protected by craftsmen, and now he is engaged in Cinema This industry is mostly over fifty years old, and no successor is a common problem. “The lack of vocational education and the narrow teaching of masters and apprentices has exacerbated the crisis of craftsmen’s inheritance. ”
How to solve the problem of inheritance of craftsmen? Zhu Qiuli believes that to retain craftsmen, we must first have encouragement policies. Old artists must have the right status. With a status, they must also have corresponding cultural heritage allowances and guarantee mechanisms. “Traditional architectural craftsmanship, like modern architectural decoration, must have professional title assessment, so that young craftsmen can see their professional prospects. ”
”As the craftsmen grow old, the technology of ancient building construction has also grown old. For example, there are no good people in the market to build bamboo trellis. This is also a traditional craft for restoring ancient buildings. The bamboo trellis is lightweight and is suitable for repairing one or two floors of ancient buildings, which is more convenient than iron racks. “Ouyang Lun, an ancient building repair expert, told reporters.
A ancient building expert told reporters: “Now the government departments have vigorously promoted the activities of famous craftsmen, the status and treatment of craftsmen have gradually improved. In addition to paying attention to a few famous craftsmen, we should also pay attention to ordinary craftsmen. Only in this way can we not deviate from the essence of protecting ancient buildings and their traditional craftsmanship. ”
The expert believes that the value of craftsmen lies in inheriting traditional techniques and striving for excellence. Craftsmen are the basic guarantee for restoring the original appearance of ancient buildings. They attach importance to craftsmen, which reflects respect for traditional values. Only when craftsmen have successors, these precious ancient building construction techniques and the spiritual qualities attached to Cinema will be preserved. (Xiao Guilai)
Source｜Guangzhou Daily
KomiksEditor｜Cui Wencan
Intern editor｜He Haoxian