Chapter 124 Rescue Cloisonne

Lin Huiyin's lungs have been deeply engulfed by tuberculosis bacteria, and one of her kidneys has been removed. She eats very little every day and relies on sleeping pills to sleep for four or five hours at night.Whenever she falls on the bed, she may never be able to get up; but whenever she gets up, she will be full of vitality and creativity again. The preparatory group for the Asia-Pacific Peace Conference decided to give each representative a gift with distinct Chinese characteristics, but also delicate and elegant.According to the habits and hobbies of representatives of different nationalities and different genders, it is decided to make four types of gifts: the first type is silk fabrics, silk color-printed headscarves and women's vests embroidered with "flat gold"; the second type is handicrafts, such as cloisonne, inlaid lacquerware, " Filigree" silver ornaments and ivory carvings, cross-stitched handkerchiefs, etc.; the third category is finely printed albums, including albums of New Year pictures, folk paper-cut window grilles, and Dunhuang murals; the fourth category is literary masterpieces, mainly among Chinese writers who have won the "Stalin Literature Award" work.The preparatory group handed over the design and preparation of the first and second categories of gifts to Lin Huiyin.

Lin Huiyin loved beautiful handicrafts since she was a child, and she soon became fascinated by this work.She ran to one factory after another that produced handicrafts, as if she had forgotten her illness.She discovered that these so-called factories were actually just small handicraft workshops.She was even more surprised by the dilapidation of the workshops that made cloisonné.She learned that no one cared about these things during years of war before liberation; after liberation, these workshops, which were regarded as producing luxury goods, were not supported, and they barely survived because of concerns about the unemployment of workshop workers.The production process of cloisonne is complicated and the production cost is high, and these workshops are on the verge of closing down.

Lin Huiyin discussed with Sicheng and set up an art group in the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University. She wanted to take this opportunity to make peace gifts to rescue this unique Chinese handicraft that is on the verge of extinction.In addition to Mo Zongjiang, a long-time partner of the Construction Society, members of the art group also have two young female students: Chang Shana and Qian Meihua.Together with them, Lin Huiyin went to the workshop to understand the production process of cloisonne and watch the workers' operation process.She is interested in every process, and often has to try it out, filigree, dotting, and burning... The mythical, unremarkable green tire has become a gorgeous work of art.

As she looked at the finished products, dissatisfaction welled up in her heart.For a long time, cloisonne had only a few patterns, nothing more than peony, lotus, wishful thinking... Although these rich and auspicious patterns with strong palace colors are quite beautiful, they are too monotonous.Together with the art team, she designed and drew a batch of new patterns, among which the pattern of auspicious clouds and fire beads is simple and bright, and the image of Dunhuang Flying Apsaras is romantic and moving.They took these new patterns to the workshop, and Huiyin watched the master workers operate in the workshop.When the sample was fired successfully, she was as happy as a child who received a present.

The outside world is changing with each passing day, and Lin Huiyin is immersed in the extremely difficult and challenging handicraft creation of a flower, a leaf, and a branch of cloisonné.Like the shaking of heaven and earth, a light and beautiful piece of music is played quietly, comforting the tense soul and giving charm to the turbulent life... The students noticed that the thin Lin Huiyin had a great influence on art. A religious fervor.If one saw her focused and energetic eyes at this time, no one would believe that this was a person who was seriously ill and knew very well that she would die soon.

The Asia-Pacific peace conference was successfully held in Beijing, and peace gifts were delivered to representatives of Asia-Pacific countries.Ulanova, a famous Soviet ballet dancer, got the cloisonne with flying apsaras pattern. The "Swan Princess" liked it very much: "This is a new gift representing the new China. It is so beautiful!" Lin Huiyin's two female students later made great achievements in the field of arts and crafts in China.Chang Shana later became the dean of the Beijing Academy of Arts and Crafts, and Qian Meihua later became an expert in cloisonné design and the chief designer of the Beijing Enamel Factory.