Chapter 13 Talk about the Art of Mounting

In the summer of 1976, Dr. Ye Gongchao published an English paper on Chinese mounting art at the Asia-Pacific Museum Research Association.Thanks to Haotian, Director of the Museum of History, who sent the original text, Dr. Ye not only has a superb knowledge of Chinese art of mounting, but also expounds a lot.He thinks that the Palace Museum has a mounting department, which can only do what is left and what is missing, which is not enough.Mounting experts from Japan and South Korea should be invited to gather together to discuss this art extensively, and design a set of standard working procedures for mounting and all related techniques. Calligraphy and painting of the highest standard.

Dr. Ye’s thesis not only attracted the attention of art experts in China, Japan, and Korea, but also museums in Europe and the United States that have a large collection of oriental calligraphy and paintings, such as Farrier, Nelson Art Institute, and the British Museum. In-depth discussion on the art of mounting, I hope to contribute. In addition to the earliest murals, Chinese traditional calligraphy and painting are always inseparable from rice paper, cotton paper and silk. However, these three materials are not only soft but also fragile. Carefully handed down works must be mounted for easy preservation.Therefore, the calligraphy and paintings of celebrities thousands of years ago can be handed down, all depend on the good mounting, so that they can be passed down to the present.

"Book of Tang Baiguan Zhi": "Eight people in the Tang Dynasty who made paper decorators." It’s like a pool, but with a margin, the inside becomes a pool, which is called a decoration, that is, the front and back.” This is the earliest written record of mounting.Later, Yu You of the Song Dynasty said in "On Shubiao" that "Song Fanye Xijuan Posts pretend to be governance".It can be seen that before the Jin Dynasty, there was no way of mounting, and it was not until the early Tang Dynasty that it started.Although there is a special person in charge of decoration, it is still difficult to find its exquisiteness. It was not until the Song Dynasty that Fan Ye's good craftsmanship won the beauty of the decoration.

In the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Jiaxuan wrote "Decoration Records", and in the Qing Dynasty on Tuesday, there was "Appreciation of Su Xinlu", both of which are works on decoration art. Unfortunately, they are all theoretical books, and the technical steps are not detailed. , so the art of mounting can only be taught and accepted by masters and apprentices, and has been passed down from generation to generation until now.Dr. Ye's appeal is indeed far-sighted. The author has been very interested in the calligraphy and paintings of famous people mounted by Su since childhood. Although I don't do it myself, the calligraphy and paintings in the old collection, the slippery belts and the brocade inlays on the tooth scrolls are enough for caressing and playing with.Because of the introduction of Xiao Qianzhong, a famous painter in the old capital, he met Tang Jianli, a Suzhou native who was a master mounter at Songguzhai, Liulichang, Beiping.From the Yin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, calligraphy and painting paid attention to Su Mounting, and there were only a few people who could be called perfect masters in Su Mounting, and it was only Tang Qiang and his family who were respected as national players among their peers (Tang is the Peking Opera "Shen Tou"). The soup in "Thorn Soup" moves the soup master).Tang Jianli is the descendant of Junzhi Tang Zhuanxuan, but Mr. Tang is portrayed as a cunning and snobbish person in the play, and he is unwilling to admit it among the public.

Since the author got to know Tang Jianli, I went to Songguzhai whenever I had nothing to do. All the calligraphy and paintings at home, no matter new or old, were sent to Songguzhai for mounting and re-mounting.As time went by, Tang knew that I liked the art of building pools, rather than intending to eat this bowl of rice, so he knew everything, talked endlessly, and talked about it without any scruples. Tang Jianli said: "Taking Beiping as an example, there are two types of mounting techniques: Su mounting and line mounting: Su mounting pays attention to fine workmanship, generous style, and never cut corners; line mounting saves as much as possible, and hides things vaguely. Su mounting With Liulichang as the center, although the price is expensive, it never deceives others; Xingxiang uses Langfang Toutiao as its base, which is cheaper than Liulichang's craftsmanship, but the craftsmanship is far worse. Go to the mounting shop to mount, because calligraphy and painting are either made of rice paper, cotton paper, or silk woven silk, which is soft and lacks toughness, so the first thing to do in mounting is to stick a layer of cotton paper on the back of the calligraphy and painting. The thickness of the original is increased, the shape is stable, and the jargon is called "support". At the same time, there are incomplete wrinkles, which can be ironed at this time. Wait for the backing paper to dry completely, and then cut the unused sides around from the signed side. , you can start the fringe work. The fringe should be around the back of the mounted piece first, and the thin strips of paper should be aligned first, and then the cotton paper should be pasted. Pay attention to silk and satin. Among them, in order to match the calligraphy and painting paper Some even set off with water-pattern silk and ancient brocade, making the framed calligraphy and painting look fresh and luxurious, and the colors are cold and bright, which can really raise the value of the calligraphy and painting. After finishing the bordering, the mounting procedures of this work, It's only half done.

"In the process of paper mounting, making the paste is the most important and troublesome work. Skilled craftsmen, each with their own techniques, accumulate over time, the spirit is extracted, and they are naturally clear. Those who don't know always feel that the masters have secrets. Secret tricks. "In fact, there is a method for curing paste in "Decoration Records": "First boil the soup with peppercorns, filter out the peppers, put them in a clean earthen basin, let it cool, turn the white noodles one by one and gently put them on the grits, let them sink slowly and not stir. Overnight, stir well in the morning, if soaked for several days, stir once in the morning. When the temperature is over, pour off the original soaked pepper soup, put it in another place, add a little alum powder and frankincense, mix it with new water, and thicken it Put it into a cold pot, use a large hammer to beat it with your hands, so as not to form lumps, then cook it on a slow fire. When it is cooked, cut it into cubes, and cook it with the original pepper soup. Stir well Cook again, stirring constantly; more stirring will make the paste strong, wait for it to be cooked, take it up, soak it in cold water on the surface, change the water frequently, and keep it for several months.' Please see how cumbersome and delicate the paste treatment in ancient times is. In fact, frankly It is said that pepper water should be used to make the paste, alum and frankincense should be added, and it should be finely adjusted and stirred evenly. It is not necessary to follow the above instructions. The paste for painting should be thin, and the ratio of three to one with water , Tuo Ling's paste should be slightly thicker, the ratio of two to one with water, and the paste used for trimming should be slightly viscous, so it can be used without adding water. This is roughly the case, and there is no special mystery in it. However, in general, Nanzhidian Bookstore Although the chemical paste sold looks good, if you plan to mount a fine calligraphy and painting, it is better to avoid using it. Because the chemical paste is produced in large quantities, the viscosity is sometimes not stable enough, and it is prone to bubbles and wrinkles. Rapid changes in the climate, whether it is a horizontal drape or a vertical scroll, especially hand-rolled fan-shaped mounts, are prone to various phenomena such as discoloration and deformation. Therefore, don’t just try to save trouble for a while, and cause irreparable future troubles, you must be cautious. "Tang Jianli told me all the above. After I went to Taiwan, I talked with the mounting experts here, and they all thought that Tang Jianli was right.

Since the end of the Second World War, the prices of goods all over the world have been rising slowly, and the value of currency has been gradually falling. Therefore, in order to seek to preserve their property value, the wealthy businessmen of various countries have shifted their goals to collecting antique calligraphy and paintings.Therefore, the market for antique calligraphy and painting is changing with each passing day and rising steadily. Our cultural output from China is of course not the same as later generations, especially international friends are more interested in Chinese antique calligraphy and painting. Talented people in Yu Zhuang also migrated to Europe and the United States for development.

Because pool installation has become a popular business, more and more people are engaged in the mounting business. In order to pay attention to speed, the mounting skills are becoming more and more sloppy, even worse than the old mounting.You must know that this kind of art is done slowly and meticulously, without any opportunistic shortcuts.Dr. Ye Gongchao has learned from this, so he published a grand article at the Asia-Pacific Museum Research Association, that is, gentlemen who hope to advocate the cultural revival movement, pay attention to it, and maintain the pure national quintessence of mounting art accumulated over thousands of years of experience. , It would be even better if it can be further developed so that this kind of art will not be lost.