Chapter 14 Section 6 Paper Bars, Color Bars and Artificial Flowers

In ancient folk plastic arts, in addition to wood carving, stone carving, brick carving, etc., there is also a kind of soft sculpture made of bamboo, wood, and iron wire, and made of paper, cloth, and silk. Color bar is also called needle bar).The difference between paper tie and color tie is that the former is made of paper, while the latter is made of silk; color tie is mostly used for decoration of toys or festive scenes, while paper tie is mostly used for weddings, funerals or sacrifices.But that's all in general, because they function the same in many ways.For example, the lanterns and kites mentioned in this book can be made of paper or colored, which mainly depends on economic conditions and appreciation habits.

The origin of colored tie can be traced back to the appearance of lanterns. According to Liang Zongmo's "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" in the Southern Dynasties, on the seventh day of the first lunar month, "cutting the ribbon for a person, or carving out gold foil for a person, to stick a screen and wear it on the temples", although it is not a colored tie, But the ribbon-cutting "is like entering the New Year, and the description is changed from the new", which already has a strong decorative atmosphere.Colored tie in Tang Dynasty has been widely used.It is said that during Tang Ruizong's reign, a lamp wheel was built outside the Anfu Gate of the capital. The colorful knots form a lantern tower, one hundred and fifty feet high."These are all large and luxurious colorful ribbons, which have already been described in the section "Lanternship", so I won't repeat them here.

The sixth section of "Lantern Festival" in "Tokyo Menghualu" can let us know about the grand occasion of colorful tie in Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan) in Song Dynasty: On the seventh day of the first lunar month, people sent Chaoci to go out, and the lanterns were decorated with colors, and the golden and green shot together, and the beautiful brocades were shining.Facing the north, it is decorated with colorful knots, and the mountains are all painted with stories of immortals... On the left and right sides of the colorful mountain, Manjusri and Samantabhadra are decorated with colorful knots, crossing lions and white elephants, each pointing to the five rivers with their hands, and shaking their hands...From Dengshan to Xuande The gate tower crosses the main street,...there are two long poles with a height of several tens of feet, which are finished with painted colors, and a hundred opera characters are pasted with paper, hanging on the poles, and the wind blows like a flying fairy...

Here, "colors on the lantern mountain,...the fairy tales are painted on the mountain...the colorful mountains are decorated with Manjusri, Samantabhadra, and lions and white elephants." , the wind moves like a flying fairy" is a paper tie.Color tie and paper tie are "golden and green, beautiful and beautiful", decorating Bianjing for the Lantern Festival with colorful flowers, fiery trees and silver flowers, which shows that the art of knotting at that time was quite superb! In addition to tying lanterns and kites, it was also fashionable in Bianjing, Hangzhou and other places to decorate the festivals at various solar terms, such as "Ma Xing, Panlou Street, Dongsong Gate of Zhouzhou, and Yonglu Road outside Xiliang Gate of Zhouzhou" on the New Year's Day. , outside Fengqiu Gate in the north of the state, and in the south of the state, there are colorful sheds, with crowns, combs, pearls, emeralds, heads, clothes, flowers, collars, boots, shoes, and good things." , People sell small spring cattle, often sitting in the fence with flowers, and there are hundreds of opera characters on the list, spring banners and snow willows, and they all donate to each other"; Menzhuo, a monk in the nunnery, went up to the flower-tie pavilion and the flower house, inside which was a golden Buddha in a sala, sitting in the perfume in the sala, and carrying the platform in the city"; during the Mid-Autumn Festival, "all the shops sold new wine, reconnected the flower heads of the colorful buildings on the facade, and painted poles. Drunken Immortal Jinxi"... These knotting arts not only exaggerate the festive atmosphere, but also contain traditional folk content, and are very popular among the common people.Later, people called the simple scenery or props on the opera stage or festive scenes "cai" (also known as Qiemo), which probably has something to do with it.

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, colored tie and paper tie were still very popular among the people.However, their uses have undergone some changes. In addition to making lanterns and kites, colored tying is mainly used for tying art figures and making toys; paper tying is mainly used for funerals, tying various chariots, horses or figures for burning. . The characters and toys of Caizha are mainly opera characters.The production techniques are divided into bone binding, stacking, pasting, frame line, brush and other processes. Clothes are generally made of silk and satin, which is full of life.The figures in color-zha crafts are not big, such as Fujian color-zha, most of the figures are under eight inches.Because the characters are small, it is necessary to use the movements and postures of the characters to express their emotions.Quanzhou's color tie tradition is divided into two types: "standing work" and "sitting work".The so-called "standing work" refers to the work of standing up.This mostly refers to large-scale works such as "Aoshan", "Lingcuo", and "Color Shed". The raw material is mainly paper, so it is also called "paste paper". "Living" is a small and exquisite work made while sitting. The raw material is mainly silk, and there are figures, flowers, birds and animals.Quanzhou "Zuohuo" is famous for opera characters and classical ladies, with elegant manners and vivid images.Caizha in Xiamen is famous for its martial arts and opera characters, whose movements are lifelike and seem to be dancing rhythmically.

Funeral paper bundles are superstitious, and the chariots and horses made of them are mainly used for incineration and sacrificial offerings.Funeral paper binding generally goes through processes such as roasting (bamboo sticks are baked to make it bend), binding, paper pasting, and coloring. The paper used for binding is mainly cotton paper, rice paper, and raw edge paper. Foil cutting and engraving, clothing patterns adopt folding method, tie-cut method, discount method and other turning methods, and character modeling adopts dynamic skeleton, which is very artistic and appreciative. Similar to the crafts of color tie and paper tie, artificial flowers are widely used and have been handed down for the longest time—called Xiangshenghua in ancient times.

The earliest written material about artificial flowers in our country is "Jiankang Shilu", which records: Emperor Hui of Jin "ordered the palace people to insert five-color grass flowers", which is also the earliest record of artificial flowers used for decoration."Ancient and Modern Things" compiled by Ming Wang Sanpin said: Artificial flowers originated in Jin, and Jin people began to "cut flowers as a profession". They dyed silk as hibiscus, and twisted wax as lotus root.This seems believable. In 1972, a silk flower with a height of 32 cm was unearthed from the Astana Tang tomb in Turpan, Xinjiang.The trunk of the flower branches is made of branches, the leaves and flower stems are made of thin bamboo silk, the petals and leaves are made of silk and paper, the stigma is made of paper balls, and the stamens are made of silk threads and brown silk. , is still well preserved.In the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was more common for officials and civilians to insert artificial flowers in their hairpins. Especially in the Song Dynasty, from emperors to subjects to engage in various etiquette and celebrations, "they all communicate with hairpins and silk flowers".According to Zhao Yi's "Gai [gai Gai] Yu Cong Kao" in the Qing Dynasty: "Nowadays, women only have hairpin flowers, but in ancient times, there were all people who did not have hairpin flowers." This has effectively promoted the development of the artificial flower handicraft industry.In the Song Dynasty, there were many flower shops and flower markets specializing in the production and trading of artificial flowers. Small branches of flowers in four seasons are chanted along the market, and they are very popular.At that time, the quality of artificial flowers was already quite high. Su Dongpo's "Four Flowers Are Similar" said that "tea plover flowers are like grass flowers, peach flowers are like wax flowers, begonia flowers are like silk flowers, and poppies are like paper flowers", which is an extreme statement about the artificial flowers and flowers at that time. Natural flowers are hard to distinguish.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the production and sales of artificial flowers have become more developed, forming some fixed large-scale artificial flower markets.Like Yangzhou, the birthplace of velvet flowers, there are dense workshops and a lot of buyers."Meng Barley Alley" in Quanzhou, Fujian was renamed "Flower Alley" because of the flourishing flower industry.In the Qing Dynasty, a fixed artificial flower market—the flower market—was formed outside Chongwenmen in Beijing, and later formed a place name, which is still in use today.However, the sales targets of artificial flowers changed during this period.In the Song Dynasty, both men and women had hairpins. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, except for special occasions, most of the hairpin holders were women. "Tanggua sacrifices to the stove. When the New Year comes, girls want flowers, and boys want guns." From this folk song, we can see the fashion at that time.

The varieties of artificial flowers mainly include velvet flowers, silk flowers, grass flowers, papyrus, feather flowers and so on.According to the nature of use, it can be divided into celebration, funeral, display and wearing.Flowers for festive celebrations, such as red velvet, phoenix crown, birthday star, etc.; flowers for funerals, including wreaths, potted flowers, plain flowers, etc.Flowers for display include vases and flower baskets, which are mainly for ornamental purposes; flowers for decoration have the most types, such as temple flowers, boutonnieres, and clip flowers (flowers placed in the ear gap or on the hair), etc., which are the most widely used. decorative flowers.

Flowers made of silk velvet as the main raw material.Before production, the raw silk is dyed into various main colors and matching colors for selection during production.The production of velvet flowers in the ancient south of my country mostly adopts the velvet process and the velvet scraping process.The velvet is made by winding the velvet on various cut flower-shaped paper pieces; the velvet is made by sticking and mounting the velvet on the paper, and then scraping it flat to make a flower.Later, the process was improved. When making it, the velvet was first laid flat, cut into strips, then clamped with copper wire, rolled into velvet strips, trimmed, bent, combined, and glued into flowers.

The main producing area of ​​velvet flowers is Yangzhou, Jiangsu, and the production of velvet flowers is also very prosperous in Nanjing and Beijing. Yangzhou velvet flower Yangzhou is one of the birthplaces of velvet flower.Yangzhou velvet flowers originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. There are many workshops and the production is exquisite.In ancient times, every spring day or Qingming outing, people rushed to buy velvet flowers and wore hairpins on their heads as decorations.Yangzhou velvet flowers are lively in shape and bright in color. They are won by exquisite and graceful birds and animals.Most of the products are auspicious themes, such as bats and peaches, hanging seals and seals, blessings and longevity, happiness and prosperity, and happy plum shoots.The sideburns and boutonnieres produced here are sold well all over the country. Nanjing velvet flowers were produced in the Ming Dynasty, and were at their peak during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty.Traditional products include head flowers, boutonnieres, hat flowers, drama flowers, weddings and funerals, and New Year's flowers.Nanjing velvet flower is made of high-quality silk, and its production must go through processes such as silk smelting, dyeing, cutting, modeling, and assembly. The colors are mainly bright red and pink, and the shape is vivid and graceful. Beijing Ronghua flourished most in the Qing Dynasty.Beijing velvet flowers are mostly velvet flowers for head decorations, small wall hangings, seasonal ornaments (such as "five poisons"), phoenix crowns and decorations with blessings and longevity. They have various shapes and are full of life flavor. The raw materials are silk, satin, etc. The production is divided into six processes: Kneading and scraping: Mung bean starch is washed into a slurry, kneaded or scraped on the silk to make it a flat and rigid fabric.The petals made of kneading materials are natural, lively, beautiful and soft; the petals made of scraping materials are firm, stiff and durable. Cutting (that is, stamping petals and flower leaves): cutting materials according to the varieties and specifications of the designed flowers, and then punching them into petals and flower leaves with an iron mold chisel. Dyeing: dye the petals and leaves into solid or halo colors. Making flowers: Make the petals and leaves into shaped petals and leaves with a certain radian or curl. Sticking flowers: Glue the shaped leaves and petals on the branches and leaves (the stems and veins of the leaves are made of iron wire), the flower center, and the inner and outer petals. Branching: Wrap the flower heads, branches and leaves with iron wire and green tissue paper, separate the yin and yang to the back, and a branch of flowers is completed. The main origin of silk flowers is Beijing. Silk flower production in Beijing began in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty.In the Qing Dynasty, women who combed their flags were most fond of silk flowers with bright colors and novel patterns. Therefore, famous flower makers at that time could directly enter the palace to deliver or order.The Office of the House of Internal Affairs of the Qing Palace set up a "flower workshop". In addition, there are many velvet silk paper flower workshops concentrated outside Chongwenmen. "Yanjing Sui Shi Ji" records: "The flower market is eastward outside Chongwen Gate. Since the first lunar month, there will be a market on the fourth, fourteenth, and twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month. They are all daily necessities. The so-called flower market is worn by women. The paper flowers are not seasonal flowers. Flowers include Tongcao, damask silk, twigs, and falling branches, which can be confused with real ones." This is the origin of the place name of Beijing Flower Market.When the imperial system collapsed in the late Qing Dynasty, many palace flower makers were forced to go out of the palace to sell art in the market to make a living.Beijing silk flowers are dyed evenly, with coordinated colors, elegant and lively, gorgeous and not vulgar. Each petal has a change in halo color and a deep and shallow color inside and outside. Even the hairs on the bones are exactly like real flowers, and the workmanship is extremely fine.The types of Beijing silk flowers include emperor garden-style head flowers, Xishou flowers, and folk-style head flowers, boutonnieres, flower skewers, potted flowers, etc. Because Beijing has always been famous for silk flowers in history, Beijing silk flowers are also called "Beijing flowers". Flowers made from Tongcao as the main raw material.Tongcao belongs to the shrub plant of Solanaceae. The stem pith (Tongcao Xin) of Tongcao is taken out, dried in the sun, and cut into thin slices.When making it, the grass heart is flexible, can be shaped and colored at will, its texture is fine, and its color is white, and it is supplemented by rice paper, leather paper, and rough-edged paper. The paper is used to mount the grass, and the flowers and leaves that have been shaped are dyed with pigments. Connecting and grouping branches, it will become a real grass flower. The main producing area of ​​Tongcaohua is Yangzhou, Jiangsu. Yangzhou Tongcao flower is bright in color and lifelike, and is known as the "flower of never thanking".The varieties of Yangzhou Tongcao flowers mainly include head flowers, seasonal longevity peaches, and spring flowers. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a kind of Tongcaohua was popular in Beijing and Tianjin. The contents included flowers, figures, Bogu, etc. The production process was similar to Tongcaohua.This kind of stacked flowers pays attention to the relationship between distance and level when pasting, which is very three-dimensional and elegant. Artificial flowers made of paper as the main raw material.Its production process is similar to that of silk flowers.Paper flowers are mostly roses, camellias, chrysanthemums, peonies, roses, festive birthday characters, auspicious characters, flowers, etc. for ornamental purposes. Many are also used for worshiping gods or weddings and ceremonies, and some are used for headwear or clothing.The cost of paper flowers is relatively low, and they are widely used in folk activities, and they are produced everywhere. Artificial flowers made from feathers.Mainly produced in Fuzhou, Fujian.During production, selected bird feathers of various colors are dyed, arranged, and matched to form branches of flowers or birds, insects and butterflies.