Laquer Thread Sculpture

　　Lacquer thread sculpture is a historical artwork worthy of being a national treasure. Not only is the crafting elegant, the shapes and texture of the artwork establishes it as one of Asia’s most unique handcrafts. Unlike conventional sculptures created by a carving knife, lacquer thread sculpture masters curve threads of thin lacquer into a three-dimensional totem. In earlier times, the handcraft was used primarily to

image source: shoot by ourself

decorate the dragons and phoenixes on Buddhist statues. Now the artwork has been integrated into paintings, common houseware such as plates and vases, and even phone cases. From mixing the materials to gold plating, every step requires superb technique, steady thoughts, and experience to produce a high-quality sculpture. Even though some sculptures are currently produced by efficient machines at a low cost, each of the unique handmade sculptures has irreplaceable warmth and feelings. Both masters stress the importance of practice, as that is the only way to master the techniques to design and create a lacquer thread sculpture. While each sculpture takes two months to complete on average, the accumulated decades of practice helps the masters build up their exquisite craftsmanship. However, modern society’s neglect of traditional handcrafts leads to the difficulty of passing on the art and technique of lacquer thread sculpture, eventually causing the tradition to disappear.

　　A traditional craft with a long history, the lacquer thread sculpture is heavily influenced by Buddhism, leaching arts, and mud line and was inspired by the Song and Yuan thread sculpturing. During the Tang Dynasty, there were many Buddist followers, thus Buddhist statues were common. Lacquer threads were used to lavishly decorate Buddhist statues with at that time, its color and design enhanced and highlighted the uniqueness of each Buddist statue. At the time of the Song and Yuan dynasties, sculptors began to use lacquer threads to decorate statues other than Buddist statues, they began to pay more attention to details and texture. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, artisans began to use lacquer thread sculpture techniques to decorate large artworks such as temples and Buddist statues.

However, due to the underdeveloped techniques at that time, and the use of rough and simple materials such as glutinous rice flour and wooden-body lacquer, most of the artworks were not very preservable and were prone to worms or deformation. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, lacquer thread sculpture technique gradually developed, and artisans also found that using red mud brick powder and paint to synthesize the paint mud, and then have the paint mud be covered with wooden tires for sculpting, can help preserve it longer. Afterwards, lacquer thread sculpture began to flow towards the market. Early lacquer thread sculptures were scarce and expensive; and most of the artworks at that time were collected and stored in large temples in southern Fujian during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. After three dynasties, lacquer thread sculpture reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty. Artisans begin to develop a sense of refinement for their artworks, so it took more than a month to complete an artwork. Besides being able to preserve longer, the surface of the lacquer thread sculpture artworks during the Qing Dynasty were often covered in a shiny layer of gold foil as a symbol of nobility and wealth. Since the Tang dynasty, this technique has been used to decorate Buddhist sculptures. Lacquer thread sculptures, with its rich history of over one thousand years, contain traditional Chinese patterns, including dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, clouds, water, and lotus flowers. Nowadays, the traditional aspects of Buddhist culture blend in with modern art, proving the sculpture as one of high historical and cultural value. While preserving the traditional characteristics on their artwork, lacquer thread sculptors innovate and combine their original ideas and techniques into pottery making and painting, increasing the popularity of traditional Chinese artwork.

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3, Crises in the lacquer thread sculpture industry

　　In the early years after Taiwan declared independence, the Chinese lacquer thread sculpture dominated the market, causing a spike in the unemployment rate of Taiwanese lacquer thread sculptors. The poor condition was so severe that some even left the industry to survive. Back in those days, master Chin-Yi Yen’s monthly salary was about forty to fifty thousand, but the Chinese workers had a monthly payment of only eight hundred dollars. This tremendous difference in labor wage caused the majority of Taiwanese entrepreneurs to invest in China and hire Chinese lacquer thread sculptors instead. Not only were young apprentices unemployed, experienced masters were also forced to transfer to other industries.

　　The Chinese mass production and export of low-cost lacquer thread Buddhist sculptures threw Taiwanese lacquer thread sculptors into an economic crisis. In the interview, master Chin-Yi Yen mentioned he had even gone back to his mother's house to sell rice dumplings before. Master Jia-Yi Lin even said, "since the amount of Chinese imported goods spiked up, job opportunities severely reduced. I once considered giving up." Even though both lacquer thread sculpture masters encountered obstacles in their career, they still continue creating lacquer thread sculptures, determined to pass down the tradition.

　　In Taiwan, lacquer thread sculpture masters turned to making their artwork more delicate, emphasizing on the intricate details and quality of their products. Instead of focusing on the quantity of production, the lacquer thread sculpture masters invested time and effort on creating and modifying each of their lacquer thread sculptures. The experienced customers who can differentiate between Taiwanese and Chinese products would then buy the sculptures of better quality despite its higher price. This industrial transformation allowed Taiwanese products to reestablish its significance in the global market.

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BRICS 2017 China. (2017) Lacquer Thread Sculpture. Retrieved from: https://brics2017.org/ [Accessed 21 Jan. 2019].
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