ez

Chen Zhijun, inheritor of the Babaylan intangible cultural heritage in Zengcheng, Guangzhou: “Dragon Boat Head” supports the spiritual belief in folk culture

Text and pictures/Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Zhou Cong Correspondent Zengxuan

Since ancient times, since ancient times, the custom of “making friends with dragons” has been in the southern part of the mountain. The “Dragon Boat” of the Komiks Festival is not only a traditional folk activity, href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Komiks is an important ceremony for people to visit relatives and friends. The dragon head is respected as the “soul” of the dragon boat. It is a detachable independent component with different shapes and meaningful dragon heads, giving each dragon boat team a unique meaning. At the same time, it is born with Komiks and exquisitely carved by the dragon head, and has also become the object of people’s focus.

Dragon head engravingBabaylanChen Zhijun, the district-level inheritor of intangible heritage in the art project, uses a craftsmanship, a craftsmanship, and a perseverance. He uses a dragon boat to carve traditions and even carves the spirit of craftsmanship and life.

Select materials, cut materials, rough carving, fine carving, polishing, lacquer… “From the dragon’s mouth, dragon whiskers to the dragon scales, every time you cut the knife, you must be accurate, sometimes if you miss it, it will be difficult to remedy if you make a mistake.” Chen Zhijun, who has been learning art at the age of 15, has devoted more than 40 years to carving the dragon-head culture. Chen Zhijun was born in Xiancun Town, Zengcheng District, eastern Guangzhou. The river network here is crisscrossing, making it the most prosperous hometown of the Dongjiang River Dragon Boats. The dragon head carving (traditional dragon boat) technique is the traditional carving technique of Xiancun Town, Zengcheng.

As the inheritor of Chen’s carpenter in Xian Village, Chen Zhijun recalled that since he was 15 years old, he learned carpentry with his father. Since he was 18 years old, he often learned the craftsmanship of carving the faucet by watching. It was not until the age of 22 that Chen Zhijun started to carve the first faucet. It is understood that in the early 1980s, after the revival of folk dragon boat activities, dragon boat production had not yet entered the factory production of the ship. If the village collective wants to customize dragon boats, it must hire a shipbuilder to come and build a ship in the village, and also find a master to carve the dragon head. Because the Chen family’s woodworking craftsmanship has a certain popularity, many local and surrounding people will hire Chen Zhijun’s father to carve the dragon head. Chen Zhijun also developed excellent carving skills under such a background.

With the development of dragon boat activities, the dragon shipyard began to appear. From shipbuilding to carving the dragon head, the shipKomiks takes care of all the links. The craftsmen who carved dragon leaders in folk began to fade out of people’s sight, and Chen Zhijun was one of them. Until recently, the local youth dragon boat team in Xiancun customized a new dragon boat. The members hoped to carve the new dragon boat in accordance with the traditional appearance of Babaylan. After inquiring with the elderly in the village, they learned that Chen Zhijun, the owner of the furniture factory in the town, was the inheritor of the Chen family’s dragon head sculpture. So they came to ask Chen Zhijun to “come out” again.

When Chen Zhijun was taught to learn about Long Chuantou when he was a child.Only in this way can the dragon boat culture contained in ma be carved with outstanding craftsmanship and both spirit and form. “Traditionality cannot be lost, and foundation cannot be missing. The essence of Dongjiang dragon boat lies in the dragon boat’s bow! I hope to carve a vital dragon boat’s bow, and I will use it as a work of art.” Chen Zhi has his own unique view on carving the dragon head.

Cinema

The dragon head of a dragon boat represents the image of a village, especially the old dragon head left behind in the past. It records the different stories of each village and is the carrier of dragon boat culture. Therefore, the essence of dragon boat lies in the dragon head. Cinema In the Dongjiang River Basin, dragon head is a major feature of dragon boats.

Whenever a villager comes to make an appointment with the dragon boat, Chen Zhijun will ask about the historical folk allusions in the other village. According to the idols you believe in, the characteristics of the gods you believe in are then integrated into the creation of dragon heads, so each dragon head carving is unique. “I was very happy to see the villagers being very satisfied with the leader they tailored for their village, and I was also happy,” said Chen Zhijun.

In the carving process, you must integrate your imagination and enrich all aspects of the bow of the dragon boat, both similar in spirit and shape. A dragon boat with excellent craftsmanship should show exquisiteness and protrusion, and every angle has a beautiful appearance. When the dragon boat is lifted up on the river, it feels like it is flying. The dragon head should also have the feeling of jumping out of the water and flying, and should have vitality.  

In Chen Zhijun’s view, the traditional culture behind the dragon boat reflects the people’s spiritual beliefs and emotional support. What he adheres to is the dragon boat spirit that works together and never gives up, and the folk vitality that is high-spirited and uplifting, and bravely progressing.. The material carrier of this spiritual civilization is the “Dragon Boat Head”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *