As the Chinese Year of the Horse approaches, Tang Wenlin and his wife Wang Yanping, provincial-level representative inheritors of Baoqing pyrography, recently accomplished a set of eight horse-themed pyrography works on handmade bamboo paper. Using fire as ink and iron as paintbrushes, the artisans portrayed eight horses with different patterns which symbolize different blessings in Chinese culture such as success, health, good fortune, and longevity. These works blend traditional intangible culture heritage with Chinese zodiac culture, presenting festive vibe of the Chinese New Year.

Baoqing pyrography originated in Shaoyang. It is a traditional fine art that the artisan uses an iron poker heated over charcoal fire or oil lamp to etch patterns onto bamboo and wooden objects. In 2021, Baoqing pyrography was included in Hunan's provincial-level representative list of intangible cultural heritage. As fourth-generation inheritors of Baoqing pyrography, Tang Wenlin and Wang Yanping have continuously innovated while preserving the tradition. They have expanded the medium for pyrography from bamboo ware to handmade bamboo paper, and broadened the pattern themes from landscapes, flowers, and birds to zodiac culture and folk customs. This ancient craft has found a new life.

Pyrography on handmade bamboo paper holds extremely high requirements on temperature, said Wang Yanping. For example, the paper may burn over high heat, and the colors may be not vivid if the temperature is not high enough. It took the creators about one week to complete this set of horse-themed pyrography works, including a series of complicated steps from draft design, outlining, pyrographic burning, refining, to completion. The creators innovatively adopted a color-adding technique for these works, coloring specific part on the monochromatic pyrography base, which makes the works more vibrant and visually impactful.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn. 

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday