Splicing a pile of "shredded paper" into ancient calligraphy and paintings worth billions of yuan? Shanghai Suburban Old Craftsman Addicted to "Paper Surgery" for Over 40 Years Li Lingen | Calligraphy and Painting | Craftsman
"Repairing calligraphy and painting is like taking care of a newborn, with a careful mind, light movements, and careful consideration in sleep."
"Restoring ancient calligraphy and painting is a dialogue with the ancients. Only when the words are correct can the painting be restored to its original state and showcase its artistic value..."
On a weekend in July, Li Lingen, the inheritor of the ancient calligraphy and painting restoration and mounting skills of the first "Shanghai Craftsman" and Jinshan District Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, occasionally gave a "golden sentence" as he watched his daughter Li Jing "repair the painting".
Helping in her parents' studio since childhood, Li Jing has fully mastered the entire process of restoring ancient calligraphy and painting, and her craftsmanship is not inferior to that of the previous generation. However, Li Lingen believes that his daughter still needs to hone her skills. "This skill requires the calmness and composure of a science student, as well as the emotional appeal of an art student to inherit the original author's writing style. Each step of the operation is like gambling with time. Only by moving forward more and challenging with courage can we break through the realm.".
In the past, a large number of young people entered the industry, but now only a couple stay behind
A three story small building, each floor has 150 square meters. The work area exceeds 100 square meters, and there are two large tables over 4 meters long that can easily unfold the fragments to be repaired
67 year old Li Lingen and his 64 year old wife Li Jinhua have walked hand in hand for over 40 years, repairing calligraphy and painting. In their conversation, there was more discussion about the restoration of ancient Chinese characters and paintings than about daily necessities.
In 1976, a group of artists from the urban area of Shanghai came to Zhonghong Village in Fengjing Town, Jinshan District to work and unexpectedly excavated a local folk art. Since then, Jinshan farmer paintings, which are based on kitchen frescoes, Paper Cuttings and blue calico, have flourished in this village. Many villagers work in the daytime and paint in the evening.
In 1978, the village opened a "Victory Mounted Painting Factory" and invited Ji Wenyuan, a 78 year old framing master from the Shanghai Academy of Painting and Calligraphy, to teach his skills. At that time, Li Lingen, who had just graduated from high school, was already one of the few "cultural figures" in the village. Standing at the fork in his career choice, he had a premonition that framing would bring him a "broader world".
There is a saying in the industry called "three parts painting and seven parts framing". The paper core that comes out of the hands of the calligrapher and painter is still an unfinished product. Only after being mounted and the rice paper is fully soaked in water, can the brushstrokes and color connections become more natural and ultimately sublimated. Some works with flaws left by careless preservation can also have a chance to be reborn during the mounting process. After working in the factory for 10 years, Li Lingen opened the door to the restoration of ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting through his practice of modern calligraphy and painting mounting, his master's guidance on art, and his study of professional books.
"Be mindful everywhere, constantly seek opportunities, and learn new things. Be careful everywhere, so that the value of your calligraphy and painting becomes higher and higher." said Li Lingen.
In the 1980s, reform and opening up were in full swing. In 1980, Li Lingen married Li Jinhua. In 1988, the two of them came out of the factory to start a business and moved into the current rural courtyard where they live to open a family workshop. Their main business is calligraphy and painting mounting, and most of their clients are calligraphers and painters from the urban area of Shanghai.
Initially, there were more than 20 young people entering the factory, but only Li Lingen and Li Jinhua, the couple, stayed in the industry and challenged themselves to higher levels of difficulty.
What is the picture scroll that the customer pulled out? It's clearly a bag of moldy shredded paper
With the good reputation accumulated in the factory, this small workshop, which is deeply hidden in the rural areas of Shanghai, has not worried about business since its opening.
Li Lingen said, "Conservatively speaking, we have to frame over 300 calligraphy and painting pieces a year, and work overtime every day." At that time, the various calligraphy and painting activities held in Jinshan District also collaborated with Li Lingen. One by one, there were also some ancient calligraphy and painting restoration businesses coming to Li Lingen's door, but he was ambitious and focused on finding "work that others cannot do.".
During this period, China's economy took off, social and economic activities were active, and an endless stream of ancient calligraphy and painting masterpieces began to emerge, giving Li Lingen the opportunity to showcase his skills. In 1992, a collection enthusiast from Pudong launched a probe into Li Lingen. The first "interview question" made Li Lingen gasp for air. The client pulled out a picture scroll, which was clearly a plastic bag of moldy and unrecognizable shredded paper.
According to the client, he once traveled to Guangzhou and Zhejiang in search of famous artists to save him, but no one dared to take him on. Li Lingen and his wife spent 20 days washing away the mold, patching up the picture, and decorating it all new. As he nervously unfolded the scroll, the client was both surprised and delighted. "Being able to put the painting back together is already a master, and I didn't expect that even the slightest trace of patching could be seen," he said.
Later, this client maintained a long-term cooperative relationship with Li Lingen and brought over 1000 high-value ancient calligraphy and paintings for restoration. The first painting that was "revived" has now appreciated to over 2 million yuan.
In the studio of the couple, there is a picture album called "Hongni Yinxue", which is a treasure of Li Jinhua. Many of the works included above were restored by Li Jinhua. Back then, most of the calligraphy and painting works collected by a hotel were damaged due to a warehouse leak. It was thought that these artworks would disappear, but at this time someone mentioned Li Lingen's studio. "As we approached the end of the year, we checked into a hotel with tools and worked tirelessly for nearly a month. We worked day and night," said Li Jinhua.
Because there was not enough time to do the business, the couple had to take separate actions. Among them, there is a painting called "Spring Full of Jinshan", which is over 3 meters long and was jointly created by 8 contemporary calligraphers and painters. When it was presented to Li Jinhua, it had already broken into pieces and had to be rolled up and moved with a bedsheet. Li Jinhua spent 10 days giving this painting a second life. Those moldy and unrecognizable paintings have been skillfully embellished, preserving their artistic level and economic value. Nowadays, each of these paintings is worth several million yuan, with a total value of nearly 500 million yuan.
"Even if you don't make money, you have to cultivate it. You must inherit the culture."
Once, someone brought two paintings by Tang Yin, a calligrapher and painter from the Ming Dynasty. The core of the painting had already been shattered into a fishing net, and the paper pieces hanging on it could be blown away by the wind at any time.
Faced with "national treasure level" treasures and under immense pressure, Li Lingen and his wife discuss and take action every day, feeling anxious and unable to sleep. They finally had a good night's sleep until the painting core was patched and put on the wall.
In order to preserve the imprint of time in calligraphy and painting, Li Lingen would wash away the mold and leave some natural oxidation and yellowing marks on the edges and corners of rice paper, just like leaving a little skin for identity authentication when carving high-quality Hetian seed materials.
After being impressed by Li Lingen's craftsmanship, not only did the head of Jinshan Museum begin to endorse him, but museums in Songjiang, Qingpu, and Fengxian also came to admire him.
"In the history of Songjiang Prefecture, the economy was prosperous, the articles were exquisite, and many good things were preserved," sighed Li Lingen. At the Songjiang Museum, Li Lingen saw the authentic work of Ming Dynasty calligrapher and painter Dong Qichang. Due to the poor restoration effect of the previous one, the director of Songjiang Museum traveled around in search of a master who could make the painting "completely invisible". Li Lingen used his collection of Ming Dynasty old paper as a repair material, and his skillful hand revived. The curator searched for it with a magnifying glass for a long time but could not see any flaws.
"The paper atmosphere produced in the same era is interconnected, and water and ink seep evenly on the paper surface. The repaired image can also be seamlessly created," said Li Lingen. Therefore, when repairing ancient calligraphy and painting, if the backing paper of the painting core is removed, he will also save it up and use a little bit at critical moments, instantly turning decay into magic.
Once, a guest from Taiwan specifically came to find Li Lingen to paint. Because in Taiwan, this craft has almost been lost, and the previous artist used modern industrial glue to paste the fragments of the painting core. Li Lingen used a paste made from plant starch and carefully adjusted the formula according to the dynasties of calligraphy and painting creation. "The closer it is to the formula used in the original painting, the better the overall presentation of the picture.".
"This is a 'paper surgery', and even if the technical details are revealed, most people don't know how to do it. Even if they know how to do it, they can't do it without decades of work. Even if they work hard, they still need extraordinary psychological qualities to dare to do it," Li Lingen said generously. However, as the conversation changed, he exclaimed, "I am already 67 years old, and at most I can do it for 10 years. This skill will ultimately be entrusted to someone else."
Although everyone is saying that inheriting intangible cultural heritage skills is difficult, with few people learning and only a few achieving success. But compared to 40 years ago, traditional culture and craftsmanship have been increasingly revived in recent years, and the inheritance environment has gradually improved. In 1992, a high school art teacher became Li Lingen's first apprentice and has been following him for 31 years now, gaining a deep understanding of his master's true teachings.
Over the years, Li Lingen has led more than 10 artists before and after, and currently there are 4-5 people still in the industry. He said with great pride, "My daughter Li Jing is the best at learning handicrafts. She has been with me since childhood, and has been exposed and taught my true skills." After graduating from school, Li Jing became a doctor, treating illnesses and saving lives on weekdays. On holidays, she returned to her parents' studio and became a "doctor of ancient paintings", saving the "artistic life" of damaged ancient calligraphy and painting.
"If there were no 'ancient painting doctors', those bad calligraphy and painting would have disappeared in our generation. Later generations would no longer be able to witness our long history and brilliant civilization through the real things left by our ancestors. After countless' dialogues' with the ancients and facing the game of old paper, Li Lingen now regards this craft as very sacred and always works with a sense of responsibility.". "When you see residual paintings with extremely high artistic value, it's just a matter of skill, even if you don't make money, you have to fix them."
