The non-genetic inheritance of Zhongshan Road in Shilong protects the old business for a hundred years
After the Spring Festival, the flavor of Zhongshan Road has faded, and the characteristic arcades on both sides have gradually recovered their former tranquility. The well-preserved but slightly vicissitudes old buildings faintly reveal its long history. This old street is only a short distance of more than a thousand meters, but it hides four provincial and municipal intangible cultural heritages (referred to as "intangible heritage"). As if reaching out and pushing open that door, you can return to the prosperity of a hundred years ago.
Text: Zhang Xiaomin Wan Peishan Picture: Wan Peishan
Drum-making
Three generations' inheritance, guarding the business between fingers
In Xinchang Drum Shop, a touch of sunshine is sprinkled on the bluestone floor, and the wooden signboard depicts several ancient red characters of "Xinchang Old Shop", accompanied by various round drums on both sides, and the whole house reveals the traces of time. However, if you want to move a small piece of bluestone here, you should also apply to the relevant departments of Shilong.
Zhongshan Road is 1.4km long, and Xinchang Drum Shop is located in the middle section of Zhongshan Road. From a distance, this shop is inconspicuous. There are no eye-catching signs on the door, but there are many "not simple" in the small drum shop.
In the forties and fifties of last century, Shilong Drum Shop was very famous in Dongguan. At that time, there were four shops on Zhongshan Road, namely Qichang, Xinchang, Jinchang and Xiangxin. However, the Shilong Drum Shop led by four drum shops closed down one after another, and there were almost no drum shops in Shilong.
After the reform and opening up, Xinchang and Jinchang reopened. In 1983, Ye Renhe studied drum-making skills in Jinchang with his father-in-law. After 1991s, because the relatives of Xinchang Drum Shop immigrated, they decided to merge two drum shops. Xinchang Drum Shop, with the oldest brand name, is still in use today, and it is also the only hand-made drum shop in Dongguan.
Xinchang drum has been passed down by three generations, and it has a history of more than 1.3 years now, but it was not smooth sailing from the second generation to the third generation. Ye Renhe, who originally worked in Shilong Port Authority, did not intend to make drums. Because he was in love with the daughter of Yao Guang, the owner of the drum shop, Ye Renhe often took the initiative to go to the drum shop to help during the rest and holiday. Traditional craftsmen can only pass on their own skills, that is, only to people who are related by blood. Gradually, Yao Guang felt that Ye Renhe was diligent and studious, and liked this future son-in-law, so he decided to teach him his exclusive skills. Ye Renhe mastered the skills that others needed to learn for several years in two years. Later, my father-in-law in his seventies said that he had been a drummer all his life, but now he was powerless. He hoped that Xinchang Drum Shop would be handed down to his son-in-law, and Ye Renhe considered it for a while before agreeing to come down.
It's famous far and near, and the production process is exquisite.
When you walk into Xinchang Drum Shop, you will always be surrounded by drums, big and small. No matter whether it's a big drum or a small drum, every process is exquisite, and the production of each kind of drum requires a lot of effort. First of all, we should choose the right wood to make the drum barrel. If the sacrificial drum is mainly made of Dongjiang fir, the wood is harder, while Xijiang fir is slightly softer. The drum barrel of the local Dragon Boat Drum is made of several fir boards. Finally, the drum barrel is fixed with bamboo strips, and then the drum bladder is installed, which can play an echo role, and the sound made when the drum is rolled is more crisp and beautiful.
In addition to drums, it is also necessary to do a good job of drum skin, which is the most difficult process. If you are not careful, you will tear the cowhide. After the fresh cowhide is taken back, it must go through many links, such as depilation, oil scraping, thinning, cutting and air drying. It often takes a year or two from fresh cowhide to drum skin. All the hair on the surface of cowhide should be scraped off. If it is a place with relatively thick skin such as calf, it needs to be exploited many times. The thickness of cow and bull cowhide is also different. When cowhide is air-dried and hardened, it will be difficult to process.
whenever a guest comes to Xinchang Drum Shop to make a custom drum, Ye Renhe will ask the guest for the purpose first, and then choose the material of the drum according to the purpose. The quality of the drum skin produced by different parts of the same cowhide will be different, and the sound effect will be different, such as the skin of the buttocks, and the sound will be dull. The sound of lion drum and dragon boat drum is flexible and vivid, and it needs to be made of fresh cowhide with a large area. A good drum can make a loud sound without much effort, because the quality of the drum has a lot to do with materials and construction. The last step of drum making is coloring, then painting the shop number "Xinchang Drum" and attaching the hook, and a complete Xinchang Drum will be completed.
At the end of each year and a few months before the Dragon Boat Festival, Xinchang Drum Shop is the busiest time. Because there is only one person in the shop making drums, Ye Renhe often gets up before dawn to work. Although he is the owner of the shop, Ye Ren and he never get up half a minute late all the year round. It is common for him to work overtime. If you have seen Zhongshan Road at four o'clock in the morning, you must have heard the sound of beating drums from Xinchang Drum Shop.
Xinchang Drum has long been well-known for its exquisite craftsmanship. Not only people from Guangzhou, Boluo and Shenzhen will come to buy it, but also many Hong Kong customers will wholesale temple drums, small hall drums and light drums in Xinchang Drum Shop. After gaining some fame in Hong Kong, Xinchang Drum also attracted many overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia and North America, and Xinchang Drum became popular all over the country. It happens from time to time that the brand is falsely used. In order for the guests to correctly identify it, each drum made by Xinchang Drum Shop will be engraved with the word "Xinchang Made", and there are unique signs and contact numbers to prevent others from counterfeiting. Insiders pointed out that only drum shops with great reputation and excellent quality will have the courage to put their own logo on their products. "Just like people wearing clothes with exposed brand names now, they will only wear famous brands and will not wear miscellaneous brands."
The century-old drum shop is facing the problem of inheritance.
During the interview with Xinchang drum shop, although it is not the traditional peak season, people often come to the drum shop to order drums and take them, which coincides with the Lantern Festival, and some towns and streets have to take several Xinchang drums to "crush bring up the rear" during the Lantern Festival activities. However, in recent years, the business of drum shops is not so good. In the 1991s, Dongguan's economy began to take off, and local people began to have some money on hand. Festivals and happy events demanded more scenes, so the demand for drums was great and the local market was quite ideal. "At the price at that time, a 11-inch drum can be sold for more than 211 yuan, but now it can't be sold in 211 yuan." In recent years, Xinchang Drum Shop has also made some products that are combined with the trend of the times, such as Xinchang Drum Keychain, which sells well. However, because it is hand-made, the key chain needs to be made very small. The smaller it is, the more difficult it is to make it, and it is difficult to mass produce it.
what is more worrying than whether there is business is the inheritance of Xinchang drum. Ye Renhe was named as the representative inheritor of the first batch of intangible cultural heritage projects in Dongguan in 2111, but this inheritor of drum-making technology in Xinchang died of illness in October 2117. My younger brother Ye Haohe took over the business of Xinchang Drum Shop, and also took on the heavy responsibility of inheriting Xinchang drum production skills. Ye Haohe has been making drums in a drum shop for more than 21 years, and now he is over 51 years old. There is a white board in Xinchang drum shop. Although it is only February, the drum making orders for Dragon Boat Festival have been listed on the whiteboard line by line. To solve these numerous orders, only Ye Hao and one person are needed.
Ye Haohe will reach retirement age in a few years. What are his plans for the future? Ye Haohe said, "I don't know, and I don't have any plans." The two daughters of Ye Renhe, the inheritor, are unwilling to learn drum-making, because drum-making can't make much money and it is very hard. Ye Renhe also said that she can't force her daughter to learn. During the interview, Ye Haohe's son was helping in the shop. When we thought he was learning drum-making technology, Ye Haohe introduced that his son is now studying medicine in Xi 'an, but he came to help during the winter vacation. He didn't really study drums, and probably won't do this in the future. When we asked Ye Hao and his son if they were interested in making drums, he replied in a low voice: not much. Ye Haohe often tells his son that we should have a sense of responsibility to inherit this matter, but at the same time we also have things we want to do.
Lion-awakening Kirin makes
A century-old lion-awakening shop, which has been passed down for four generations
Turning a corner from Zhongshan Road to Taiping Street, you will soon see a shop with a thriving appearance. Red drums of different sizes are piled up at the door of the shop, and people who come in can always feel a little festive. On the right side of the door is a huge gong, with a mighty lion's head hanging high from the ceiling, and the bright colors make the shop smart. This is the century-old store-Dehexing Lion Dance Kirin Store. Guo Runtang is the inheritor of the lion-dancing head production skill and the provincial intangible cultural heritage project in Guangdong Province. For 41 years, he and the lion head "get along" day and night, inseparable. Guo Runtang introduced that Dehexing Lion Dance Kirin Store was created by his great-grandfather, which started in the late Qing Dynasty and has a history of over 111 years. Through four generations' inheritance, this store has gradually developed from a small family workshop to a comprehensive store now, including making lion dance head, unicorn head, dragon boat drum and gongs and drums.
due to its long history and high quality, the lion's head made by Dehexing Lion Dance Kirin Store is not only visited by Dongguan locals, but also purchased by many people from Huizhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and has been sold to Britain and Singapore as far as possible. Recently, the lion-awakening culture has a trend of "going north". Guo Runtang said: "Many people from Sichuan and Hunan bought lion heads and brought them back to their hometown years ago, and there were orders from Xinjiang to customize lion heads." But behind the glory is the invisible hardship. Guo Runtang's father died unfortunately in his 51 s. His family thought it was related to the lion's head, and there were many orders at the end of that year. "I often work overtime, rarely sleep, and I work hard every day. Under a series of actions, my body suddenly collapsed." Guo Runtang's sister Guo Yi said.
The area of Dehexing Lion Dance Kirin Store is not large, but the sparrows are small and complete. The first floor is a storefront, and dozens of lion heads and unicorn heads, large and small, are hung at high altitude around it, giving people a refreshing feeling. There are also various styles of drums and gongs stacked on both sides, which are intertwined with tradition and modernity, dazzling and shining. People walk in the store, but stay in the heart of celebration. On the second and third floors, there are three independent spaces to undertake various processes of making lion dance heads.
operate with conscience and stand on skill
"operate with conscience and stand on skill" has always been the belief of Dexing, and the sweat and wisdom of countless people are condensed behind every seemingly simple but difficult production process.
Guo Runtang introduced that the making of lion-awakening head is mainly divided into six processes: the first step is to tie the profile, also called tying the frame, that is, to tie the bamboo sticks into a lion's head outline with sandpaper; The second step, stickers, paste the gauze paper on the outline of the lion's head, and paste it repeatedly. It needs to be pasted layer by layer until the whole prototype of the lion's head appears, which is very patient. Step 3, dry, that is, dry the lion's head pasted with gauze paper, but not in the sun; The fourth step, applique, also known as color writing, is to throw paper and applique on the dried outline, and draw the whole lion's head, eyes, nose and so on by using various sequins, colored paper and manual description; Step 5, paint; Step 6, paste decorations, such as the eyebrows, mouth, nose and tongue of the lion's head; Finally, put on the lion's back. Among these steps, the most crucial thing is to tie the frame and tie up the outline of a lion's head with bamboo sticks. Guo Runtang introduced that it is difficult to build a skeleton, not only solid, but also beautiful. Therefore, to choose bamboos with particularly good softness, this step is usually done by himself.
On the second floor of the store, there is a coloring workshop, and when you look around, you can see colorful paints.
Guo Runtang introduced that the pattern of lion's head is not painted at will, and each color and pattern has a profound local culture. Each different pattern can give the lion a different personality and connotation, and make the lion's head "personalized". The red knife pattern represents Guan Yu's loyalty, the yellow sword pattern represents Liu Bei's benevolence, and the black spear pattern represents Zhang Fei's bravery. Various images of benevolence, loyalty and bravery can be displayed through different colors and ornamentation. Finally, in order to show the southern lion's greatness, it is necessary to decorate the lion's eyes, ears, nose and mouth with ornaments such as satin cloth and colorful fluff, and a mirror should be installed in the middle of the lion's forehead.
If you try to innovate, you must pass it on
In recent years, the lion head production market has started to decline, and Dehexing Xingshi Qilin Store is basically operating at a low profit. Dehe Xingxing Lion Kirin Store has also tried to link to the Internet and bring its products to more places, but on the one hand, the quality on the Internet is poor and the price is low, on the other hand, there is no young fresh blood injected into Dehe Xingxing Lion Kirin Store, which makes its upgrading road full of thorns. "I type slowly, only 31 words a minute. It's ok to face the computer occasionally, but it's difficult to face it for a long time." Guo Yi, 51, said that she is the youngest of several brothers and sisters who jointly run Dehexing Lion-awakening Qilin Store.
In Liang Jinquan's workshop, there was a strong smell of paint, and large and small paint buckets were piled up on the ground. "Our working environment is relatively poor, which is harmful to our health, so it is difficult for me to get fat." Liang Jinquan said helplessly. The low income and hard work often make many young people who are interested in traditional clogs only have a "three-minute fever". "They come to have a look and think it is too difficult. They will not learn for a few days at most. Whether it can be passed down or not, as long as I can do it, I will continue to do it. "
A pair of good clogs can bring infinite joy. At the important moment of life, it records the turning point of fate, bearing the expectation of the future and the joys and sorrows of life.
Dehexing Lion Dance Shop, Xinchang Drum Shop and Shilong Red Painted Traditional Clogs on Zhongshan Road, although they belong to different industries, all have similar experiences-once brilliant and declining. The sharp contraction of market demand and the rise of similar substitutes are the biggest difficulties they are facing at present. For the future, they are more like "walking", which seems to be a choice, but it is more like the only choice. Dehexing Lion Dance Shop benefits from a huge family and is optimistic about the inheritance of craftsmanship, while Xinchang Drum Shop and Shilong Red Lacquered Traditional Clogs are relatively pessimistic.
On the street of Zhongshan Road, we interviewed passers-by of different ages. The older generation have heard a little about these local heritages, and some of them can be counted as treasures. But only a few of the younger generation have heard of it, but they know nothing about its characteristics and culture. In order to preserve this traditional culture, Liang Jinquan, Guo Runtang, and Ye Renhe often go in and out of various classes, and frequently appear in major non-legacy activities to teach students to draw on clogs, how to make a drum, and what is the meaning behind the lion's head. These non-legacy inheritors are still making handmade products day after day and year after year. During the Chinese New Year holidays, lions are awakened and green flowers are picked, clogs sound and drums sound everywhere, which is accompanied by the growth of Dongguan people from generation to generation.