繪本里的江南匠心

吳穎

工匠最早指的是手工業(yè)者，他們我國在古代被稱為“百工”，是具有非凡智慧的“創(chuàng)物者”。他們沉浸在手工藝的世界里，慢慢打磨自己的手藝，磨煉自己的心性，用精湛的技藝回報歲月。中國傳統(tǒng)手工藝人超凡脫俗的技藝與精益求精的精神穿越歲月的風云，卻又代代相承，已經(jīng)成為中華傳統(tǒng)文化中不可或缺的部分。“中華文化傳承之匠心·工匠的故事”正是一套用“中國故事的講述方式、中國傳統(tǒng)繪畫的表現(xiàn)形式、當代繪本的藝術樣式”來講述中國工匠技藝與精神的繪本。

一

這套繪本包含了《瓷》《茶》《紙》《扇》四冊，講述了龍泉“青瓷”、富陽“竹紙”、龍井“茶葉”、江南的“扇子”幾種傳統(tǒng)手工藝的制作技藝和傳承。翻開典雅大氣的繪本，讓人跟隨書中的圖文，緩緩進入久遠的年代，感受工匠們平凡樸實卻氤氳著生氣的日常，濾去焦慮與浮躁，細細品味匠人心無旁騖的專注、精益求精的匠心、方正持重的風骨氣度，還有幾十年如一日的堅守和生生不息地將手藝世代傳承的精神。

除了工藝之美手藝精深的同時，匠人們的工作與生活也讓人心生慨嘆，不計名利的默默付出、對技藝的敬畏之心、誠實守信的職業(yè)操守無不讓人敬佩。制瓷其中制作匣缽的工匠，也許一輩子也沒有做過一件藝術品，可是每一件杰作的背后都有他們的身影，他們同樣值得被敬重！青瓷中釉的配方不盡相同，但是制瓷人不會去打聽別家的配方，因為這是行業(yè)的規(guī)矩，更是一種尊重。制紙揭紙時，面對比自己身體高、如不小心會瞬間破損的紙，工匠們滿懷敬畏之心?？蜕虂砣∩茸訒r，制扇的師傅一定會把扇子的瑕疵處告訴客商，因為他的信念是“扇有瑕，常;人要白璧無瑕”。

這其中，濃濃的父子之情、手足之情、鄰里之情、師徒之情、朋友之情，中國人特有的人情味，浸洇在簡約靈動的文字和氣韻生動的水墨畫卷中。這種種繾綣的情感，是中國人人文精神和人文情懷的延續(xù)，樸素卻又溫暖：這是《瓷》中，家里媳婦的勤勞操持，將一家老小的日常生活打點得舒適溫馨;這是《茶》中，茶人炒制時，父子搭檔、兄弟配合、鄰里互助的默契配合;這是《紙》中，男孩們早早領悟到的對家庭的責任和擔當，將那份制紙的工作不急不緩地落在自己的手上，真誠地接過，認真地完成;更是《扇》中，做扇套的阿牛娘兒子生病了，扇子鋪的老板請伙計多給她一成工錢時，人與人之間的信賴和扶持。

二

繪畫的表現(xiàn)是繪本極其重要的一面。這套繪本采用水墨畫的形式，將傳統(tǒng)工匠的故事娓娓道來，從內(nèi)容到形式，達到了完美的統(tǒng)一。

《瓷》《茶》《紙》由盛元富繪制。盛元富是著名的中國畫、插畫、連環(huán)畫家。他以繪畫為樂，雖已古稀之年，仍然精神健朗，且筆墨不輟。盛先生不慕名利，爽快地答應為這套兒童繪本創(chuàng)作插畫，意在為孩子做一點有意義的事?？催@三本繪本的創(chuàng)作，老練持重的筆墨揮灑自如，水墨氤氳間可見宋人山水，生活場景的描繪一氣呵成，設色清新拙樸，濃淡相宜。

《扇》由青年女畫家吳珍之女士創(chuàng)作。這是她第一次創(chuàng)作兒童繪本，因為喜歡這個題材，所以欣然接受了繪本的創(chuàng)作。她的筆墨，新穎活潑而又酣暢淋漓、揮灑自如。擅變的水墨流轉(zhuǎn)中，時而淡雅，時而濃郁，色彩如流光溢彩般閃爍。

兩位畫家的繪畫起于心，重于情，得乎趣，單純而又真摯，達到了中國畫意境、氣韻、格調(diào)俱佳的境界，賦予平凡的工匠故事以藝術的審美價值。

書籍的裝幀直觀地凸顯圖書的氣質(zhì)之美。繪本折頁形式的腰封上，呈現(xiàn)了中國美術家協(xié)會副主席潘公凱先生“中國畫文化傳承之匠心”的書法題詞。

將腰封展開，便是一整張意蘊生動的水墨畫，可謂匠心獨運。圖書的封面采用的是細布紋的特種紙，完美地呈現(xiàn)了水墨畫特有的水墨暈染的繪畫層次和效果，仿佛是一幅畫在絹布上的古畫，別致典雅。打開外封，內(nèi)封的設計采用了立式的豎構圖，設計語言更加豁達而有權重，增加了閱讀的節(jié)奏感。環(huán)襯用大大的書法體書名占據(jù)整個跨頁，恣意酣暢。書名頁跨頁通版的設計，更是大膽而又別出心裁。

整個圖書的裝幀設計簡潔、古樸，給人自然流暢之感。從某種角度來說，書裝是否也可以說是一種工藝之美呢？

這套書，文字書寫的是敬意，繪畫表達的是真與純，裝幀設計傳遞的是真誠溫暖，是對中國幾千年來珍貴技藝與立業(yè)風骨的傳承，是融入中國人血液中特有的樸素、純粹、內(nèi)斂的為人處事品格的延續(xù)。這是圖書更想表達的一份情懷。所謂“技藝為骨，匠心為魂”，中華民族古老的文明印記和民族之魂也正在于此。

An Editors Notes toStories of Artisans： Chinese Craftsmanship

By Wu Ying

The author is the editor ofStories of Artisans： Chinese Craftsmanship， a four-volume picture book released in November 2018 by Zhejiang Childrens Books Press. The picture book aims to reach children at the age of six and above.

An artisan is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates things by hand that may be functional or strictly decorative. In ancient times of China， artisans were called “baigong”， literally meaning “a hundred trades”. Artisans practice a craft and may， through experience and aptitude， reach not only the expressive levels of an artist but also the peak of mind-disciplining. In todays machine-run world， it still takes the combined force of human hands and the magic of time to make the worlds finest things， which fully explains the unfailing charm of some of the traditional Chinese crafts that are still appreciated and cherished by people today and generations to come. This is also what the newly released four-volume picture book， ， strives to convey to readers. The book is an ode to craftsmanship conveying the idea that behind every piece of art are skillful and loving hands that bring it to life.

Featured in the four volumes of the well-illustrated book， titled respectively ， ， ， ， are some of the finest crafts representing the cultural riches of Zhejiang Province： the Longquan celadon， bamboo paper-making craftsmanship from Fuyang， Longjing Green Tea， Jiangnan-style fan-making， etc. Encapsulated in the elegant design of every page is the solemnity of “arts crafted by time”. Every page tells a story of “concentration” and “dedication” of a perfectionist， guiding the reader to time-travel into a different time and space in which quality and honesty is king.

The book highlights how in old days craftsmen followed work ethics and tried to achieve perfection. Take a saggar-maker （a person who made saggars， ceramic boxlike containers used in the firing of pottery to enclose or protect ware being fired inside a kiln） for example. A saggar could never be a piece of art， but a saggar-maker spent his lifetime making perfect saggars， following the work ethics of the trade strictly and remaining anonymous on the backstage.

The book sings of craftspeople of the past who practiced their work ethics. Take a fan maker for example. Crafted purely by human hands， a paper-fan may have one or two tiny defects. A fan maker would not hesitate to inform the customer of the small imperfection. Having the courage to admit that the fan was not flawless when delivering it to the client， in the eye of the artisan， was as important as making a perfect paper fan.

In traditional Chinese culture， “craftsmanship” is also closely related to sentimental relations - between father and son， between brothers and sisters， between neighbors， between friends， and between masters and apprentices. Such an emotional bond， burned into the subconscious of the Chinese people， can be savored in the refreshing text and layout of the book. For example， such a pristine， soul-healing mood that penetrates the daily routines of a traditional Chinese family is portrayed beautifully in one of the? pages and in the photo essay about how the milk of human kindness and unity produces the worlds finest green tea. One of the stories in the? volume depicts the beauty of filial piety in a paper-making family.

The graphic presentation of the book， in the traditional ink-and-wash style throughout， perfectly matches the “craftsmanship” motif.

The illustrator of the first three volumes of the book is Sheng Yuanfu， a Ningbo-born traditional Chinese painter and illustrator. The artists high attainment is fully shown in his seemingly effortless creation that fills the heart of the reader with aesthetic joy. “I just wanted to do something meaningful for children，” the artist explains.

The? volume is illustrated by Wu Zhenzhi， a woman artist born in 1976 with Zhejiang Academy of Traditional Chinese Painting. The book is also the artists debut in childrens picture books. “It was love at first sight， and I did not hesitate to take the project，” Wu recalls. Her vivid， bold freestyle brings life to every page， with a color scheme flowing with light and ever-changing hues that delight all senses.

The enormous effort， sincerity and a strong desire for childrens innocence put into the book by both artists is easy to tell for readers.

Great attention also went into many other small details in the design of the book， as can be seen in the cover and belt design. The specialty paper used for the cover brings out the ethereal beauty of the ink-and-wash texture; and unfolding the belt， which comes in the shape of a traditional ink-and-wash painting scroll， feels like enjoying a well-written preface. It is no exaggeration to say that the craftsmanship that is woven into the making of the book is already a touching way to pay tribute to the “artisanal spirit” the book is created to eulogize.

s， or people coming by on electric carts and motorbikes selling any number of things. Indeed， there is one red-lettered， casually hand-painted sign that offers good deals on a wide range of items. Among them， I can clearly recognize the common characters for tobacco （煙） and liquor （酒）， followed by a series of medicines and health products， including one I could not understand at all. I asked my students who told me it translates as “Chinese caterpillar fungus.” I thought this was a kind of mushroom， but they said it was an herb used in traditional medicine. Photographs and paintings of street scenes in the Qing and even Ming dynasties show how long- established the practice is of using advertising placards in China. The homemade sign in front of me is another iteration of a long practice. I wonder what form it will take when urban China sheds these cluttered areas entirely.

. I understand that this is not a business， but washing our clothes is a principal human business and it should be expected that in high-density Xixi Lu space for drying clothes will be scarce and that people use available venues without anyone else moving it， or even much noticing it. Thus， it is a normal sight on a Chinese university campus during a warm weekend， or the equivalent of a spring cleaning time， to see a recently-washed blanket draped over a bush in a public place like a quad. No one takes it away， and it was only when an American friend who was new to China drew it to my attention that I realized I had stopped noticing it. Likewise， it was only when I began to think of how I came to get used to the clothing fluttering above me that I realized that I had grown used to Xixi Lu and missed it when it was gone.