Liangjiang craftsman brings lacquer into daily life

Yang Xuehe crafts lacquerware. [Photo provided by the interviewee] 

Chinese lacquer became an overnight sensation after the return of Li Ziqi, China's top vlogger, after a three-year hiatus. Although the 8,000-year-old art has been spotlighted in cyberspace, it remains niche in real life, said Yang Xuehe, a craftsman who believes the best way to preserve this ancient art is to incorporate it into everyday life. 

Lacquer is a natural surface coating material that protects objects with its pest-proof, water-proof, and anticorrosive features. The lacquerware technique is a time-consuming work that decoratively covers objects such as bamboo and wood. 

"Lacquer dries very slowly and is sensitive to humidity and temperature in the process," Yang said, who spends months or even years to complete a lacquer piece. 

"Crafting lacquerware is a complex but calming process, and the sense of achievement is overwhelming when it is done," he recalled, discussing why he was attracted to this art form as an art undergraduate 14 years ago. 

"Plus, lacquer is a very nice material, which is inclusive and highly malleable," Yang said. Lacquer-painted items can maintain their natural texture and imaginatively serve their purposes. With lacquer, a tangerine peel can serve as a censer with the fruit scent and appearance well-preserved, or rice paper can be used as a vase with natural wrinkles. 

Among the lacquerware collection in his Liangjiang New Area studio, Yang holds a luffa-turned-vase to his heart. "That luffa was seeded when my wife and I bought the house; it ripened and started rotting during decoration, so I decided to lacquer-paint it as a witness of how we turned the space into our home," Yang recalled.

"Lacquer preserves sentimental value for you, and the item will become part of your story over time. We can't capture time, but lacquerware can," Yang said.

Practicality prevails in his lacquerware design and manufacturing. This spirit is reflected in the lid rest, which he created for a tea ceremony and is popular among his customers. 

Yang used luffa fiber as the core material and painted it with lacquer so the soft fiber would be sturdy enough to hold the lid. Meanwhile, the lacquer coat was made thin enough to keep the natural texture because a rough surface is more user-friendly than a shiny smooth lid rest, which is easily adhered to the lid. 

Yang explained that the beauty of craftsmanship can only be maximized when properly used. If your technique serves your design well and makes your products well-received, your customers may become interested in the materials.

"It is good that Chinese lacquer art is better known because of Li's video. One crucial thing to reviving the ancient art form is to let more people find its beauty through useful items instead of merely appreciating it as a cultural treasure," Yang said.

Part of Yang's lacquerware collection is displayed on the shelf. [Photo by Zhang Yangyang]