Ingenuity: Beijing Traditional Crafts with Both Elegance and Popularity

This book gives a detailed introduction to eleven Beijing traditional crafts from the perspectives of appearance， production process， development process， and main scenic spots. It vividly shows the charms of Beijing’s traditional crafts with lively and simple language.

Cloisonne --- Famous around the World

Xin Yutong

Xin Yutong teaches at the International School， Capital University of Economics and Business. She has long been engaged in teaching and research of Chinese as a foreign language and has rich teaching experience. She has published many papers on the teaching and cultural research of Chinese as a foreign language.

Ingenuity： Beijing Traditional Crafts with Both Elegance and Popularity

Xin Yutong

Capital University of Economics and Business Press

January 2022

52.00 （CNY）

What is cloisonne？ Where did this name come from？

There is a saying that all the metal enamels are cloisonne. However， to be more specific， cloisonne refers to metal filigree enamel. A metal body can be golden， silver or copper; copper bodies are the most common. When it comes to cloisonne， people often refer to copper filigree enamel.

The Chinese name of cloisonne， Jingtailan， came from Emperor Jingtai of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Jingtai attached great importance to this craft and even participated in the design and production. After his secondary transformation， the copper filigree enamel had a unique shape and top craft. Of course， it was also imitated by many later generations. In the Qing Dynasty， emperors were also keen to imitate the craft of making copper filigree enamel in the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty. Besides， they sealed the imitations with “Made in Jingtai.” Three blue colors dominated the glaze colors of these copper filigree enamels. Thus， they were called “Jingtailan” by Chinese people. However， this name was given in the late Qing Dynasty.

Cloisonne requires a complex production process， a high level of craft， and high production costs. Therefore， cloisonne artworks were always palace handicrafts exclusively used by the royal family and aristocrats. It stood for power and status， and private production was strictly forbidden in civil society. In the late Qing Dynasty， with the decline of the imperial court， cloisonne was spread from the palace to ordinary people and was gradually known. Cloisonne has become a representative craft in traditional Chinese arts and crafts. Because cloisonne is mainly produced in Beijing， people first consider cloisonne when mentioning Beijing arts and crafts.

So， how is cloisonne made？ What is so special in its craft？

Cloisonne art and craftsmanship

The cloisonne body should be made with red copper when making a delicate artwork; the painter sketches the body; the patterns are welded with copper wires on the surface according to the sketch. Then， enamel glazes with different colors （enamel， a kind of glass glaze， is made by grinding quartz， porcelain clay， feldspar， borax and some metallic minerals into enamel powder， which is melted， smelted and coated on the metal body， and is used for coloring and decoration） are embedded in the patterns. After repeated sintering at high temperatures， the colors are filled constantly. Finally， the surface is polished and plated with gold. In the production of cloisonne， the Chinese techniques of making copperware and porcelain are used， and the traditional hand painting and carving techniques are integrated. Thus， the making of cloisonne is recognized as a master of traditional Chinese crafts.

At first， there were about 16 processes of making cloisonne， which have been refined into 108 processes today. The main processes include body making， wire inlay， welding， enamel filling， enameling， polishing， and gold plating.

Next， we will introduce the most special processes in cloisonne craft： wire inlay， enamel filling， and enameling.

Wire inlay

One of the raw materials of cloisonne is copper， which is used to make the copper body. This kind of copper body is not cast from a mold， but hammered and shaped by the craftsman by hand. This requires copper to be particularly malleable and can be bent at any angle. Therefore， there is an old saying in the cloisonne industry： “Copper should be pure; materials should be refined; and gold should be real.” Pure copper means that the raw copper should be genuine for its price. More importantly， red copper must be used， namely the copper used to make wires in modern industry. A drop of red copper can be stretched into a two-meter-long copper wire.

The copper wire used for copper filigree enamel should be pressed into a one-millimeter-wide flat filament. The copper filament must be bent many times into an ideal shape. A copper filament should be bent by tweezers into seven or eight twists before it is bent into a fingernail-size pattern. Such a pattern is only a simple one. It is not strange to bend a copper wire tens of times to make a complex pattern.

In wire inlay， the draft rubbed on the copper body is used for reference. The draft is very important. Every copper wire should fit perfectly without any ambiguity. It is not easy to see the flaws in the wire inlay stage. After it is welded to the copper body and colored， the flaws will be very obvious. Any asymmetry in the facial features or discord in the facial curves will make the character dull and influence the overall effect.

Wire inlay is as critical as girder erection. An ordinary cloisonne vase has at least one thousand copper wire parts. Every copper wire pattern should be made by hand. The wire inlay process alone takes at least one month.

Why is the wire inlay process so complicated？ Can’t we design some simple patterns？ The answer lies in the next process.

Enamel filling

The reason why wire inlay is so complicated is not to look for troubles but for the requirement in the next process — enamel filling. Enamel filling means filling different colors between the copper wires， drying them， and leaving the solid colors. These colors are the enamel glazes for copper filigree enamel.

Craftsmen find that if the gaps between copper wires are too large， cracks similar to those after a glass explosion will easily appear on the fired enamel. Therefore， the patterns of filigree enamel must be finely arranged.

Enamel isn’t filled and fired only once. Every time they are fired， the enamel glazes between copper wires will sink due to chilling. Then， craftsmen should fill more colors， fire them， and repeat this process. The process should be repeated at least four or five times before the enamel glazes are leveled with the copper wires.

Enameling

It takes much less time — less than ten minutes — to fire cloisonne than porcelain. The fired cloisonne is all red， and the original colors are completely unrecognizable. The slightly cooled ones turn black as bottles are taken one by one out of the kiln. The cloisonne will turn darker when fired until it is dark enough to cover the original colors. This is because the material melts and will recover after it is cooled. After cooling， the enameled colors will appear on the cloisonne. Before being fired at a high temperature， the colors of cloisonne are powdery particles. After drying， the colors turn light. The fired enamel becomes as transparent as glass， and the colors are slightly darker than those before the enamel.

The fired cloisonne products are much rougher than finished products because they need a major operation of “buffing and beautifying.” The craftsman should put the cloisonne product on a rotary table and hold a piece of black basswood charcoal to polish the outer wall of the cloisonne while washing the cloisonne with flowing water. Basswood is a kind of wood with particularly fine grain. Using basswood charcoal to polish the rough， thin texture will make the enamel glaze brighter and shiny.

It usually takes at least two months to complete all the processes.

Cloisonne is made by repeated hammering， bending wires， enamel filling， and enameling. The beauty of cloisonne comes from purely hand-made production and the craftsman’s ingenious technique.