Yan Jin-yi’s lonely lacquer-thread craft

Yan Jin-yi (顏金益), a teacher living in Taipei, is one of only a handful of people in Taiwan still proficient in the art of lacquer thread sculpture. Using his skilled hands to hold a thin lacquer thread of less than a millimeter in width, Jin-yi puts down layer upon layer to produce incredibly lifelike dragons, the clothes on Buddha statues, and various containers, all with stunningly beautiful and delicate patterns.

Yan Jin-yi has been engaged in the magical craft of lacquer thread sculpture for over 30 years, a traditional art form dating back as far as the Ming and Qing Dynasties. To ensure that each piece of work demonstrates the beauty of lacquer thread sculpture to its fullest potential, Yan Jin-yi works with the utmost care and prudence in the whole process, from the composition and preparation of materials, to the twisting of the string, coiling of the structure, and final application of gold leaf. He said that most pieces of work generally take about a month or two to complete, but that pieces of work with high degrees of difficulty can take over six months.

Despite Yanjin Yi’s incredible skill, the lack of popularity for lacquer thread sculpture in Taiwan means that he needs to do renovation and painting work on Buddhist statues in order to make ends meet. Regardless of this, he still insists on creating all of his stunning works of art by hand, helping to protect this ancient traditional craft.

Yan Jin-yi’s lonely lacquer-thread craft 
URL:https://www.peopo.org/news/288487 

(以下是中文對照)

顏金益與他的寂寞漆線工藝
 

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住在台北的顏金益老師，擁有全台灣僅存的技術，他可以運用一雙巧手和一條寬度不到一毫米的細線，經過層層堆疊，成為栩栩如生的龍，為佛像的衣服或者是器皿，畫上美麗精緻的圖案。

這樣神奇的作畫方式叫做「漆線雕」，是從明清時期就有的一項傳統工藝，目前顏金益從事這項工作已經三十多年。每個作品從構圖、備料、搓線、盤繞形體，到最後貼上金箔，顏金益都小心謹慎，只為了呈現出漆線最美的一面。他說一般作品約花費一兩個月、較困難的則可能要半年多左右才能完成。因為漆線在台灣仍不普遍，所以儘管顏金益擁有精湛的手藝，為了兼顧生計，他還要做佛像的修整、彩繪。不過他仍然堅持用手工勾勒出一幅幅令人驚豔的作品，守護著漆線這項傳統工藝。