Research On Chengdu Lacquerware Art

Chengdu was one of the most important lacquer ware producing areas in ancient China. Since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the lacquer ware craftsmanship had been formed in Chengdu and gradually grown up in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period. In the Han Dynasty, its lacquer crafts achieved prosperity and Chengdu became the lacquer ware production center in China. Since the1920s, Chengdu lacquer gradually aroused the attention of scholars both domestic and overseas because of its frequent unearthing. From its historical development and inherited condition, Chengdu lacquer not only held an important position in China’s lacquer history, its unique aesthetic value and creation thought also had transcended the craft and material culture level, extending to the field of artistic design.Based on the existing research results in archaeology and history, the paper took Chengdu lacquer art as research object, from the perspective of artistic design, aimed to explore its styling features and decorative language and to explore its intrinsic aesthetic value and design ideas.From the synthetically application of literature research, image analysis, graph demonstration and comprehensive analysis, the paper studied on Chengdu lacquer art from three levels:First, the external level, which was to explore the unique aesthetic characteristics and originality from the lacquer’s shape, patterns and color. Secondly, the inner level, which was to seek the historical information and culture connotation of Chengdu lacquer, to clarify some existing cognitional dispute and finally to confirm its culture value and historical position. Thirdly, the extension level, which was to study deeply on the aesthetic and design concept of Chengdu lacquer and its positive influence to modern design, to provide useful idea source for modern design.Through general carding and interpretation on the historical development and aesthetic expression of Chengdu lacquer, after the analysis step by step on the three levels mentioned above, three conclusions had been finally formed in this paper:Firstly, the multiple culture conceptions. In the development of Chengdu lacquer, it was always accompanied with the import, blend and reorganization of the multicultural factors and the concept of consciousness, therefore the culture concepts conveying by the artifacts showed both the compositionality of multiple mingling (concept, culture and crafts) and its multiple influence (artifacts, skills and thought). This paper holds that it is the cultural concept of multi-sources and multi-directional of Chengdu lacquer, determines its multiple composite cultural characteristics, as well its important position and value in Chinese craft cultural history and Chinese lacquer and cultural history.Secondly, the integral view of aesthetics. The integrated aesthetic concept of natural beauty, artifact beauty and system beauty was formed in the relationship between the intension and extension of Chengdu lacquer. Under the influence of this aesthetic ideas, Chengdu lacquer showed four aesthetic characteristics, that is the balance of function and aesthetic, the fitness of ornament and lacquer ware, the inner organic unity of patterns, and the convergence of form and decorative style.Thirdly, the simple design philosophy. In the organic system of Chendu lacquer which composed of nature, artifact and man (social), lacquer ware as the link among nature, man and society, was constrained by the law of both the nature and the society. However, the lacquer craftsmen in Chengdu didn’t show passive or inactivity in modeling process, and a set of unique design philosophy of Chengdu lacquer was formed in the compliance with the adjustment process. This paper holds that, from the standpoint of design to consider the ideas of creation and the way of thinking expressed by Chendu lacquer, its core value lies in the pursuit of "good artifact" and the simple design philosophy reflected, and that is the final point of this study on Chengdu lacquer.