Goodbye to tradition.3

Author: Lü Shengzhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Preface These articles were mostly written over a decade ago and were published sporadically in various magazines. Some were also included in the 1996 collection Soul-Seeking Journey. One day, I picked up these writings and felt as if I had been transported back to the rural areas where I had conducted field research a decade earlier. In memory, the sky was purer, the earth cleaner, and people more simple than they are now, and indeed, I was younger then. With eyes full of youth and naivety, what could I possibly discern from such a pure, clean, and simple background? It must have been shallow and lacking depth. Since that field research, I have continuously lived in rural areas, never expecting the word "farewell," once dreaming that tradition would accompany me. Over a decade has passed. Looking through my field research notes and photographs, and rereading these writings, I suddenly realized: every time I went to the countryside, it was a "farewell," and every time I left, it was also a "farewell." What truly accompanied me was the hurried pace of modern people striving for a "prosperous life." Ah, I regret that every glance I cast was not as sincere, and every word I listened to was not as attentive. From these old writings, I attempt to extract more of the scenes from that time. Today, traditional folk and rural culture have become fashionable, and many young people yearn to learn more about it. However, the rural areas of China today have moved from the land permeated with tradition to a "modernized" landscape over a decade since the time of my field research. The former villages surrounded by earth are either empty or have been transformed into bustling tourist attractions. Thus, I prefer to reveal my own shallowness so that today's people can experience more of the traditional landscapes of rural China.
Initially, I referred to the inheritors of folk art as "mothers of art," seeing them as my own mothers—mothers nurture their children, and my art gradually matured under the nourishment of folk art. My mother, Jiang Yongzhen, was a skilled woman from the countryside, but during her lifetime, I did not actively seek nourishment from her in the realm of folk art. Therefore, my greater artistic nourishment came from more "mothers of art." I once lived closely with these mothers, but now most of them have passed away. They are: Wang Lanpan, Zhang Linzhao, Cao Diangang, Qi Xiumei, Duan Yueying, and Kusulan. I will always remember their names, and I will set up an eternal altar in my heart for them. In truth, these mothers of art do not belong to me; they are the last inheritors of traditional folk culture, representing rural China of the past who passed down the cultural heritage accumulated over millennia to the modern era. Modern, you should be moved, shouldn't you? Hurry and say to them: "Mother, you can rest assured." Then gently take this heritage.
The museumification of folk traditional culture is a broad concept—it is not a single building, nor a "folk village." It is a spacious place that modern society has allocated to traditional culture. I have always believed that this is a whisper from the mothers of traditional art, a torch handed over by my mentors. Now, the whisper grows louder, yet the fire of the torch burns weaker. My lonely spirit bears immense pressure, yet I cannot let it be extinguished in my hands.
"Face Tigers" is a topic that was rarely studied in the past. Precisely because it was rarely explored, students can approach it with fewer preconceptions and concepts, focusing on grasping primary sources and their own discoveries.
II. The topic broadly covers folk customs, craftsmanship techniques, and historical and cultural backgrounds, presenting a certain level of difficulty and essentially encompassing the main issues one might encounter during general folk art field research.
III. Within a hundred miles, Langzhuang is a village dedicated to making face tigers, making the investigation relatively concentrated and conducting in-depth and comprehensive work within a limited area. However, there are still elderly artisans engaged in this work, but it is now struggling and urgently needs someone to investigate and organize it.