Source: Yuncheng Urban and Rural Collective Industrial Association

Updated: June 23, 2020  08:49

MA Jing, a native of Jishan County, is a provincial inheritor of Jishan Luodian lacquer decoration skills under the national intangible cultural heritage project. She occupies many positions such as a master of Arts and Crafts in Shanxi; a director of Traditional Arts and Crafts Protection Association; a director of Shanxi Lacquerware Industry Association; a member of Provincial Folk Arts and Crafts Association; a member of Shanxi Provincial Arts and Crafts Association and a deputy director of Jishan Luodian Lacquerware Research Center.

In August 2000, MA Jing, having graduated from school, started to learn to make Luodian lacquerware with her mother LI Aizhen (a national representative inheritor and a master of Chinese arts and crafts industry). It has been 20 years during which she studied on her own diligently by reading extensively on arts and lacquerware. She gradually developed her unique style, putting theory and practice together, especially in the production of main pictures in terms of portraying and cutting figures, flowers, feathers, and beasts in a lifelike and vivid way. As it is known that Luodian is one kind of shells. The shells are polished into flat sheets and eventually into 0.1 cm-thick slices before being cut into various patterns and stitched together. Later, it is pasted on a round object as a whole without cracking for a complete image. This technique is still a scarce technique in the Luodian lacquer industry in China. It is no less challenging than other kinds of paintings. It has been highly praised by the Japanese lacquer artist Daxi Changli and the Korean lacquer artist Kim Seong-soo. He has won the second prize of "Tangdu Cup" Lacquerware Skills Competition and was awarded the title of "Sanjin Technical Expert" in 2014. In 2018, he was named the "Talents of Shanxi" by the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, and his works have won many domestic and foreign awards.

In order to develop the painting skills of Jishan Luodian Lacquerware, MA Jing was invited by the county Labor Department to hold a one-month training for migrant workers in 2009. During the training, she explained in details the cutting techniques of various patterns, such as pasting and polishing. It was well received by the majority of migrant workers.

She also devoted herself to academic research. In 2010, she published an article "The Art of Inlaid with Color Shells—The Craftsmanship of Jishan Luodian Lacquerware" in the second issue of "Chinese Lacquer". It attracted great attention both domestically and internationally. After reading this article, Koji Kobayashi, a researcher at the Kyushu Museum of Japan, paid a visit to our center in August 2011 for professional exchanges. Chinese lacquer art master QIAO Shiguang also made a special trip to Jishan Luodian Lacquerware Research Center in 2014, he later wrote "Jishan Journey", which was published in "Shanxi Farmers Daily" and "Yuncheng Daily".

From 2016 to 2017, MA Jing studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Academy of Fine Arts of Shanxi University and the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts for three months. She gained great improvements in ways of broadening her horizon, enriching aesthetic taste for future works. In 2018, MA Jing was invited to participate in the "Jingchu Lacquer" International Lacquer Art Forum and National Lacquer Art Exhibition. Her work was highly praised by Kevin Murray, vice Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Region of the World Handicraft Council. She and her works play an important role in introducing Jishan Luodian Lacquerware widely.