【中英双语】巧手筑岭南 古建守护人 | 砖瓦烧造匠人:泥火交融,淬炼匠心


The Skillful Craftsmen in Lingnan · The Guardians of Ancient Buildings | Craftsmanship Embodied in Harmony between Kaoline Clay and Kiln Fire

行走岭南大地,岭南的美被定格在这些古老建筑之中,而构建它们的主体材料——一砖一瓦从何而来,常常被我们忽略。

The beauty of Lingnan is embodied in those ancient buildings across this land. However, visitors may often forget where those bricks and tiles, the main materials of those buildings, come from.

岭南古建源于砖瓦,而砖瓦取自大地,不同类型的土壤经过工匠塑形、窑炉淬炼等繁复流程,成为组装岭南堂宇的基本“分子”。


Ancient Lingnan buildings stem from the bricks and tiles that come from the earth. Various kinds of clay, through the molding, furnace quenching and other complicated processes conducted by craftsmen, become the basic “molecules” that consist buildings and halls in Lingnan.

在广东四会,有着这样数十年如一日地潜心探究砖瓦烧制技艺的传承人,他是第二届“广东传统建筑名匠”钟伟磷以及他的师弟卢国辉。在他们心中,烧制一砖一瓦不仅仅是一门技艺和生计,而是一段鲜活的历史、一颗坚持的匠心。

There are two successors dedicated to the research on brick and tile firing technique for decades in Sihui, Guangdong. They are Zhong Weilu, one of the second batch of “Traditional Architectural Artisans of Guangdong”, and his junior fellow apprentice, Lu Guohui. In their minds, brick and tile firing is not only an expertise for livelihood but also a living history and a steadfast ingenuity.

400多年前,在广东四会龙江河畔,勤劳朴实的匠人们用窑火烧红了一段古砖瓦传奇。“这里的窑有四百多年历史了。”

Over 400 years ago, diligent and modest craftsmen created a legend of ancient bricks and tiles by virtue of kiln fire along the Longjiang River of Sihui in Guangdong Province. “The kilns here have a history of more than 400 years.”

钟伟磷的父亲是一名砖瓦厂的师傅。19岁,他正式加入砖瓦厂,跟着父亲学艺。20多岁,他就学会了烧造砖、瓦、装窑、烧窑等砖瓦制作的全部流程,成长为一名初级烧造师。

Zhong Weilin’s father is a master in a bricks and tiles plant. At the age of 19, his father formally joined the bricks and tiles plant and become an apprentice. At the age of 20, he mastered the whole process of brick firing, tile firing, kiln installing, kiln firing, etc., and turned into a junior master.

20世纪六七十年代是砖瓦厂最兴盛的时期。当时,砖瓦主要供给普通人盖房屋,市场需求很高。砖瓦厂最多的时候有近1000名工人,手工生产砖瓦,一年能生产3000万片。

In the 1960s and the 1970s, the bricks and tiles plant ushered in its heyday. Bricks and tiles then were mainly supplied to ordinary people for house building, and the market demand was huge. At its peak, the bricks and tiles plant employed almost 1,000 workers and produced hand-made bricks and tiles, with a total annual output of 30 million pieces.

1996年,钟伟磷担任砖瓦厂的生产厂长,正式接手了砖瓦厂,传承百年老字号工艺。彼时,砖瓦市场大不如前,厂里的工人也只剩下六七十个,钟伟磷将工厂改为半机械化、半手工生产。2006年修改传统砖瓦窑设计,达到微烟至无烟效果。

In 1996, Zhong Weilin formally took over the plant and acted as the production director to inherit and carry forward this century-old craft. During those days, the brick and tile market went to the dogs and there were only 60 or 70 workers left in the plant. As a result, Mr. Zhong changed the original production mode into semi-mechanized and semi-manual mode. In 2006, the traditional brick and tile kilns were re-designed into micro-smoke to smoke-free kilns.

“一窑、二土、三师傅”,钟伟磷说,四会白土砖瓦厂拥有百年生产经验、天然白土优势,老师傅就是厂里的“第一宝”。

According to Zhong Weiluo, “The kiln goes first, which is followed by clay and master, in terms of brick and tile firing.” The kaoline clay bricks and tiles plant in Sihui possesses the 100 years of production experience and natural kaoline clay advantage. Then, those experienced masters have become “the most valuable resource in this plant”.

目前,这座砖瓦厂有约4000平方米生产场地。烧造技师有3人从事烧造砖瓦二十年以上,技工8人从事传统砖瓦烧造工艺工作十年以上,是目前珠三角地区唯一可全面生产各规格红砖、青砖、阶砖、黏土瓦、水泥花阶砖,手工滴水瓦当、异形砖瓦的工坊,“现在这座厂,就我和师弟卢国辉两人资历老,能够全流程胜任砖瓦烧制。”钟伟磷说。

At present, the bricks and tiles plant has a production site covering about 4,000 m2. There are 3 masters engaging in brick and tile firing for over 20 years and 8 technicians engaging in traditional brick and tile firing techniques for over 10 years in the plant. This plant is currently the only workshop in the Pearl River Delta that is able to produce all types of red bricks, gray bricks, floor tiles, clay tiles, cemented encaustic tiles, hand-made eaves tiles, and special-shaped bricks and tiles. According to Zhong Weilin, “Now in this factory, my junior fellow apprentice Lu Guohui and I are old-timers qualified for the whole process of brick and tile firing .”

师弟卢国辉不善言辞,却是烧制砖瓦的好手。“什么样的泥能够烧制怎样的砖,我师弟抓一把泥捻一下就有数了。”钟伟磷说,过去,传统砖瓦烧制靠的是经验积累,并没有流程精确数字,现在正在编写砖瓦工艺的烧造流程作为传承资料。三十多年来,钟伟磷和他的团队烧制的各类型砖、瓦、阶砖、滴水瓦当等产品被广泛用于岭南传统建筑上,这里烧造的砖瓦装点了世界各地的岭南建筑。

Despite his ineloquence, Lu Guowei is a good brick and tile maker. Zhong Weilin said, “My junior fellow apprentice can tell what kind of bricks and tiles to be fired out of the clay by rubbing it in his hand.” Traditional brick and tile firing was previously based on experience and there was no exact parameters in each process. At present, we are formulating the documents on brick and tile firing processes as heritage materials. Mr. Zhong and his team have fired various types of bricks, tiles, floor tiles, eaves tiles and other products for over 30 years, which have been widely applied into traditional Lingnan buildings. The bricks and tiles fired here have decorated Lingnan buildings worldwide.

为传承烧造砖瓦技艺,钟伟磷开设工作室、进校园讲课、组织高校学生实地研学,“我们从不缺‘鲁班’,因为血脉里流淌着那股工匠精神。”钟伟磷呼吁更多工匠大师传授技艺、传承文化,同时让岭南传统建筑走进课堂,融入生活,鼓励和支持后备工匠人才,充分结合现代化技术,进一步传承和发扬岭南传统建筑技艺。

In order to inherit and carry forward the skills for brick and tile firing, Zhong Weilin has opened studio, given lectures on campus and organized university students for on-site studies. “There has never been shortage of “Lu Ban Characters” because that artisan spirit are flowing in our blood.” Mr. Zhong has been calling on more artisan masters to impart their skills and inherit and carry forward this culture, while incorporating traditional Lingnan architecture into our classrooms and daily lives. Additionally, he has been advocating the backup artisans to fully integrate their skills with modern technology, so as to further inherit and carry forward the artistry concerning traditional Lingnan architecture.

来源:广州日报

Source: Guangzhou Daily

统筹/秦晖 肖桂来

Report planning: Qin Hui and Xiao Guilai

作者:肖桂来、何钻莹、李波

Author:Xiao Guilai,He Zhuanyingand Li Bo