景泰蓝 Jing Tai Lan

镜头前这些造型优美，色彩华丽的工艺品叫做“景泰蓝”。
These beautiful and colorful art crafts in front of the camera are named Jing Tai Lan.

它是中国传统的青铜、陶瓷、绘画和雕刻艺术与国外掐丝珐琅工艺有机结合的产物。
It is a combination of Chinese traditional bronze and china arts, paintings, carving arts and foreign enamel techniques.

13世纪下半叶，一种在金属胎上装饰瓷釉的手艺从阿拉伯传入中国。
A kind of handicraft of decorating enamel on the metal was introduced from Arab into China in the late half of the 13th century.

这种民间工艺在中国工匠的手中经历了数百年反复锤炼、雕琢、磨合。
Such folk art craft has experienced repeated practices and compromise for several hundred years in the hands of Chinese craftsmen.

到15世纪中叶明朝景泰年间。已经独具特色且十分成熟。
In the mid 15th century -- the “Jing Tai” period in the Ming Dynasty, this art craft had its own features and were pretty mature.

因初创时只有蓝色，人们习惯地把这种精湛的工艺称为“景泰蓝”。
It used to be named “Jing Tai Lan” because such articles were solely made in blue at the beginning.

“蓝”就是Blue。
“Lan” means blue.

后来虽然又发展出了各种颜色的珐琅彩，但“景泰蓝”已经作为一种工艺品名称一代代沿袭下来，而不再是指一种颜色了。
Although there are various colors of enamel developed later on, the name “Jing Tai Lan” is still used to refer to this kind of art craft, but not only a color any more.

景泰蓝制品富丽华美、光彩耀人。极具观赏和收藏价值。
Articles of Jing Tai Lan are magnificent, colorful, shinning, and are worthy of appreciating and collecting.

但是它的制作工艺精湛繁复、造价昂贵，不是一般人所能承受的。
However, its production procedure can be very complicated and thus it is priced so high that the common people usually cannot afford it.

因此在明清两朝，“景泰蓝”都是皇家专用的器物饰品，是尊贵与财富的象征。
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, “Jing Tai Lan” was the decorative articles owned only by royal families, a symbol of nobility and wealth.

清朝皇宫内设有“珐琅作”，专门制造精美的景泰蓝。
“Workshop of Enamel” was set up in the Forbidden City during the Qing Dynasty, specializing in producing elegant Jing Tai Lan.

后来这项工艺渐渐传入民间，才得以年复一年传承至今。
Later on, this craft was introduced to the folk communities, so that it could be passed on over generations and last till now.

制作景泰蓝的工艺是个环环相连、丝丝入扣的复杂过程。
Making Jing Tai Lan is a very complicated process which each step closely connected to the previous one.

须经过“制胎”、“掐丝”、“点蓝”、“烧蓝”、“磨光”、“镀金”等大大小小十多道工序才能完成。
It can only be finished through more than ten steps including making copper mold, welding copper wire, coloring, polishing, gold-plating and so on.

全部工序的基础是从制胎开始的。
All steps begin with mold-making.

工匠们要先选取厚薄均匀的紫铜片。
Firstly, craftsmen choose pieces of copper of exactly the same thickness.

剪裁切割之后，通过这样耐心地反复捶打做成各种器物的毛坯。
Then they cut and hammer them into the molds for different kinds of articles by repeatedly beating and molding with patience.

而一件精美绝伦的艺术品，也将在这不起眼的铜胎上一步步完成。
And a magnificent and elegant art craft is to be created from the not-eye-absorbing copper mold.

工匠们先把这种细长扁平的铜丝弯曲掐制成各种复杂的形状和山水花鸟等各种图案，再一个一个粘到铜胎上。
Craftsmen first weld thin and flat wires into all kinds of complex shapes and patterns, such as mountains, rivers, flowers and birds, and then paste them onto the copper mold one by one.

这样一个简单的花瓶就需要500米的铜丝。
Such a plain vase needs 500-meter-long copper wires.

至于景泰蓝上绚丽丰富的色彩，就是这样用颜料在铜丝弯成的小格子中。
The brilliant colors on Jing Tai Lan are inlayed into the empty spaces formed by copper wires like this.

一小块一小块堆填出来的，这个关键的环节叫做“点蓝”。
This key step is called “coloring blue”.

决定景泰蓝颜色的还有“烧蓝”。
Another key step which is critical to the colors of Jing Tai Lan is enamel-firing.

烧蓝的炉温一般在600度以上。
Temperature for enamel-firing is usually above 600 centigrade.

火候或温度上的丝毫偏差，都可能造成颜色偏差或釉质脱落而前功尽弃。
Any mistake in temperature will cause wrong colors or sheds of glaze which lead to failure.

进炉一烧颜料的体积就会缩小。
After burning, the size of the colors will shrink.

因此“点蓝”和“烧蓝”的环节需要重复许多次。
Therefore, steps of enamel-coloring and enamel-firing must be repeated several times.

一次次地填色，一次次地烧制，这只牡丹花瓶才呈现出如此丰富饱满的色泽。
This vase of peony can be so brilliant and dazzling in colors only after repeated coloring and firing.

“打磨”虽然是最后一道工序，却也要经历砂石、黄石、木炭抛光等多次加工，才能成就景泰蓝均匀华丽的夺目光泽。
Although “polishing” is the last step, it is not the least one. Jing Tai Lan can be brilliant and dazzling in colors only after being polished by sandstones, yellow stones and charcoal.

从明清时候起，景泰蓝就随着远洋的商船走向海外，并影响着数百年来各国珐琅制作的工艺和风格。
From the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Jing Tai Lan was introduced overseas with trade ships, and has influenced the production and style of enamel-making in all countries for several hundred years.

如今，日本的七宝烧和西洋画珐琅中都能找到景泰蓝艺术的影迹。
Even now, you can find traces of Jing Tai Lan in Japanese pottery making crafts and enamel in western paintings.

这三种珐琅工艺相互借鉴，各有千秋。
These three techniques of enamel have their own advantages and learn from each other.

2006年5月20日，景泰蓝制作技艺经中国国务院批准列入中国第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录。
On May 20th, 2006, the production technique of Jing Tai Lan was approved to be put in the list of the first national non-material cultural heritage by the Chinese Government.

景泰蓝
Jing Tai Lan

漂亮！
Beautiful!