ArticleManagerIn Liwan, Guangzhou, in addition to the famous historical and cultural district “Yongqing Fang”, there is also a thousand-year-old Lingnan Ancient Village transformed into a check-in place for hipsters, which is the “Pantang Five Covenants”. Green brick walls, tiled houses, wooden doors and windows, wading doors… The atmosphere of the fireworks of the old town gathers here. Nowadays, the cultural and creative industry is surging, and Pantang Wuyo, located in Liwan District, is not only the first urban renewal project in Guangzhou for the purpose of “retention”, but also the first micro-renovation project in Guangzhou in which the design unit first solicits the opinions of residents and then prepares a renovation plan.
“Pantang Wuyo” has now entered more than 40 merchants, with an activation rate of 85%, “There are no majestic Xiguan houses here, some are more small houses and low thresholds, so they have not been able to enter the eyes of “capital”, and luckily escaped the limelight of large-scale demolition and construction.” Artist Ma Zhihai likes the pyrotechnics of the “Pantang Five Covenants”, “There is not a single street that is serious about business, not so much a shop as a studio.” “Natural music, tea art incense, fragrant yarn, French embroidery, ancient tea piano house… These studios seem to have grown naturally in the “Pantang Five Covenants”, and the artists get along harmoniously with the local residents.
Gu Xiangyu Tong Tong:
For incense culture to be passed on, it must be fashionable
Gu Xiangyu is one of the earliest artists’ studios of “Pantang Five Covenants”, and the owner Tong Tong is a slender Guangzhou woman with a beautiful face. She is passionate about promoting the “Pantang Five Covenants” historical and cultural district, and artists and aborigines here love her.
Stepping into the gate of “Gu Xiangyu”, you will be greeted by a bamboo woven screen, walking along the stone path under your feet into the inner room, and the floor-to-ceiling windows on the wall make the space open and open. The studio is a typical residential pattern, with a courtyard with a “meandering water flow” artistic conception in the middle, and a walking gate representing the style of Xiguan next to the black-painted four-open door.
Gu Xiangyu’s main business is incense affairs and incense culture. Tong Tong is the 6th National Top Ten Perfumer Champion, the Deputy Secretary-General of Guangdong Xiang Culture Association, and a registered incense teacher lecturer at the Institute of Incense Culture of the Chinese Academy of Management. She regards incense making and tasting as a part of her life, and is committed to fashioning and rejuvenating with traditional incense culture.
“Making incense requires a very quiet mind, whether it is sorting ash, pressing ash, filling incense powder, incense incense, seal incense… Otherwise, it will affect the burning of the seal text. Tong Tong’s temperament is very quiet, but when making incense, he will also “roll up his sleeves and work hard”. Taking the production of incense cards as an example, Tong Tong first configured the five spices of agarwood, cumin, parsley seeds, mother cloves and lemongrass according to the proportions of the ancient incense recipe to make incense, take 20g of incense powder, 9g of sticky powder and water to mix, constantly knead to make the two better integrated, about 20 minutes, the powder dough becomes soft and hard, Tong Tong puts it into the mold, after demolding, a prototype of the incense brand engraved with “peace” appears, and the smell of the aroma is refreshing. But this is not the end, in order to make the incense brand more delicate, Tong Tong also has to use a knife to finely trim the edges, punch holes, and turn the incense brand twice a day in the next 10 days. “Incense medicine is the same source, this incense brand can not only radiate fragrance, but also have the effect of warming the stomach, dispersing cold, and refreshing the mind.”
Tourists can drink tea and taste incense here, and Gu Xiangyu has also opened an incense culture experience course to attract young people to learn to smoke incense and make incense brands at a relatively affordable price. In addition to spreading skills, Tong Tong also plans to make incense more attractive to young people by changing the packaging of incense sticks, incense brands and other incense products, “In order to spread incense culture, it must be ‘fashionable’, for example, incense brands can be engraved in interesting Cantonese, and incense can be used in more interesting packaging.” ”
French embroidery workshop Wang Yingfeng:
Through artistic handiwork, find peace of mind
Wang Yingfeng and her French embroidery workshop are a relatively “special” presence in the antique Pantang Wuyo, with green brick exterior walls, glass doors and windows, but inside is the French national treasure art – French embroidery. These embroidery works are not quite the same as the Chinese embroidery we usually see: needles and threads are passed through the rows, gemstones are set in them, the form is more three-dimensional, and the vision is more impactful.
“I fell in love with French embroidery at first sight”, in 2018, Wang Yingfeng traveled to France and saw a dress in the exhibition hall, the pattern on the dress was Van Gogh’s masterpiece “Sunflower”, and the artist gave it a new expression with French embroidery. “What the work gave me was a feeling of familiarity and strangeness, and I never thought that familiar paintings could be represented with such visual effects. Through the combination of rice beads, sequins, crystals, ribbons and other materials, the picture effect is uneven, not only has the texture of oil painting, but also has the luster brought by different materials, conveying a rich and heavy artistic message. Wang Yingfeng said that he wanted to touch the work and was curious about how these materials were combined.
Wang Yingfeng graduated from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, has been engaged in media work for many years, and has a deep understanding of visual arts. “I look forward to using more local and novel artistic expression techniques to bring this art that makes me ‘electrocuted’ into the public’s vision, integrate it into everyone’s daily life, and share my artistic ideas and attitude to life.” At the beginning of 2020, Wang Yingfeng went to CHANEL’s Paris Lesage School to study French embroidery, which is the “highest school” for learning French embroidery. It took her most of half a year to master the art of French embroidery. “The learning process was very interesting, although I couldn’t understand French, I was able to communicate with the teacher with simple English and body language.”
Chinese embroidery pays attention to the delicacy of the picture, while French embroidery pays attention to the aesthetics of using mixed materials. French embroidery creates a variety of materials, including pearls, shells, gemstones, etc., and the wire is not limited to silk thread, cotton thread and wool can also become embroidery materials.
After returning to China, Wang Yingfeng turned out a large number of traditional Chinese patterns, carried out secondary creations, and added many fashion elements. The French embroidery works she creates reveal a strong Chinese flavor and are also international expressions. For example, the peacock common in Chinese paintings, under Wang Yingfeng’s embroidery needle, has both the delicate expression of Chinese brush paintings, and the grace and dignity of Western court paintings, and the image of peacocks has also become three-dimensional and vivid due to the setting of gemstones and beads.
With the increasing number of works, Wang Yingfeng gradually gained attention inside and outside the French embroidery circle, and some clothing companies took the initiative to contact her for joint creation. French embroidery not only gives Wang Yingfeng a sense of achievement in artistic creation, but also allows her to find her ideal attitude to life. “Engaging in French embroidery creation requires full physical and mental devotion, and people can withdraw from their usual busy thoughts and feel a peaceful state.”
Wang Yingfeng’s attitude to art and life has infected many people. She developed a series of embroidery courses, which attracted many people to learn. “There are embroidery enthusiasts, fashion designers, and more urban white-collar workers who want to find peace of mind through artistic handicrafts in addition to their daily busy lives.” There is a grandmother in her 70s who also came to learn embroidery, “although my eyes are not very good, but I can learn slowly”, and another trainee is a pet costume, she made a beautiful little dress for her dog.
Listen to Kusanagi Miri:
Adults and children alike love to come here to “play” music
Mi Li, the owner of the listening grass hall, is a Xiguan master, “I have always liked Pantang Wuyo, I live on the shore of Liwan Lake, and in the past, when I used to walk on the gravel street here during the morning luck, I was used to listening to the sound of selling vegetables and Cantonese opera on the street…” Miri has been doing finance for 17 years, and in 2012 began to contact psychology, and by chance, met the natural music instructor Lao Ning, and began to systematically learn natural music courses.
Tingcaotang is transformed from an old house in Xiguan, and under the premise of retaining the characteristics of the old house and native plants, the wall is opened to allow the emerald green yard to melt into the house, which is closer to nature. The designer retained the structure of the tiled beams, and by adding rattan mats, neutralized the cold and toughness of the old houses in Xiguan, and brought more softness and tolerance at the beginning. There is also a patio in the space, where early summer raindrops are ticking down, and a few small birds make a nest in the eaves.
Miri and the students share natural music here and return to inner stability. There are many magical musical instruments in the Listening Grass Hall: Full Moon Ode Bowl, Shakuhachi, Rain Stick, Wind Chime, Wave Drum, Shaman Drum, Nut Rattle, Gong, Shakuhachi, Mushadan, French Wind Chime, Peruvian Pan Flute, Owl Flute, etc. The most fun is the rain stick, made from Mexican cacti, which gently shakes and makes a gurgling rain sound. You can also control the speed of the rain, whether it is gentle or slow, or suddenly and quickly… The sound of nut rattles is also special, simple but healing.
There are activities almost every day: meditation class, natural music workshop, spiritual dance, sound and light concert, Himalayan singing bowl healing workshop, parent-child concert, solar term music walk, mood salon, natural vocalization… The open day of Listening to Caotang is also the festival of Pantang Wuyo, and adults and children alike like to come here to “play” music.
Everyone who comes to the listening hall feels very relaxed, and you can even lie down and listen to music in the most comfortable way. Some students will also bring their parents here to listen to music, and it has been proved that natural music has a good effect on improving insomnia and depression.
The students enjoyed sharing their wonderful feelings of listening to the grass hall, “The knot that has always been blocked in the chest has been unblocked in the natural sound, and even the sound made has become different.” “I felt the unblocking of my body and it seemed like everything was flowing.”
Thinking about the Craftsman:
Arranging flowers and drinking tea are also Chinese studies
Walking along the alley, a shop with a green garden is also an Internet celebrity check-in point for Pantang Wuyo. This shop has three managers in charge, all of whom like traditional culture, “The shopkeeper is based on the ancient tea affairs and ancient flower affairs of the past dynasties.” Among them, the ancient tea event is the matching of tea ceremony space and space rental of different dynasties. The ancient flower event is divided into four parts, ancient flower arrangement, business flower arrangement, home flower arrangement and space green plants. “They hope that the ancient Italian traditional culture can be passed on and spread.
The beauty Sisi is mainly responsible for ancient flower affairs, she collects a lot of ancient flower utensils, and often organizes flower experience activities. “There were not so many varieties of flowers in ancient times, and the bottle mouth of the ancient flower ware was relatively small, and three or two flowers could create a simple artistic conception.”
Many young people who like Hanfu and traditional culture come here to take photos and check in, and when they see an antique small courtyard, they will walk in and take a look, and they find that the illustrations here are indeed different from those in other places.
Before coming to Pantang Wuyo, Sisi was in the teaching and training industry, and liked Chinese culture and traditional culture, “I used to think that my hobby was niche, but when I came here, I found that there are so many people with common hobbies.” ”
Visitors can take a sip of nature’s tea here, and let them discover the beauty of the details of life through ancient flower arrangement. “Many people think that it is the Four Books and Five Classics when they hear about Chinese culture, but in fact, this is not the case, and arranging flowers and drinking tea are also Chinese studies!”
Zhou Zhiyun of the ancient tea piano house:
I love the life here and feel that I can meet high-ranking people every day
The area of the ancient tea piano house is not large, but the location is very good, because it is facing Liwan Lake, which has become the main stronghold for taking photos and meeting netizens, and there will be some frustrated people who walk in to drink tea and listen to the piano.
The owner Zhou Zhiyun was born in a guqin family, her parents, siblings, and husband are all non-genetic inheritors of guqin culture. “I have lived in Liwan for more than 30 years and have always liked the cultural heritage here, and Pantang Wuyao has preserved a lot of traditional living customs and culture.”
The ancient tea qin house exudes a classical temperament from the inside out, like a window to spread Lingnan guqin culture. “A tourist stayed in the bookstore B&B in Pantang Wuyo for a week, came to drink tea every afternoon, asked me how much the tea table fee, I said I didn’t charge money, he went back, sent me a large bag of special products. ”
Zhou Zhiyun said: It is not only necessary to spread the piano art and piano learning of Lingnan guqin, but also pay attention to the cultivation of piano art and morality of the piano people. She likes her life here, feels that she can meet high-ranking people and gods every day, and hopes that in the future, more partners can join the inheritance and dissemination of guqin culture, so that more people can know and understand guqin.
Qianyuxiang about Qianyu and Wang Lan:
Engrave national culture in your heart
Qianyu Xiangyo is a Xiangyun yarn clothing store, and the managers are Qianyu and Wang Lan. After returning from Korea, Ms. Qianyu has been working with a designer in Lingnan, and her clothes are based on nature, grass and trees, using national trend elements to show the national charm of mature women: “imprint national culture in the heart, and bring into play the influence of modern fashion.”
Many people think that Xiangyun yarn is worn by old ladies, the Xiangyun yarn designed by Teacher Qianyu is elegant and fashionable, she has an obsession with Xiangyun yarn fabrics, and also especially prefers old materials with a certain history, “Xiangyun yarn is soft gold in the fabric, the longer the value.” “The freshly made Xiangyun yarn will be a little hard and hard, but the softer it is, the more comfortable it is, and the old material of more than ten years will emit a leather luster, and a Xiangyun yarn trench coat designed by Teacher Qianyu, many people still think it is a leather jacket.” Xiangyun yarn uses plant dyes, which is also very good for women’s skin, and many customers wear our clothes, and people around them say that they have become beautiful. ”
The clothing store has two floors, the decoration inside is a combination of Chinese and Western, not only traditional Manchurian windows, wooden stairs, but also European-style red velvet sofas, crystal chandeliers, and most importantly, these elements are combined together, and there is no sense of violation. The second floor is a space where you can drink tea and eat private dishes, the curtains and chair cushions here are made of fragrant yarn, and the teapots and cups are all in the private collection of Teacher Qianyu.
Written by: Nandu Bay Finance Agency reporter Xu Kun
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