How was the ancient umbrella made?

The umbrella ribs are made of hand-cut bamboo strips, and the umbrella surface is made of flannel paper coated with natural waterproof tung oil.

manufacturing process

The traditional manufacturing process of oil-paper umbrella is very complicated, and it is all done by hand. There is a folk proverb: the process is half in seventy-two, and moving in and out is not a trivial matter. Generally speaking, it is divided into the following steps:

65438 +0. Bamboo: instant bamboo.

2. Skeleton making: the ribs of the umbrella are cut, subjected to necessary technical treatments such as water immersion and sun drying, then drilled, assembled and threaded, and the umbrella heads are connected in series to make the skeleton.

3. Sunshade: Stick the cut paper on the skeleton, trim, finalize the design and expose to the sun.

4. Painting: Draw a pattern on the umbrella surface and dry it.

5. Oiling: Finally, brush the cooked tung oil on the umbrella surface and use it after it is completely dried.

At present, Qin Feng John Oil Paper Umbrella and Ruoshuitang Oil Paper Umbrella, which are well inherited in China, still make oil paper umbrellas by traditional ancient methods, and 86 processes are all manual, from cutting bamboo to drawing patterns, without using machines. Materials also stick to tradition, in order to maintain its ancient charm and not make it fall into industrialization. For example, the umbrella frame must be logs cut from the mountain. Manufacturing tools also have a long history and strict quality control. It is required that the "four furrows" are flat and not exposed, the "teeth" are not exposed, the "embryo" and "support" are not exposed, and tung oil is evenly applied. Umbrella painting is also very particular, completed by professional painters, focusing on Chinese painting. There are also various folk themes suitable for different festive occasions, such as oil-paper umbrellas for marriage.

Making umbrellas requires high manual skills. Umbrellamakers should use their own skills and experience to complete it. Skills are passed down from mentoring and can be mastered through mentoring and personal understanding and long-term practical experience. Apprentices need three years to start their studies. The tools used are specially made by blacksmiths, and the materials used for umbrellas are also very particular. The good peach paper on it is the umbrella cover, soaked in persimmon paint and stuck to the umbrella ribs one by one. Persimmon paint is persimmon juice mashed and squeezed when oil persimmon is green. It's sticky and won't stick to peach paper. The bamboo umbrella handle and ribs are tied with hair. After the umbrella surface is attached, draw a pattern, coat it with tung oil, and then hang it in a cool place indoors to dry. At least 70 processes are needed, including material selection, bamboo sawing, green planing, bone splitting, groove cutting, drilling, gourd sawing, gourd stringing, steaming, sun drying, handle mounting, key mounting and umbrella winding.

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