Master craftsman Qin Yonglin

Wen Gu Tang, founded in the late Qing Dynasty, is one of the few time-honoured painting and calligraphy mounting shops in Yunnan. Since the last century, Qin Yonglin, a fourth generation inheritor of the Wen Gu Tang tradition, has adhered to his family’s ancestral instructions when passing on traditional hand-mounting techniques.

Wen Gu Tang is a small family business inconspicuously located on Huashan West Road. Today, as more and more painting and calligraphy mounters in Kunming turn to machines, Qin Yonglin still sticks to hand-mounting. He does this so that traditional mounting skills can be passed on to others. A few years ago, Qin Yonglin was recognized by the government of Kunming’s Wuhua District as an inheritor of Yunnan-style painting and calligraphy repairing and mounting skills. In 2011, Wen Gu Tang was listed among the first batch of 25 “Time-Honoured Shops in Yunnan.”

 “Unlike machine mounting, which can be done while you wait, hand-mounting requires about seventeen procedures. It takes five days to finalize the design. Then you need to remove any rough edges, apply a waxy film and complete other tasks,” said Qin Yonglin. For a painting or calligraphy work of average size, hand-mounting usually takes five to seven days, while machine-mounting, if the customer wants it done quickly, can be finished in 30 minutes.

The famous “Cuanbaozi Tablet” and “Cuanlongyan Tablet” rubbings in Yunnan province were first rubbed on rice paper with pine-soot ink. They were both mounted by Wen Gu Tang. Today, however, Qin Yonglin rarely has opportunities to make tablet rubbings. For one thing, there are very few stone tablets to be rubbed. For another, automated printing has taken the place of rubbing. “It’s hard to say which is better. We used to write with writing brush and now we type on computers. You can’t say which is better,” Qin Yonglin said with a sigh.

QinYonglin keeps his own collection of paintings and calligraphy works in a cabinet under a counter, which he takes out only when people offer to buy them. A few years ago, Qin Yonglin opened a gallery not far from Wen Gu Tang, but it eventually changed hands.

 “I’m already making preparations for another gallery. It will be an old-style gallery, partly for mounting, partly for sales,” Qin Yonglin said. He wants to make sure that hand-mounting techniques will not be lost while in his hands. Hand-mounting will be passed on only when more people pay attention to it, he said.

Master craftsman Qin Yonglin

Wen Gu Tang, founded in the late Qing Dynasty, is one of the few time-honoured painting and calligraphy mounting shops in Yunnan. Since the last century, Qin Yonglin, a fourth generation inheritor of the Wen Gu Tang tradition, has adhered to his familys ancestral instructions when passing on traditional hand-mounting techniques. Wen Gu Tang is a small family business inconspicuously located on Huashan West Road. Today, as more and more painting and calligraphy mounters in Kunming turn to machines, Qin Yonglin still sticks to hand-mounting. He does this so that traditional mounting skills can be passed on to others. A few years ago, Qin Yonglin was recognized by the government of Kunmings Wuhua District as an inheritor of Yunnan-style painting and calligraphy repairing and mounting skills. In 2011, Wen Gu Tang was listed among the first batch of 25 Time-Honoured Shops in Yunnan. Unlike machine mounting, which can be done while you wait, hand-mounting requires about seventeen procedures. It takes five days to finalize the design. Then you need to remove any rough edges, apply a waxy film and complete other tasks, said Qin Yonglin. For a painting or calligraphy work of average size, hand-mounting usually takes five to seven days, while machine-mounting, if the customer wants it done quickly, can be finished in 30 minutes. The famous Cuanbaozi Tablet and Cuanlongyan Tablet rubbings in Yunnan province were first rubbed on rice paper with pine-soot ink. They were both mounted by Wen Gu Tang. Today, however, Qin Yonglin rarely has opportunities to make tablet rubbings. For one thing, there are very few stone tablets to be rubbed. For another, automated printing has taken the place of rubbing. Its hard to say which is better. We used to write with writing brush and now we type on computers. You cant say which is better, Qin Yonglin said with a sigh. QinYonglin keeps his own collection of paintings and calligraphy works in a cabinet under a counter, which he takes out only when people offer to buy them. A few years ago, Qin Yonglin opened a gallery not far from Wen Gu Tang, but it eventually changed hands. Im already making preparations for another gallery. It will be an old-style gallery, partly for mounting, partly for sales, Qin Yonglin said. He wants to make sure that hand-mounting techniques will not be lost while in his hands. Hand-mounting will be passed on only when more people pay attention to it, he said.