[SPEAKING CHINESE]
The studio supported by Zhaoyi formed only about four years
ago.
So far we have made a lot of items.
Most of them are imitations of historical pieces.
The next big step is to start making
originally designed products.
Now you can see some at the store.
High-end custom service has already started.
Before, I thought that the main customers for these luxury
products would be businessmen, and high-ranking governmental
officers.
But it turned out I was wrong.
For example, one royal family set
we created was purchased by a very young couple.
At first we didn't want to sell this set because we only
had one.
We suggested making a second set for them,
but they insisted on this specific set.
Finally, we sold it to them.
We also issued a certificate signed by myself,
with a picture of this young couple and fee attached.
So young people do love this type of traditional style
as well.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Filigree inlay art has a history of over 2,000 years.
The infant stage of this art was a traditional decoration
technology called silver and gold plaiting, which
originated in the Han Dynasty.
Our ancestors inlaid different shapes of gold and silver
on the surface of bronze products.
Fine gold art started right at that time.
People started to use fine gold thread to make decorations.
Inlaying started during the Shang Dynasty.
The earliest inlay item was from the Shang Dynasty.
It was an inlaid turquoise decoration.
History of jewelry, in general, in China
can be tracked way back.
But filigree and inlay art started
after people found gold and knew how
to make very fine gold thread.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
The peak of filigree and inlay art
was during the Ming and Qing Dynasty.
Mostly what we've imitated are items
made in these two dynasties.
There's a necklace copy in our collection
that is from the Sui Dynasty.
It belonged to a person of Sui royalty
called Princess Li Jing.
The original piece was found in her tomb
and then we imitated it.
There's some Persian elements in the design
of this specific necklace, because back
in that period of time, cultural exchange
had already started between China and the Western world.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
The current situation of this art
is what I'm more concerned about.
The reason I am so concerned is because there
are very few good goldsmiths existing in China now
to do this type of work.
There are some very small-scale factories that do this,
but the quality is very poor.
They basically do not have the capability
to pass on these skills.
Their goal is to make a commercial quality product
and make money on the market.
They just want to make a living.
We are quite different.
We want to inherit and keep this art alive.
Skill development is our first goal.
Promotion and marketing are after that.
But if you want to pass this craftsmanship
to the next generation, you have to finally let
your product go to the real market,
otherwise it is not alive.
Being alive is the only way for it
to be passed to the next generation.
Although the number of people involved are still very few,
I've started to get college graduates, overseas students,
and some other professional students as my apprentices.
Some of my students are doing part-time jobs for me
while they're learning this art.
My next plan is to open a school.
Zhaoyi will support the school.
The school will focus on precious metal art and jadeite
carving.