The huge woodblock watermark "Love Cloud" from "Clouds Rise and Flowers Bloom", planned by the famous director Wong Kar-wai and produced by the Shanghai cultural time-honored brand Duoyunxuan, will soon appear at the century-old historical building Rongzhai (also known as "Falling in Love with Prada Rongzhai") located on Shaanxi North Road in Shanghai. Duoyunxuan's national intangible cultural heritage woodblock watermarking skills will add a strong Shanghai intangible cultural heritage to this historic house.
It is reported that the size of the frame of the series "Clouds Rising and Flowers Blooming" is 205x101mm, which is the largest single-paper woodblock watermark work of Duoyunxuan since "Ode to Yan'an". Different from the traditional woodblock watermark overprinting, "Clouds Rising and Flowers Blooming" adopts giant woodblock overprinting to present a magnificent overall visual effect.
Duoyunxuan "Clouds Rising and Flowers Blooming" Giant Woodblock Print
Since its establishment in 1900, Duoyunxuan has been famous for its woodblock watermarking technique. This ancient technique originated in the Tang and Song dynasties and flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was protected by cultural celebrities such as Lu Xun and Zheng Zhenduo and was saved from oblivion. Duoyunxuan has also inherited and carried forward the technique through its efforts. In 2008, Duoyunxuan's woodblock watermarking technique was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list, becoming a model for the living inheritance of intangible cultural heritage techniques.
In 2024, the famous film director Wong Kar-wai and Duoyunxuan jointly launched the intangible cultural heritage project "Duoyun Fanhua". Deeply moved by the woodblock watermark, Wong Kar-wai said that the purpose of this cooperation is to let this intangible cultural heritage skill go out of the historical realm and give it new vitality through cross-border innovation.
"Qingyun" hanging in the old house
Detail of the engraving of "Clouds Rising and Flowers Blooming"
It is reported that "Clouds and Flowers" was planned by director Wong Kar-wai and designed by the famous designer Huang Hai. Duoyunxuan used the national intangible cultural heritage woodblock watermarking technique to combine with many intangible cultural heritage skills. It took a year to finally present five groups of works with different colors to the world, named "Clouds Rising and Flowers Blooming". Designer Huang Hai once said, "Using woodblock watermarks to do such things allows us to see the existence of time. The digital age is too fast, and we use this method to retain time."
As soon as "Clouds Rise and Flowers Bloom" was released, it received widespread attention from all walks of life. After repeated considerations, the initiator chose and accepted the purchase invitations from three institutions. Among them, "Qingyun", "Biyun" and "Qingyun" were permanently collected by Prada Group, the well-known Internet company Tencent, and a national collection institution respectively, and will be unveiled to the public in due course.
"Clouds Rising and Flowers Blooming" Woodblock Print
"Clouds Rise and Flowers Bloom" to be released in 2024
With the introduction of director Wong Kar-wai, Prada recently decided to collect and display the work "Qing Yun" in the Rong Residence.
Shanghai historical building Rongzhai at night
According to reports, "Qing Yun" embodies too many Shanghai stories: from the "Fang Hua" font designed by Lu Xun to the Duo Yun Xuan described by Eileen Chang, there are echoes of Shanghai style art everywhere; the envelope-style "imitation calligraphy" used in the picture of "Qing Yun" when Duo Yun Xuan opened in 1900 echoes the famous house Rong Zhai of the same age.
The Rong Mansion is located on North Shaanxi Road in Shanghai. It was purchased in 1918 by Rong Zongjing, a Chinese entrepreneur and "flour king" in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. It is also one of the most elegant garden houses in Shanghai with a long history.
