The history of the Water Mill Lacquer amongQiang Nationality can date back to the Xia and Shang Dynasty which has been 7000years ago. Beichuan is the hometown to Dayu who is a famous leader in the Xia Dynasty.The Water Mill Lacquer Art has spread in Beichuan for 5000 years.

The Water Mill Lacquer Art,as the name implies, is a lacquer craft made by using the water mill. It hasthe characteristics which other lacquer crafts can never have. The Water MillLacquer Art of Qiang nationality has inherited and carried forward thetraditional crafts handed down from ancestors. The products made by this craft areplain, elegant and colorful and have exquisite workmanship, with extremely highornamental and collectible values. They also have special and significanteconomic values, cultural values, as well as abundant cultural connotation.

The productions of the Water Mill Lacquerare totally made manually. It requires higher level of coating process. Thoughit has huge technical difficulties, it can make abundant decoration. Theoperating procedure is so complex that the period of the production is long,because every process needs carefulness. Specifically, the productions of theWater Mill Lacquer need dozens ofprocesses such as covering lacquer painting, drying, sanding and polishing. Thelandscapes drew on the production describe the artistic conceptionlike the traditional Chinese paintings. The integral decoration and subtledetails create fantastic effect. The productions have a variety ofcharacteristics like bright surface, vivid painting, high temperature resistance,corrosion resistance,acid and alkali resistance, wear Resistance and immersion resistance. Manyfurniture and artworks with high quality made through the water mill have beenmade by the artists in Beichuan through several decades of efforts, givingpeople comfortable enjoyment.

Date：2014.4.22   

Source：NEWSSC