I found a new object on my desk. It is as colorful as soaked in snow, and feels as cool and slippery as holding cold jade. If you look closely, you can see that the lines are deep and steep, as if there is a mountain wind passing through the forest. This is a mountain ghost made by FEGVE. It uses titanium as the bone and uses ice crystals to carve out the charm of the mountains and rivers. You will feel the charm as soon as you take it.Qi Yunextraordinary. After playing with it for more than a month, I actually felt a bit connected with the ancients while rubbing it, so I took up a pen to record the traces of time in this universe in my palm.
1. Titanium is the quality: take the gold essence from the beginning, and inherit the cold brilliance from the deep valley.
When I first saw this coin, I always felt that its color was different from ordinary copper coins. Usually, most mountain ghosts are made of bronze and brass, which will become green and rusty over time. Although they have ancient meanings, they are inevitably heavy. And this object is so light in your hand that if you hold an autumn feather, it will bring out an imperceptible sound of wind when you turn your wrist. After asking the craftsmen, they found out that the fetal bones were actually made of titanium - the "space metal" taken from deep within the earth. It was actually used to reproduce this ancient object that carries folk beliefs. When I first heard about it, I couldn't help but be shocked, but when I thought about it more, I realized how wonderful it was.
When ancient people made utensils, they paid attention to "materials, beautiful craftsmanship," and the method of selecting materials has always been connected with the soul of the utensils. Mountain ghosts are ancient mountain gods. There is a saying in "Nine Songs" that "if someone comes to the mountain and is surrounded by flowers and flowers," his shape is erratic and his nature is pure and aloof. Titanium metal is born from stubborn rocks and refined in fierce fires. It has the strength of metal and stone, but also has the lightness of ice and snow, which fits the characteristics of mountain ghosts who "hide in secluded rocks and swim among the clouds." Ordinary metals cannot withstand the abuse of time. Iron is easy to rust and copper is easy to rot. However, titanium can resist acid and alkali and corrosion, just like a mountain god whose appearance remains unchanged for thousands of years. Even better, the specific gravity of titanium is only half that of copper. It can be held in the palm of your hand without feeling it sinking, and you can play with it while walking, standing, sitting or lying down. It is like a mountain spirit that you carry with you, adding a bit of freedom.
Looking at its surface, it is not polished and gaudy, but has a texture that looks like ice but not ice, and looks like frost but not frost. The craftsman calls this "ice crystal treatment (the most colorful of the 10 models this time is ice crystal treatment, and the others are stone washed and frosted primary colors and blue)". A special process is used to form a fine oxide layer on the titanium surface, like the patina of an old jade plate, but with a cold metallic luster.
When it flows under the sun, you can see the tiny light spots falling into the cold pool like stars. On cloudy and rainy days, it turns to matte, like mountain fog spreading over the rocks, showing thousands of scenes with the changes of light and shadow. When your fingertips touch it, it is not as smooth as a mirror without leaving any traces, nor is it as rough as frosted surface. Instead, it feels like a warm and slightly resistive touch, as if what you are touching is not metal, but the skin of a thousand-year-old mountain. Every inch contains stories carved by wind and rain. This treatment not only avoids the trouble of fingerprints on copperware, but also allows the coating to become more mellow with handling, and the more it is plated, the warmer and moister it becomes. Just as the old saying goes, "If jade is not cut, it will not become a tool, and if it is not plated, it will not become a spirit."
2. The carving is the soul: the deep recesses hide the wind and clouds, and the sword makes the mountains and rivers
If the material is the bones of the mountain ghost who spends money, then the carving is where his soul lies. Usually, money is spent on bas-relief or line engraving. Although the pattern is clear, it lacks some three-dimensional depth. This mountain ghost spent money to use the "deep concave carving" method. The knife mark penetrates three-thirds of the metal, making the pattern appear to be carved on the mountain rock. Looking at it, it seems that there are mountains and mountains, and the wind and clouds are hidden in the world.
Looking closely at the front, you can see the word "山鬼" (山鬼). The brushwork is as powerful as an ancient pine hanging upside down. The grooves between the strokes are as deep as a nail. If you put your fingertips in, you can clearly feel the turning and twisting of the knife marks. You can feel the obvious feel when holding it in your hand, as if there is thunder power stored in it, which makes people dare not be disrespectful.
Flip over the reverse side and there is a Taoist Bagua pattern. The grooves of the Bagua symbols are particularly exquisite. The three horizontal lines of the Qian hexagram each have different depths. The upper horizontal line is the lightest, as light as the sky, and the deepest horizontal line, the lower horizontal line, is as heavy as the earth. The reverse is true for the Kun hexagram, which coincides with the principle of "Heaven is superior and earth is humble." The edge of the hexagram is surrounded by twenty-eight stars. Each star is deeply carved with dots, and the recesses are like star holes. When you touch it with your fingertips, it seems like you are touching the stars in the night sky, and you suddenly feel that the three talents of heaven, earth and man are in the palm of your hand.
Such deep concave carving shows the skill of the craftsman. It should be noted that the hardness of titanium metal is much higher than that of copper and iron. It is difficult for an ordinary carving knife to penetrate into it. A special knife is required with precise force. It is necessary to carve depth with one stroke while ensuring smooth lines. Looking at the pattern of this coin, there is no skewed knife mark and no sluggish line. It can be seen that the craftsman must be in harmony with his heart and hand when handling the knife, just like the ancient painter who "has hills and valleys in his chest and writes like a spirit."
The deep recesses not only make the pattern more three-dimensional, but also hide the joy of playing. When playing daily, repeatedly rubbing the grooves with your fingertips can stimulate the acupuncture points in the palms. After playing for a long time, the finger strength will gradually increase, and the mind will calm down. The patina accumulated in the grooves and the luster of the convex points complement each other, making the pattern more vivid, as if a mountain ghost is about to break through the metal and appear in the palm of your hand.
What's even more rare is that the deep concave carving gives the pattern and ice crystal craftsmanship a "hidden" meaning. At first glance, I can only see the general outline, but upon closer inspection, I find that there are tiny star points hidden in the gaps between the strokes. You can discover new wonders every time you play, just like a mountain traveler first sees the shape of the mountain, then recognizes the bones of the mountain, and finally realizes the soul of the mountain. The longer you play, the more you realize that there are endless mysteries hidden in it.
3. Meaning-based: spend money to suppress evil spirits and gain a better understanding of the universe
Chinese people have always made utensils with "their intention". Although spending money is not a currency, it carries the ancients' reverence for the nature of heaven and earth and their wishes for peace and success. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the mountain ghost coin has been a folk token to ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings. Although this titanium mountain ghost coin is a modern object, it has vividly inherited the ancient meaning. When you play with it, you can feel the power of faith that spans time and space.
Mountain ghosts are the spirits of mountains and rivers in the eyes of the ancients. They can create clouds and rain, and can also drive away evil spirits and suppress evil spirits. "Taiping Guangji" records that "mountain ghosts like to eat humans, and those who get them can avoid hundreds of ghosts." Therefore, people often cast the image of mountain ghosts on money and carry them with them to ward off evil spirits. Although the mountain ghost on this coin does not appear directly, the word "mountain ghost" is used as a metaphor for its power, supplemented by the symbol of "Five Thunder Zhengfa" in Taoism, which means using the power of thunder to drive away evil spirits. The Bagua contains the wish of "stabilizing the house and settling down, and harmonizing yin and yang". All kinds of patterns together form a complete system of praying for evil and blessings. Just as ancient books record, "Those who wear this coin will not be able to get close to the mountain spirits and cannot be invaded by ghosts."
Ordinary people spend money for fun and seek more peace of mind. This titanium mountain ghost coin has the added meaning of "long-term protection" due to its tough material. The ancients said, "Bronze is easy to decay, iron is easy to rust, but gold and stone last forever." The corrosion resistance of titanium is in line with the wish of "forever protecting the home", which can be passed down to future generations, so that this blessing of peace can be passed down from generation to generation. The patina treated with ice crystals becomes warmer and moister as you play with it, which is consistent with the principle of "sincerity leads to spirituality" - when you play with it every day, the temperature and oil of your fingertips slowly penetrate into the carved grooves, allowing the artifact to blend with the owner's aura, as if the person and the mountain spirit have reached a tacit understanding, and the meaning of protection will also deepen.
I once played with this money on a rainy night. Thunder and lightning flashed outside the window, but the object in my hand remained cool and smooth. My fingertips rubbed the deep concave thunder patterns, and I suddenly remembered the sentence "Thunder moves it, and wind disperses it" in "The Book of Changes". Suddenly, the fear in my heart dissipated, and there was only peace. During the journey, I tied it to my bag and walked to a remote place. Touching the cold hardness of the metal and the concave and convex patterns, I felt a sense of solidity that "the mountains and rivers have spirits, protecting them all the way." This kind of experience may be the true meaning of the ancient people wearing and spending money - the utensils have no spirit at all, but because of the trust of people's hearts and the passage of time, they gradually develop spirituality and become a medium for communication between man and heaven and earth.
4. Play for fun: three strokes a day, every inch of titanium is full of affection
After playing with it for a long time, I gradually figured out some tricks. After washing your hands in the morning and playing with your hands, your fingertips still contain water vapor, and when they touch the ice crystal layer on the titanium surface, "morning dew drops on the cold rock" will appear. The refreshing feeling refreshes the mind; playing with it in the afternoon sun, letting the light cast mottled shadows through the deep concave carvings, watching the palm flicker, like watching the changing mountain scenery, is leisurely and contented; hold it in the palm before going to bed at night, feel the metal getting warmer with the body temperature, the patina in the grooves becomes warmer, and with the slight sweat on the palm, it is like a mountain spirit falling asleep and sleeping well all night.
When first sold, the ice crystal layer on the titanium surface is still cold, and the deep recesses are mostly metallic. After more than a month, light brown patina gradually accumulated in the grooves, which contrasted with the silvery white luster of the convex areas, making the pattern more clear and vivid. In particular, the grooves of the two characters "山鬼" (山鬼) are often rubbed by fingertips and have the deepest patina. They look like ink-colored crosswords and are full of ancient meaning. In the pattern of the armor of the God General, the patina is distributed along the grooves, like the sweat stains on the real armor, which shows the vicissitudes of life. This kind of change is not deliberate, but the result of time and body temperature. Every trace records the time spent playing, just like the growth rings of an old tree, hiding an unrepeatable story.
Sometimes I put it in the palm of my hand with an old walnut, and listen to the "ding-ding" sound of the metal and the hard shell colliding, like a clear spring hitting a stone in a mountain stream; sometimes I use a soft cloth to carefully wipe the patina in the deep recesses, and watch the light and shadow flow in the groove, like brushing away the dust on the rock; sometimes I sit quietly in front of the window, and repeatedly outline the outline of the word "shangui" with my fingertips, trying to figure out the state of mind when the ancient Chinese characters were made. Playing like this has already transcended the object itself, and is more like facing a silent old friend. You can feel each other's warmth through touch without the need for words.
One day, I met an old man playing with ancient coins and showed him FEGVE mountain ghost to spend money. The old man was amazed when he first saw the material. When he saw the deep concave carvings and ice crystal coating, he couldn't help but sigh: "In the past, when people made utensils, they used copper as the material and thought as the soul. Today's people make utensils and can use new materials without losing the ancient meaning. It is rare to see sophisticated craftsmanship and simplicity. Although this coin is new, it still has the spirit of antiquity, because the craftsman understands the true meaning of the word "play" - it is not about playing with things to lose one's ambition, but that people and tools grow together, and the heart and things are connected. "
Source of this article:post.smzdm.com/p/a3r3w2en/