The new ink masters

新水墨大師

China makes its mark on the world of tattoos

中國在紋身界留下了自己的印記

?The innovations pioneered by China’s tattooists are transforming the art of inked flesh everywhere

中國紋身師開創(chuàng)的創(chuàng)新正在全方位改變紋身藝術

詞匯

Pioneer/先鋒；拓荒者

Tattooist/ ?紋身師

inked flesh/紋身

Aug 29th 2020 | WENLING, ZHEJIANG

THE ARMS are those of a tall young man, his muscles toned and skin firm. One is covered in thick sweeps of black Chinese calligraphy from shoulder to wrist. That and the other limbs—around ten in all—are piled in a disembodied heap on Wu Shang’s desk. They are models that he commissioned, made of silicon rubber that looks and, crucially for him, feels like real skin. Wu Shang is a tattooist in the coastal city of Wenling. Having seen hundreds of his carefully inked pieces of art walk out of his studio door, he wanted to keep a few to decorate the walls. “Otherwise, all I have is imperfect pictures,” he says.

這是一個年輕的大小伙的雙臂，肌肉結實，皮膚結實。其中一支從肩膀到手腕都是厚厚的黑色中國書法。這條“臂”和其他的“臂”——大約有10條——堆在吳尚的桌子上。這些都是他委托制作的模型，由硅橡膠制成，看起來像真的皮膚，而且對他來說更重要的是，他們摸起來像真的皮膚。吳尚(音譯)是沿海城市溫嶺市的一名紋身師。當他看到數(shù)百幅自己精心繪制的水墨畫作走出工作室大門時，他想保留幾幅來裝飾墻壁?！皩嵲拰嵳f，我所擁有（制作）的都只是些不完美的照片罷了，”他說。

詞匯

Calligraphy/書法；筆跡

Disembodied/空洞的；無實質的；無實體的

heap/堆

【刪了兩段，講當下郭嘉對于紋身看法的內容】

?

These might be the quirkiest tattoos in China, but they are part of a much broader trend. Tattooed arms, backs and legs are fast becoming common sights in the country’s biggest cities. The delicate flora and fauna of traditional Chinese art have migrated from rice paper to bodies, carried along by a revolution in techniques. And the innovations pioneered by China’s tattooists for their swelling market are transforming the art of inked flesh everywhere.

這可能是中國最怪異的紋身，但它們是更廣泛趨勢的一部分。手臂、背部和腿部紋身正迅速成為中國大城市的常見景觀。伴隨著一場技術革命，中國傳統(tǒng)藝術中精致的動植物已經(jīng)從宣紙轉移到人體上。中國紋身師為其日益膨脹的紋身市場所開創(chuàng)的創(chuàng)新，正在各地改變著紋身藝術。

詞匯

Quirky/古怪的；離奇的

Flora/植物區(qū)系；植物群

Fauna/ ?動物群

rice paper/宣紙

Tattooing is not new in China. Literature from the Tang dynasty (618-907AD) describes people getting tattooed with scenes of natural beauty and lines from poetry. Without question the most famous tattoo in Chinese history belonged to Yue Fei, a revered 12th-century general in the Song dynasty who had four characters inscribed on his back: jing zhong bao guo, or “serve the realm with utter loyalty”.

紋身在中國并不新鮮。唐朝(公元618-907年)的文學作品描述了人們在身上紋上自然的美和詩詞摘句。毫無疑問，中國歷史上最著名的紋身屬于岳飛，一位12世紀的宋朝將軍，他的背上刻著四個字:“精忠報國”。

These, though, are the positive exceptions. For much of Chinese history tattoos were seen as markers of trouble. They were the preserve of borderland barbarians, rogues, bandits and criminals, whose faces were sometimes tattooed as punishment. Some believe that Confucianism frowns on tattoos as an act of filial impiety that damages your body, which is seen as an extension of your parents.

不過，這些都是積極的例外。在中國歷史的大部分時間里，紋身都被視為麻煩的標志。對于邊境地區(qū)的野蠻人、流氓、強盜和罪犯，他們的臉上有時會刺上紋身以示懲罰。一些人認為，儒家思想反對紋身，認為這是一種不敬孝道的行為，（紋身）會損害你的身體，而肉體視為你父母的一種延申。

詞匯

borderland barbarian/邊境野蠻人

frown on/不悅，不滿

rogue/流氓

filial/孝順的

impiety/不尊敬

China’s modern dalliance with tattoos began in the 1980s as foreign fashions streamed into the country, just then opening to the world. Tattoo parlours popped up in its biggest cities, especially Shanghai and Beijing. Artists mostly imitated the designs popular elsewhere. But by the late 1990s a uniquely Chinese style was emerging, best captured in the work of Shen Weiguo, a soft-spoken man whose studio in Shanghai remains a fixture on the Chinese scene today.

20世紀80年代，隨著外國時尚潮流涌入中國，中國對紋身的現(xiàn)代迷戀開始了，當時中國剛剛向世界開放。紋身店在中國最大的城市如雨后春筍般出現(xiàn)，尤其是上海和北京。藝術家們大多模仿在其他地方流行的設計。但到了20世紀90年代末，一種獨特的中國風格開始出現(xiàn)，沈偉國的作品最能體現(xiàn)這一點。沈偉國說話輕聲細語，他在上海的工作室如今仍是中國紋身界的固定標志。

詞匯

Dalliance/嬉戲；閑混

Mr Shen was drawn to the Japanese fondness for dense images, infused with historical legends and covering the whole back. He also admired Western oil painting and China’s own cultural heritage. In his hands these were fused into what became known as the “Chinese neo-traditional school”, similar to the tattoos associated with Japan’s Yakuza gangsters but with Chinese content and brighter colours. (Think more dragons, fewer waves and less rigid rules.) Not that Mr Shen himself likes being called a neo-traditionalist. “I jump around a lot. As soon as you define yourself as this or that, you stop evolving,” he says.

沈被日本人對密集圖像的喜愛所吸引，這些圖像充滿了歷史傳說，并覆蓋了整個背部。他還欣賞西方油畫和中國自己的文化遺產(chǎn)。在他的手中，這些紋身被融合成所謂的“中國新傳統(tǒng)學派”，類似于與日本黑幫有關的紋身，但有中國的內容和更明亮的顏色。(多想想龍，少想想波，少想想嚴格的規(guī)則。)沈本人并不喜歡被稱為新傳統(tǒng)主義者。他說:“我經(jīng)常轉變思維。一旦你把自己定義為這個或那個，你就會停止演進。”

詞匯

Fuse/熔合；融合

Yakuza/(日本) 八九三黑幫

Two other distinctively Chinese styles are now edging out the neo-traditional school in popularity. One is classic calligraphy, updated with a modern sensibility. Chinese characters often appear as tattoos in the West, too, but these mostly look like basic handwriting. By contrast, Wu Shang and other tattooists in China apply bold, inventive strokes (see below).

另外兩種具有中國特色的風格在受歡迎程度上正逐漸超過新傳統(tǒng)學派。一種是經(jīng)典的書法，帶有現(xiàn)代氣息。在西方，漢字也經(jīng)常作為紋身出現(xiàn)，但這些大多看起來像基本的筆跡。相比之下，吳尚和中國的其他紋身師則采用大膽、有創(chuàng)意的筆畫(見下文)。

The other style is an approximation of ink-wash painting, the stuff of traditional Chinese landscapes. Among its finest exponents are Joey Pang (see below) and Chen Jie (see main image), two women who got started in the early 2000s, the former in Hong Kong, the latter in Beijing. Orchids bloom up the napes of necks; songbirds perch on branches that run across shoulders and down arms; mist-wreathed mountain ranges extend across collarbones. Their tattoos have an almost ethereal quality, as if floating above the skin. And just as important, they are perfect for the age of social media: Ms Chen has more than 420,000 followers on Instagram.

另一種風格近似于水墨畫，是中國傳統(tǒng)山水畫的素材。其中最優(yōu)秀的代表人物是彭祖怡(Joey Pang，見下)和陳潔(Chen Jie，見主圖)，這兩位女性在21世紀初開始創(chuàng)業(yè)，前者在香港，后者在北京。蘭花在脖子的頸項上開花;鳴禽棲息在橫跨肩膀和手臂的樹枝上;云霧繚繞的山脈橫跨鎖骨。他們的紋身有一種幾乎空靈的品質，仿佛漂浮在皮膚之上。同樣重要的是，它們非常適合這個社交媒體時代:陳小姐在Instagram上有超過42萬的粉絲。

詞匯

mist-wreathed/云霧繚繞

collarbone/鎖骨

ethereal/縹緲的；超凡的

As is increasingly common globally, some of the best Chinese tattooists had formal art training before opting for ink and skin as their preferred medium. Wu Shang attended the prestigious China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he studied Impressionist painting. He says that he intended Wu Shang, his nom de plume, as a tribute to the French artist Paul Cézanne, meaning “I am no Cézanne”. Coincidentally or not, it can also mean “None are better than me”.

在全球越來越普遍的情況下，中國一些最好的紋身師在選擇墨汁和皮膚作為他們的首選媒介之前接受過正式的藝術培訓。吳尚就讀于杭州著名的中國美術學院，在那里他學習了印象派繪畫。他說，他打算用筆名“吳尚”(Wu Shang)向法國藝術家保羅?塞尚(Paul Cezanne)致敬，意思是“我不是塞尚”。不管巧合與否，它還可以表示“沒有人比我更好”。

詞匯

Prestigious/享有聲望的，受尊敬的

nom de plume/筆名

For art-school graduates, the lucrative potential of tattooing is part of the allure. A famous tattooist can charge 3,000 yuan ($435) an hour. Purists worry that such rewards have created unwanted pressures. Consider the fate of Ms Pang, the ink-wash pioneer in Hong Kong. She spent a decade studying under a calligraphic master. As her reputation spread, people came from around the world to her studio. By 2017 her waiting list stretched three years into the future. “I need time to think and draw before I work on skin, and I didn’t have that,” she says. Her husband was also her business partner. When their relationship collapsed, she left him and her business and fled to Dali, a city nestled among mountains in the south-western province of Yunnan, her birthplace.

對于藝術學校的畢業(yè)生來說，紋身的潛在利潤是其吸引力的一部分。一個著名的紋身師每小時收費3000元(435美元)。純粹主義者擔心這樣的報酬會帶來不必要的壓力。想想香港的水墨先驅彭女士的命運吧。她花了十年時間師跟從一位書法大師學習。隨著她名聲的傳播，人們從世界各地來到她的工作室。到2017年，她那邊的等待名單延到的三年后?！霸谖矣闷つw作畫之前，我需要時間思考和繪畫，而我沒有時間，”她說。她的丈夫也是她的商業(yè)伙伴。當他們的關系破裂時，她離開了他和她的生意，逃到了大理。大理位于中國西南部的云南省，坐落在群山之中，是她的出生地。

詞匯

Allure/誘惑力；引誘力；吸引力

After a couple of years spent fighting deep depression, Ms Pang is getting back into tattooing with a new studio. It looks nothing like the dingy lairs of the popular imagination. It is a one-room country retreat, with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall and a courtyard set up for tea service. “I can reconnect with my art here,” she says, speaking in her first interview since her disappearance. She adds a pledge to former clients: she will complete their unfinished tattoos for nothing if they come to Dali.

與深度抑郁癥抗爭了幾年之后，彭日成開了一家新工作室，重新開始紋身。它看起來一點也不像大眾想象中的那些骯臟的巢穴。這是一間鄉(xiāng)村別墅，有一面落地玻璃墻和一個供茶水使用的庭院。她在失蹤后的第一次采訪中說:“我可以在此再續(xù)我的藝術創(chuàng)作?！彼€向以前的客戶承諾:如果他們來大理，她將免費為他們完成未完成的紋身。

詞匯

Dingy/昏暗的；骯臟的

Lair/巢穴；躲藏處

The other revolution

另一種革新

Ms Pang’s ability to create watercolour-like works on skin is a result of dramatic improvements in tattooing equipment, which is linked to China’s rise as a manufacturing powerhouse. Tattooists used to rely on coil-based machines, which produced a buzzing sound as the needle bounced up and down. Over the past two decades many have switched to rotary alternatives. They are lighter and quieter, with more efficient motors. This allows tattooists greater precision as they wield two different formations of needles: a pen-like point for outlines and a flat brush for colouring. Their technique resembles painting, mixing different hues to generate the right look and then dabbing the colours on the skin.

彭女士能在皮膚上創(chuàng)作類似水彩畫的作品，得益于紋身設備的大幅改進，這與中國崛起為制造業(yè)大國有關。過去，紋身師使用的是基于線圈的機器，當紋身針上下彈跳時，機器會發(fā)出嗡嗡聲。在過去二十年中，許多人已經(jīng)轉向旋轉式電機的替代方案。它們更輕、更安靜，馬達更高效。這使得紋身師使用兩種不同形狀的針的精度更高:筆狀的筆尖用于勾勒輪廓，扁平的筆刷用于著色。他們的技術類似于繪畫，混合不同的色調來產(chǎn)生正確的外觀，然后將顏色涂抹在皮膚上。

詞匯

Dab/涂；輕擦；輕敷

But China’s manufacturing muscle has also generated a problem: a proliferation of cheap tattoo machines. “It used to be really hard to get tattoo equipment if you weren’t an artist yourself,” says Matt Lodder, an art historian at the University of Essex who has written extensively about tattoos. Now the devices can be easily purchased online. In the West some in the tattoo industry (normally averse to rules) have started calling for regulation to control the sale of equipment and ensure that studios meet adequate standards.

但中國的制造業(yè)也產(chǎn)生了一個問題:廉價紋身機的激增?！叭绻阕约翰皇撬囆g家，以前真的很難弄到紋身器材，”埃塞克斯大學的藝術歷史學家馬特·勞德說，他寫過很多關于紋身的文章。現(xiàn)在，這些設備可以很容易地在網(wǎng)上購買。在西方，紋身行業(yè)的一些人(通常反對相關規(guī)定)已經(jīng)開始呼吁監(jiān)管，以控制設備的銷售，并確保紋身工作室達到適當?shù)臉藴省?/p>

詞匯

Proliferation/增殖，擴散

In China several prominent tattooists are taking a different approach. They have set up schools. In Wu Shang’s studio four students are hunched over flat pieces of silicon rubber—mimicking skin, just like his model arms—trying to recreate images that they first painted on paper.

在中國，一些著名的紋身師正在采取一種不同的方式。他們建立了學校。在吳尚的工作室里，四名學生弓著背在一塊硅橡膠上——仿制的皮膚，就像他的模型手臂一樣——試圖重現(xiàn)他們最初在紙上畫的圖像。

詞匯

Mimicking/仿制，模仿

Hunch/彎腰駝背

That might seem inoffensive, but it goes against a widespread but unwritten code. Masters may take an apprentice or two under their wings, but only if they are truly committed to the craft. The idea that anyone can just show up, pay a tuition fee and after a few months apply ink to skin leaves purists aghast. Even in China some are critical. Mr Shen, the neo-traditionalist, says that he honed his technique over many years by wielding needles by hand. “You need to learn about the relationship between skin and needle. You can’t just get that overnight in school,” he says.

這似乎沒有冒犯之意，但它違背了一種普遍存在的不成文的準則。大師們可能會帶一兩個學徒，但前提是他們真正致力于這門手藝。但現(xiàn)在的一種思想是所有人都能著手一試，交了學費，幾個月后就可以在皮膚上做墨水畫，這種想法讓純粹主義者們目瞪口呆。即使在中國，也有人持批評態(tài)度。身為新傳統(tǒng)主義者的沈先生說，多年來，他通過手工揮針磨練了自己的技藝?！澳阈枰私馄つw和針頭之間的關系。你不可能在學校里一夜就得到這樣的體驗。

詞匯

Apprentice/學徒；生手

Aghast/嚇呆的，驚駭?shù)模怀泽@的

?

There is, however, a counter-argument. People in the business estimate that China now has tens of thousands of tattoo studios, up from hundreds a decade ago. Last year at least 16 large tattoo exhibitions were held around the country, bringing together crowds of would-be tattooists and soon-to-be-inked patrons. Given the surging demand, the need for well-trained artists is evident. Wu Shang knows that all too well. A garish orange-and-yellow fish on the underside of his left forearm testifies to the experiments on himself that taught him his craft. Who could begrudge his students wanting to start on fake arms?

然而，有一種相反的觀點。業(yè)內人士估計，中國現(xiàn)在有數(shù)萬家紋身工作室，而10年前只有數(shù)百家。去年，美國各地至少舉辦了16場大型紋身展覽，聚集了大批想成為紋身師的人和即將成為紋身愛好者的人。由于需求激增，對訓練有素的藝術家的需求是顯而易見的。吳尚再清楚不過了。他的左前臂下面有一條鮮艷的橙黃色的魚，這證明了他在自己身上做的實驗，正是這些實驗教會了他這一手藝。誰會嫉妒他的學生（這么短的時間就）想要開始使用假手臂呢?

詞匯

Garish/過分鮮艷的

Testify/作證；證明

Begrudge/羨慕，嫉妒