Baecheop Master Artisan

Baecheop refers to the traditional technique of treating calligraphy and paintings by mounting them with paper or silk to make hanging scrolls, framed pictures or folding screens, adding beauty as well as practicality and durability. The term came into use during the Japanese colonial period; today the work is also called pyogu (mounting). Baecheopjang denotes the person who, attached to the Dohwaseo (Royal Bureau of Painting) in the early Joseon period, was responsible for the treatment of the court's calligraphy and paintings. Baecheop is thought to have originated in China's Han dynasty and to have developed further, reaching a settled form, under the Tang dynasty. How it reached Korea is not known, but judging from the folding-screen paintings depicted in Goguryeo tomb murals, it is presumed to have been introduced during the Three Kingdoms period, laying the foundation for Korean baecheop. The craft continued to develop through Unified Silla and Goryeo, and by the Joseon period it flourished to the extent that specialists known as baecheopjang emerged. The techniques and forms of baecheop fall into five kinds: framed pictures, folding screens, hanging scrolls, book-binding (jangjeong), and the treatment of old paintings and calligraphy. A framed picture is made by cutting the silk, giving the painting its first lining, its second lining, drying it and preparing the frame, then assembling it; treating a single panel of a folding screen follows the same steps. A hanging scroll is made by cutting, first lining, double lining, drying, triple lining, drying again, then attaching the roller rod and crescent fitting. Jangjeong refers to the repair of old books whose covers or inner pages have been damaged. Treating old paintings and calligraphy means restoring damaged works, and so calls for a keen eye and meticulous technique. Baecheopjang has been designated an intangible cultural heritage as a traditional craft, carried on by the skill holder Hong Jong-jin, who lives in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The baecheop techniques Hong Jong-jin holds cover framed pictures, folding screens, hanging scrolls, book-binding and the treatment of old paintings and calligraphy. A highly skilled craftsman, he is expert at making jangji (traditional mounting paper) and has great skill in restoring damaged old paintings, calligraphy and other works. Because treating old calligraphy and paintings means restoring what has been damaged, it demands the very highest level of baecheop skill, grounded in a discerning eye and precise technique. Hong Jong-jin's book-cover making, too, is a highly intricate and painstaking process, completed by carrying forward the skill and spirit of traditional techniques built up through the long experience of our forebears.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Intangible Heritage · 시도무형유산