Re-creating a Bygone China重現昔日中國

王月眉/文　葉子/文

Not long after Shen Pengs grand- father died， his grandmother visited the site of the house where she and her husband once lived. The site still hadnt been developed， and she could barely walk around it because the grass was so overgrown. Shen wondered： Could he help her relive her memories another way？

申鵬的爺爺去世后不久，他奶奶回到過去跟他爺爺一起生活的老宅舊址看了看。那塊土地尚未開發，地里雜草叢生，老人家幾乎寸步難行。申鵬琢磨：能不能用另外一種方式幫奶奶重現回憶呢？

For more than six months， he labored in secret after his day job as a hairdresser. Finally， Shen presented his grandmother with a surprise： a handcrafted 1：20-scale replica of her old home.

后來半年多的時間里，申鵬做完理發師的工作后，一直悄悄地做著某件事。最終，他為奶奶送上了一份驚喜——一個手工制作的模型，按照1比20的比例還原了奶奶的老房子。

There was the wire clothesline in the courtyard， draped with a blue blanket cut into the size of a postage stamp. There was the rickety bicycle， outside a shed constructed with foam boards and plaster. Shen had even traveled to the site of the old house to better re-create the fragment of brick wall that still remained.

院子里的鐵絲晾衣繩上掛著一張剪成郵票大小的藍色毯子。用泡沫板和灰泥搭的棚子外，停了一輛破破爛爛的自行車。為了更好地還原保留下來的磚墻殘跡，申鵬甚至又回老宅舊址看了看。

The project led him into a small but growing community of artists in China filling an increasingly urgent demand： miniature replicas of homes that have been demolished or remodeled by Chinas modernization.

申鵬做的模型將他引入了一個規模尚小但又不斷壯大的中國藝術家群體。這群藝術家正在滿足人們日益熱切的需求，即用微縮模型還原在中國現代化過程中拆除或改造的房子。

The miniatures “offer a kind of spiritual enjoyment，” Shen said， “when all your material needs are satisfied.”

申鵬說：“各種物質需求都得到滿足后，微縮模型能給人帶來一種精神上的愉悅?！?/p>

Their pieces vary by budget and geography. Homes in northern China were often one-story， built from stone or mud， while those in the south were taller and wooden. Some miniatures re-create only a homes exterior， sparsely accented with details. Others have intricate interiors with working light bulbs and family portraits on the walls.

這群藝術家的微縮模型因預算和地域特征而各不相同。中國北方房屋的模型通常只有一層，用石頭或泥土建造，而中國南方房屋的模型較高且為木制結構。有的微縮模型只還原房屋的外觀，鮮少強調細節；其他的則有復雜的內部裝飾，燈泡能亮，墻上還掛著全家福。

If the artists are lucky， their clients provide photographs. But often they must work from memories. That was the case for Shen as he crafted his grandparents house and then his own childhood home.

運氣好的時候，客戶會提供照片，但很多時候，這群藝術家必須根據各種回憶來創作。申鵬為爺爺奶奶的房子和自己兒時的房子制作模型時就是如此。

The idea for a miniature came from another artist hed seen online， who had re-created his own grandmothers home. Shen had little formal art training， but he bought acrylic sheets， spray paint， various tools for poking， etching and sculpting， and followed online tutorials.

當初，申鵬在網上看到一位藝術家還原了自己奶奶的家，于是萌生了制作微縮模型的想法。申鵬幾乎沒有受過正規的藝術培訓，但他買來亞克力板、噴漆，以及各種捅戳、蝕刻和雕塑的工具，按照網上的教程來制作。

The bricks he ordered， from a vendor of childrens model-house kits， were too big， so he made his own plaster mold， scratching out individual blocks with a pen. To re-create shrubbery， he foraged the mountains nearby for dried flowers. He researched the average height of gates in countryside homes in the 1970s， then scaled down.

他從一家玩具屋套件供應商那里訂購的磚塊太大了，所以他自己做了一個石膏模具，用筆把一塊塊磚刨出來。為了再現灌木叢，他到附近的山上尋找干花。他還研究了20世紀70年代農村住宅大門的平均高度，然后按比例縮小。

His recollections determined the level of detail. He left his grandparents roof unadorned， having never paid attention to it as a child. But the inside of his childhood home is elaborate. He also took the artistic liberty of hanging up academic awards he hadnt won.

申鵬的回憶決定了細節展現的程度。爺爺奶奶家的屋頂，他未加任何修飾，因為他小時候沒有留意過。然而，他兒時的家內部卻非常精致。他還展現了藝術自由的一面，將自己沒有獲得過的獎狀掛在墻上。

Shen had spent virtually his entire life in his village， but he knew that eventually he would need to move to a city， to give his son better opportunities. “If we dont leave a record， those born after the 2000s wont have any impression of this，” he said.

申鵬幾乎一輩子都生活在村子里，但他知道，為了給兒子提供更好的機會，最終還是要搬到城里。他說：“如果我們不記錄的話，2000年以后出生的孩子就會對老房子一無所知?！?/p>

Shen has turned down commission requests， opting to work only on pieces with which he has a personal connection. But others have made this a full-time career.

申鵬拒絕了他人委托，只為與自己有關的房屋制作模型。然而，也有人把制作微縮模型當成全職工作。

Li Yizhong used to make large-scale sculptures for office buildings and museums. But after a friend requested a miniature of his childhood home as a favor， Li posted the finished product on social media and found himself flooded with inquiries.

李義中曾為辦公樓和博物館制作大型雕塑。一位朋友請他幫忙為自己兒時的家做一個微縮模型，他把成品發布到社交媒體上后，一大批人找他咨詢。

“This is more meaningful” than his previous work， said Li. “Theres more feeling， more warmth.”

李義中說，和他之前的工作比，做微縮模型“更有意義”，“這份工作更富情感，更有溫度”。

Each project is an exercise in intim-acy and collaboration. At the beginning of the roughly one-month process， Li sends the client digital renderings of the miniature. Throughout， he confirms details and sends photos of his progress.

每個項目都要密切合作。制作微縮模型大約需要一個月的時間，最開始的時候李義中會給客戶發數字效果圖。整個制作過程中，他還會跟客戶確認細節，并向客戶發送顯示進度的照片。

Some clients adjust their instructions as faded memories come into focus. Li recalled one prospective client who spent most of an hourlong phone call crying as she reminisced about her old home. Projects for customers without photos are the most challenging， but those are the customers most desperate to regain a vision of their old home.

隨著淡忘的記憶逐漸清晰，有的客戶會調整他們的說明。李義中印象中有一位潛在客戶，在長達一個小時的通話過程中，她大部分時間都在哭著回憶自己家的老房子?？蛻籼峁┎涣苏掌捻椖孔罹咛魬鹦?，但正是這類客戶最渴望重新看到他們曾經的家。

About half of Lis clients are in their 30s; the rest are older. Most， like himself， were carried by Chinas economic boom from the countryside to the cities， finding education and jobs that allowed them to afford nostalgia.

李義中的客戶約有一半是30多歲，其余的年齡比較大。大多數客戶和他一樣，隨著中國經濟的繁榮發展從農村來到城市，接受教育，找到工作，從而有能力負擔懷舊的開支。

Younger viewers on social media can find the urge to document these old houses confusing. But there are still young people who have experienced， and long for， the older way of life.

對于記錄老房子的渴望，社交媒體上的年輕人可能理解不了，但仍有一群年輕人經歷過并懷念過去的生活方式。

Lu Qinghuan spent one month with Li as an apprentice， learning to make the village home where his grandparents raised him.

蘆慶歡跟著李義中當了一個月的學徒，學習如何把他爺爺奶奶在農村的房子做成微縮模型。那座房子就是他爺爺奶奶把他養大的地方。

Lu had mixed feelings about his own journey away from the countryside， first to a small city for middle school， then to a bigger coastal city for a degree in materials science. He was put off by the competitiveness of cities， and he missed his grandfather， an elementary schoolteacher， who had instilled in him the importance of education.

對于自己離開農村的經歷，蘆慶歡的心情很復雜。他先是到一個小城市讀中學，然后到一個較大的沿海城市攻讀材料科學學位。城市的激烈競爭讓他感到難以適應，而且他非常想念當小學老師的爺爺，就是他讓蘆慶歡明白了讀書的重要性。

He settled on a compromise： After graduating from college， rather than compete for an office job， he would make miniatures full-time.

他選擇了一個折中的辦法：大學畢業后，他沒有去競爭辦公室工作，而是全職制作微縮模型。

Lu finished one for a restaurateur， who had ordered a replica of her mothers childhood home for her mothers 70th birthday. Her original plan was to build a display case for the miniature， but after she unveiled the miniature to her extended family over a video call， the group erupted with stories. They debated what kind of flowers had grown around the house and discussed whether to order additions.

蘆慶歡為一位餐廳老板制作了一個微縮模型。這個模型是餐廳老板為母親七十大壽準備的禮物，還原了母親兒時的家。這位老板原本計劃為模型做一個陳列柜，但通過視頻通話向一大家子展示了模型后，大家紛紛回憶起往事。他們爭論房子周圍當年種的是什么花，還討論是否應該再添些東西。

The restaurateur is now considering taking the miniature on a tour to show relatives who live elsewhere in China. “Its not just something that you look at twice and then leave there，” she said. “Are you kidding？ This is my old house. Its just that I cant go in.”

這位餐廳老板正在考慮帶著這個微縮模型去旅行，給生活在其他城市的親戚們看看?！斑@并不是什么看兩眼就擺到一邊的東西?！彼f，“開玩笑！這是我家的老房子，只是不能住進去而已?！?/p>