'Tu Khi Dong Lai': 8,000 years of Chinese national essence that disfigures Ly Tu That's face

On November 12, Li Ziqi - a famous Chinese female YouTuber officially returned after more than 3 years of "hiding". She "debuted" with a video of making a lacquer cabinet and quickly took over social media.

However, recently, on social networks, an image of Ly Tu That's face being deformed while making lacquer paintings suddenly spread, exposing the truth of the many pains behind her unique lacquer cabinets and poetic films. In this image, the "country fairy" appeared with a rather scary face with swelling, rough blisters and slightly red lips. It is understandable that some people do not recognize Ly Tu That.

It is known that in order to make the lacquer cabinet and make a video for everyone, Ly Tu That sought to learn from the artisan. And during the time she first learned lacquer, she suffered from a severe allergic reaction.

In an interview with Xinhua that aired on November 13, she said that learning lacquer was both a painful and happy process. At that time, because she was not used to it, she had pimples and itchiness all over her body, the pimples kept breaking out, forming scabs and then breaking out again. This condition was extremely uncomfortable, to the point that she could not sleep, so she and her classmates at the time went to the hospital to get anti-allergy shots.

Jinan Times quoted the original information of Chengdu Lacquerware Workshop (Sichuan Province), saying: Many years ago, a wonderful chance brought Li Ziqi to Chengdu Lacquerware Workshop, and the two sides visited Master Yin Liping - a representative inheritor of the National Heritage - to learn about the authentic lacquerware art, which is recognized as a precious national intangible cultural heritage, with extremely difficult techniques such as carving and decoration.

"The difficulty of lacquer is that not many people can endure it. To come to the 8,000-year-old Chinese lacquer art, loving it is not enough. One must have a special passion for "Hidden Flower in Lacquer" (carving flowers hidden in lacquer), must truly absorb the quintessence of this multi-layered but calm and extremely warm traditional Chinese culture.

Some people often need 3 years to start with lacquer art. Some people need a decade to grasp all the essence of lacquer art and understand the indescribable "soul" behind each masterpiece.

"When I first met Li Ziqi, I thought she would give up. I didn't expect her to show incredible perseverance in learning lacquer. The energy from her optimism and dedication finally paid off. I was truly touched," said Master Yin Liping.

MSN reported that Li Ziqi took the 8,000-year-old Chinese lacquer art as the theme for this 14-minute video that took half a year to complete and vividly demonstrates the unique aesthetics and craftsmanship of Chinese lacquerware.

Introducing her newly released lacquer art video, Li Ziqi said she named the lacquer work featuring hidden flowers carved on her grandmother's cabinet door "Purple Air from the East".

So what is lacquer resin? Why does it cause allergies?

According to data from Baidu Encyclopedia, the Chinese lacquer tree (scientific name: Toxicodendron vernicifluum) grows in the southern regions from southern Gansu to Shandong. These are regions with humid temperatures and environments that are very suitable for lacquer trees to grow. In a broader view, lacquer trees are mainly distributed in the Eastern and Central regions of Asia, in other countries such as Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Myanmar, etc.

Chinese lacquer resin is a pure, opaque white liquid lacquer, harvested from the lacquer tree by cutting the trunk. This liquid lacquer is characterized by gradually turning brown when exposed to air and gradually drying and hardening in about 4 hours.

Lacquer film has many outstanding and superior characteristics such as hardness, gloss, unique durability, corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance, heat resistance, oil resistance, water resistance, acid resistance, solvent resistance and especially good insulation and electrical insulation, so the economic value of lacquer resin is very high.

At the same time, it is widely used in coating handicraft products, furniture, equipment, agricultural machinery as well as present in chemicals, textiles and other industries.

The main chemical component of lacquer resin is urushiol. However, urushiol in lacquer is very toxic and can cause allergic reactions in humans. [In return, the higher the urushiol content, the better the quality of lacquer].

Lacquer resin can cause allergies to varying degrees. The reason why lacquer resin causes allergies to people is still unknown. The main cause is the presence of urushiol and various volatile substances in lacquer resin.

The main routes by which lacquer allergens enter the human body are through the skin, mucous membranes and respiratory tract. Therefore, allergies and rashes can occur (depending on the severity) not only through direct contact with the skin/mucous membranes but also through inhalation.

Although it causes swelling, itching, and sores, with early medical intervention, lacquer allergy treatment is easy and leaves no traces.

Ly Tu That revealed her "famous" past, dared to do anything, wanted to hide a photo Nguyễn Kim14:30:47 21/11/2024Recently, Li Ziqi - a Chinese internet phenomenon famous all over the world, has unexpectedly returned after 3 years of absence. Her newly released videos quickly became a hot topic on social networks.