Re-creating a Bygone China重现昔日中国

王月眉/文　叶子/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？

申鹏的爷爷去世后不久，他奶奶回到过去跟他爷爷一起生活的老宅旧址看了看。那块土地尚未开发，地里杂草丛生，老人家几乎寸步难行。申鹏琢磨：能不能用另外一种方式帮奶奶重现回忆呢？

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.

后来半年多的时间里，申鹏做完理发师的工作后，一直悄悄地做着某件事。最终，他为奶奶送上了一份惊喜——一个手工制作的模型，按照1比20的比例还原了奶奶的老房子。

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.

院子里的铁丝晾衣绳上挂着一张剪成邮票大小的蓝色毯子。用泡沫板和灰泥搭的棚子外，停了一辆破破烂烂的自行车。为了更好地还原保留下来的砖墙残迹，申鹏甚至又回老宅旧址看了看。

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.

申鵬做的模型将他引入了一个规模尚小但又不断壮大的中国艺术家群体。这群艺术家正在满足人们日益热切的需求，即用微缩模型还原在中国现代化过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.”

申鹏说：“各种物质需求都得到满足后，微缩模型能给人带来一种精神上的愉悦。”

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.

这群艺术家的微缩模型因预算和地域特征而各不相同。中国北方房屋的模型通常只有一层，用石头或泥土建造，而中国南方房屋的模型较高且为木制结构。有的微缩模型只还原房屋的外观，鲜少强调细节；其他的则有复杂的内部装饰，灯泡能亮，墙上还挂着全家福。

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.

运气好的时候，客户会提供照片，但很多时候，这群艺术家必须根据各种回忆来创作。申鹏为爷爷奶奶的房子和自己儿时的房子制作模型时就是如此。

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.

当初，申鹏在网上看到一位艺术家还原了自己奶奶的家，于是萌生了制作微缩模型的想法。申鹏几乎没有受过正规的艺术培训，但他买来亚克力板、喷漆，以及各种捅戳、蚀刻和雕塑的工具，按照网上的教程来制作。

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.

他从一家玩具屋套件供应商那里订购的砖块太大了，所以他自己做了一个石膏模具，用笔把一块块砖刨出来。为了再现灌木丛，他到附近的山上寻找干花。他还研究了20世纪70年代农村住宅大门的平均高度，然后按比例缩小。

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.

申鵬的回忆决定了细节展现的程度。爷爷奶奶家的屋顶，他未加任何修饰，因为他小时候没有留意过。然而，他儿时的家内部却非常精致。他还展现了艺术自由的一面，将自己没有获得过的奖状挂在墙上。

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.

申鹏几乎一辈子都生活在村子里，但他知道，为了给儿子提供更好的机会，最终还是要搬到城里。他说：“如果我们不记录的话，2000年以后出生的孩子就会对老房子一无所知。”

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.

申鹏拒绝了他人委托，只为与自己有关的房屋制作模型。然而，也有人把制作微缩模型当成全职工作。

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.

李义中曾为办公楼和博物馆制作大型雕塑。一位朋友请他帮忙为自己儿时的家做一个微缩模型，他把成品发布到社交媒体上后，一大批人找他咨询。

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

李义中说，和他之前的工作比，做微缩模型“更有意义”，“这份工作更富情感，更有温度”。

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.

每个项目都要密切合作。制作微缩模型大约需要一个月的时间，最开始的时候李义中会给客户发数字效果图。整个制作过程中，他还会跟客户确认细节，并向客户发送显示进度的照片。

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.

随着淡忘的记忆逐渐清晰，有的客户会调整他们的说明。李义中印象中有一位潜在客户，在长达一个小时的通话过程中，她大部分时间都在哭着回忆自己家的老房子。客户提供不了照片的项目最具挑战性，但正是这类客户最渴望重新看到他们曾经的家。

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.

李义中的客户约有一半是30多岁，其余的年龄比较大。大多数客户和他一样，随着中国经济的繁荣发展从农村来到城市，接受教育，找到工作，从而有能力负担怀旧的开支。

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.

对于记录老房子的渴望，社交媒体上的年轻人可能理解不了，但仍有一群年轻人经历过并怀念过去的生活方式。

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

芦庆欢跟着李义中当了一个月的学徒，学习如何把他爷爷奶奶在农村的房子做成微缩模型。那座房子就是他爷爷奶奶把他养大的地方。

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.

对于自己离开农村的经历，芦庆欢的心情很复杂。他先是到一个小城市读中学，然后到一个较大的沿海城市攻读材料科学学位。城市的激烈竞争让他感到难以适应，而且他非常想念当小学老师的爷爷，就是他让芦庆欢明白了读书的重要性。

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

他选择了一个折中的办法：大学毕业后，他没有去竞争办公室工作，而是全职制作微缩模型。

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.

蘆庆欢为一位餐厅老板制作了一个微缩模型。这个模型是餐厅老板为母亲七十大寿准备的礼物，还原了母亲儿时的家。这位老板原本计划为模型做一个陈列柜，但通过视频通话向一大家子展示了模型后，大家纷纷回忆起往事。他们争论房子周围当年种的是什么花，还讨论是否应该再添些东西。

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.”

这位餐厅老板正在考虑带着这个微缩模型去旅行，给生活在其他城市的亲戚们看看。“这并不是什么看两眼就摆到一边的东西。”她说，“开玩笑！这是我家的老房子，只是不能住进去而已。”