英文阅读～Painted by ghosts

‘Painted by ghosts’: Chinese bottle art revived by Peppa Pig

Delicate designs painted on the inside of miniature Chinese snuff bottles by artists like Zhang Yuhua and her husband usually feature calligraphy, floral compositions and traditional rural scenes.

Concentrating hard as she holds a tiny paintbrush poked through the neck of a translucent glass bottle, Zhang traces ink across its interior, her steady hand leaving a perfect impression despite barely being able to see what she is doing.

The bottles, which fit easily in the palm, were originally used to hold smokeless tobacco among Chinese high society in the 17th century, and only started to be painted for decoration many decades later.

Today other “ghost” bottle painters, like Wei Dongfang, 48, are reviving the craft by adorning their works with more unusual designs inspired by popular culture.

"I once painted a character from the cartoon Peppa Pig inside a bottle for a child who visited my shop, " said Wei, who sells the ornaments from his shop in the Chinese capital, where prices range from 60 to 6, 000 yuan.

"People are bored of old-fashioned images and motifs. To widen the scope of our art, we need to use new elements, " he added.

“鬼画”：小猪佩奇复兴中国瓶艺术

张玉华和她的丈夫等艺术家在微型鼻烟壶的内部绘制了精美的图案，通常以书法、花卉图案和传统乡村场景为特色。

当她拿着一支小画笔穿过半透明玻璃瓶的瓶颈时，张全神贯注地在瓶的内部描画墨水，尽管她几乎看不到她在做什么，但她稳定的手留下了完美的印象。

这些瓶子很容易握在手掌中，最初是 17 世纪中国上流社会用来盛装无烟烟草的，几十年后才开始上漆装饰。

如今，其他“幽灵”瓶子画家，例如 48 岁的魏东方，正在通过受流行文化启发的更多不寻常的设计来装饰他们的作品，从而复兴这项工艺。

“有一次，我给一个来我店的孩子画了一个瓶子里的卡通小猪佩奇的人物，”魏说。他在中国首都的他的店里出售这些装饰品，价格从 60 元到 6 000 元不等。

“人们厌倦了老式的图像和图案。为了扩大我们艺术的范围，我们需要使用新的元素，”他补充道。

feature calligraphy, floral compositions and traditional rural scenes
以书法、花卉构图和传统乡村场景为特色

poked through the neck of a translucent glass bottle
刺穿半透明玻璃瓶的瓶颈
pock 刺、挑
translucent 半透明的

traces ink across its interior
在它内部用墨水作画
trace 跟踪、追溯、描、摹

despite barely being able to
尽管很少能/尽管勉强能

hold smokeless tobacco
持有无烟烟草

adorning their works with more unusual designs
用更不寻常的作品来点缀/装饰

character
ˈker(ə)ktər

ornaments
装饰品

images and motifs
图案和主题