无钉桥梁的传承

关留克

福建省宁德市有一座传统的木拱无钉廊桥，这座廊桥横跨山谷，堪称一绝。

Thanks to decades of perseverance by traditional craftsmen， a 1，000⁃year⁃old woodenarch bridge in Ningde City， Fujian Province， has managed to survive， and the skills used tomake it have been adapted to modern life. The bridge， which resembles a rainbow in its out⁃line， is a mortise and tenon structure built without using a single nail or rivet. A roof pro⁃tects the bridge from weathering by the rain.

In 1969， Huang Chuncai mastered the traditional skill—building the bridges， how⁃ever， there were no opportunities to put it into practice， as modern bridges were taking theplace of wooden ones. Instead， he earned his living by making wooden furniture until theNational Cultural Heritage Administration researchers came to Ningde in 2003 and tried torevive the craft.

Ningde is an area of ridges and ravines crisscrossed by streams. It is home to morethan 50 wooden arcade bridges， some of which have stood for hundreds of years. In 2008，the technique of wooden arch bridge building was listed as a national intangible culturalheritage， and Huang was designated as the skill’s national inheritor.

Huang Chuncai has tried to pass on his skill， and he used to teach students at artschools in Ningde.“But many could not endure the difficulties and left，”he said. So far，about six students are training at a workshop set up by Huang Chuncai.“I hope the craftwill endure. Our workshop welcomes anyone who wants to learn，”Huang Chuncai said.

Reading Check

What qualities are required for students who learn to build the nailless bridges accord?ing to Huang Chuncai？