jarv95888 Jan 8, 2012:

I think it has long been justified that the word for Chinese classic "漆器" is lacquer instead of paint. They are totally two different things. If you go to the museum, you'll find "lacquer" is the word for it, and you'll also see the characteristics of lacquer so different from "paint."
By the way, I found a picture of this utensil: http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=&tn=baiduimagedetail...
I hope it will help.

MichelleYou Jan 8, 2012:

'lacquer' is a very technical term and is one kind of paint.
'paint' is a general word and can be all kinds including lacquer.
So I think 'paint' is a better choice here to match the writing style of this fiction.

Please check here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint

GY Ren Jan 7, 2012:

同意jarv, 只是油漆过（painted)并不代表shining, 是只有lacquer才会是shining.

jarv95888 Jan 7, 2012:

中国古代漆器（尤其是红色的）通常表面都是像米粉一样被刷过的痕迹。这里是指这些人的头发可能上过很厚的油梳过之后留下很深的细条纹痕迹，像漆器的表面一样。
中国古代独特的漆器是“lacquer"不是"paint".
--lacquered ladle