Artistic features of China woodcarving

The woodcarving art in China has a long history. The earliest woodcarving works of art were the woodcarving fish unearthed in Hemudu and the woodcarving bird unearthed in Xinle, Liaoning. The woodcarving fish unearthed from Hemudu site in Yuyao City, Zhejiang Province is T-shaped, like the handle of a walking stick, with horizontal lines, diagonal lines and straight lines engraved on it. Another woodcarving fish, 1 1 cm long and 3.5 cm high, looks like a lively fish. This is a work of art purely for appreciation. At that time, there were no metal tools, and it was difficult to make them by grinding and carving with primitive animal bones, teeth and hard stones.

During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, there were six royal workers in the Yin Dynasty and eight talents in the Zhou Dynasty, which indicated that wood carving had been brought into the scope of national management. Most of the wood carvings left behind are ritual vessels, and the decoration methods have been painted, inlaid and carved.

The woodcarving techniques in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are divided into different woodcarving industries such as architectural decoration woodcarving, wooden figurines, religious statues and ceremonies. Lacquer-painted woodcarving is very popular, and the female figurines of the Warring States period woodcarving in the Palace Museum in Beijing are representative works. These figures are cut from long wood, with only a big outline, painted faces and neat sideburns.

Many animals carve wood, such as cattle, sheep, horses, dogs, pigs, chickens, ducks and so on. , unearthed in the tombs of the Han Dynasty, as well as vehicles, horses, boats, earrings and other artifacts. The figures have vivid expressions, including male and female attendants, heads, animal figures, rap figures, ritual figures, samurai figures, horseback riding figures, zodiac figures, animal figures, beast figures, music figures and so on. Wood is perishable, and woodcarving was not easy to spread before the Han Dynasty.

Puppets appeared after the Jin Dynasty, and the famous bag puppet in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province "started in Jin Dynasty, flourished in Song Dynasty and flourished in Ming Dynasty". From the Sui Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, Buddhist, Bodhisattva, Lohan and other temple statues were the most striking.

Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, woodcarving has been increasingly used for architectural decoration of palaces, pavilions and temples. The carvings on daily necessities are even more colorful. The Tang Dynasty was a glorious period of China's craft, and the woodcarving craft became more and more perfect. Many woodcarving Buddha statues preserved to this day are masterpieces of ancient Chinese artworks, which have the technological characteristics of concise modeling, skillful and smooth knife work and clear and bright lines, and have become the "darlings" of today's domestic and international art markets. The themes of woodcarving in Ming and Qing Dynasties are mostly life customs and fairy tales, such as auspicious and festive, looking at the valley and flourishing, the sound of dragons and phoenixes, being safe and happy, and prolonging the life of the pine crane, which were well received by the society at that time.

There are many kinds of woodcarvings, which can be classified into four categories: Dongyang woodcarving, Dong Qing boxwood woodcarving, Fujian longan woodcarving and Guangdong gold lacquer woodcarving. After hundreds of years of development, these four schools have formed their own unique craft styles, which are well-known throughout the country. Dongyang woodcarving was born in Dongyang, Zhejiang Province in the Song Dynasty. It is good at carving, with exquisite patterns and exquisite structure. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, more than a dozen craftsmen were called into Beijing to repair the palace in Dongyang, known as the "hometown of carved flowers". Yueqing boxwood carving has been one of the folk wood carving techniques in China since the middle of Qing Dynasty, and it is famous at home and abroad for carving boxwood small furnishings. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there was a Confucius family in Changle. Natural scar root carving is a unique traditional craft of longan wood carving in Fujian, which is valued by the world. Guangdong golden lacquer woodcarving originated in the Tang Dynasty. Carved with camphor wood, painted with gold, resplendent and magnificent, with strong artistic effect.

Jiangsu woodcarving has influenced both at home and abroad with its exquisite craftsmanship, rigorous modeling and exquisite and rich levels. Carved works, such as dragon boat, floor plan, pen container, Ruyi, floor card, etc., are particularly rich in national style and local characteristics, and are fine works in wood carving.

Nowadays, the antique market can see religious statues in Ming and Qing Dynasties, woodcarving decoration on wooden components of buildings, furniture carving and so on. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, woodcarving technology reached its peak, and many woodcarving workshops went from folk to official, and successively formed distinctive folk woodcarving schools in Dongyang, Yueqing, Fuzhou, Putian, Quanzhou, Lugang, Daxi, Sanyi, Huzhou, Shantou, Shandong, Qufu, Jianchuan, Jiangsu, Hubei, Shanghai and Sichuan. Among them, Dongyang, Zhejiang, Fuzhou, Fujian and Chaozhou, Guangdong are known as the three major producing areas of woodcarving in China.