Historical Development of Nuclear Carving Art

In the early Ming Dynasty, nuclear carving was particularly popular. Scholars and court dignitaries at that time hung it together with pearls, gold and jade as decorative accessories and fan pendants to show their special status. In the folk, walnuts are mostly carved, and the holes are hung on the body as "evil spirits". There are accessories, fan pendants, beads and so on for literati to enjoy.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, nuclear sculptures have been popular in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong and other places in China, with rich carving themes. Such as "Eighteen Arhats", "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", "Guan Gong", "Birthday Boy" and "Guanyin Bodhisattva" are all traditional varieties that artists like to carve. Carving skills have been developed in Ming and Qing dynasties and passed down from generation to generation. At present, there are many folk artists engaged in nuclear carving skills in Siyang, Jiangsu, Guangfu and Dongshan in Wuxian, Suzhou. Generally, some eight immortals cross the sea, the phoenix hits peony, the panda eats bamboo, the monkey boats, the tiger climbs the mountain, the double happiness flower basket, the flower and bird vase and so on. At present, we can often see some relatively simple nuclear carvings on the market, such as Luohantou, Guanyin and Songhe Boy, which are sold in batches. But there are very few people who specialize in nuclear carving in Zhejiang. As far as I know, most of them are making seals or pendants except other sculptures, but the number is also very small. Mr. Chen Shuo is mainly engaged in printing, but he also pays attention to nuclear carving. He tried to print with a nuclear carving. His work is ingenious and exquisite with a knife.

The prosperity of nuclear carving technology in Ming and Qing Dynasties created a group of folk artists. For example, Wang Shuyuan in Changshu, Ming Dynasty, carved the boat of "Dongpo Night Tour in Chibi" with olive cores at the earliest. There are pavilions and pavilions on the ship, and Su Dongpo and other five people are exquisitely carved. Xue Wei's masterpiece "The Story of a Nuclear-powered Ship" reflects Wang Shuyuan's initiative in carving nuclear-powered ships. And the summer eyes of the Ming Dynasty. According to legend, sixteen babies were carved on an olive pit, each half the size of a grain of rice. However, between the eyebrows and eyes, the emotions are vivid, and the Dutch birds have different carved postures, which was also a must at that time. During the reign of Kangxi, there was an old man named Jin in Suzhou who was also good at carving nuclear boats. People call it "clever carving of thorns and dust." During the Qianlong period, both Chen Zuzhang and Du Shiyuan were called "ghost workers" with superb skills and unique skills. Chen Zuzhang's masterpiece Night Tour on the East Slope of Chibi is a nuclear ship, less than two inches long and with windows. In addition to Su Dongpo, there are eight guests, such as guest wife, ferryman and buddhist nun. The characters are natural, quiet and detached, and all the characters are exquisitely portrayed. It's incredible to engrave the full text of Red Cliff Fu on the bottom of the boat. At present, a nuclear ship of Chen Zuzhang has been handed down from generation to generation and kept in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. During the Republic of China, Yin Genfu, a native of Xiangshan, Wuxian, became a famous nuclear sculptor by carving arhats with olives.

Famous nuclear sculptors in Ming Dynasty include Wang Shuyuan, Xia Baiyan, Qiu Shan and Xing Xian. Wei Xueyi's "Wang Shuyuan's Nuclear Ship" describes that Wang Shuyuan can carve a boat on a small walnut with five people and eight windows. In the Ming Dynasty, Xia Baiyan carved 16 babies on an olive pit, and the baby was only half a grain of rice. "The eyebrows are full of emotions. Or carved mother-in-law, lotus mother-in-law, whose posture is graceful and flies away, becoming a small square nucleus, called temporary master. In the Qing Dynasty, the nuclear carving was exquisite, the figures and animals were lifelike, the figures and faces were lifelike, and the animals were full of movement. The sculptor is strong with straight lines and smooth edges. Fiona Fang is chiseled, angular and closely linked with people and things. There are few holes left in the carving, and the relief ground is polished flat, with slight knife marks and fine grinding. The threading hole of the nuclear carving is bigger than that of the Ming and modern dynasties.

The walnut carving artists in Qing Dynasty are Ding Nianting, Gao Jiajun, Du Weinan, Zhang Dayan, Chen and others, belonging to the walnut carving in Weifang, Shandong. Gan Long loved nuclear carving, and once called Du Shiyuan into the palace. Today, the Palace Museum has Chen Zuzhang's "An Olive Nuclear Boat at Night in Chibi" during the Qianlong Period.

Although the Ming and Qing Dynasties were the heyday of nuclear carving, there were not many fine nuclear carvings handed down from generation to generation. The identification of nuclear carvings in Ming and Qing dynasties is mainly based on the characteristics of historical records and material selection. For example, in Ming and Qing dynasties, cores with large core, thick wall and dense texture were often used. There are also production characteristics that can be compared with the carving techniques of bamboo, wood and tooth carving at that time to identify. At that time, many famous bamboo and wood tooth carving sculptors were nuclear carving masters, so they all had different styles.

In the Ming Dynasty, the sculpt of nuclear sculpture was simple and vigorous, and figures and animals focused on appearance rather than detailed description. From the perspective of carving methods, the nuclear carvers in Ming Dynasty were generally vigorous, neat and eye-catching, with sharp lines and sharp edges, and the connection between people and things was not close, leaving traces of drilling, rough grinding and knife marks. We should also pay attention to nuclear color and patina when identifying nuclear carvings. As time goes on, the nuclear carving will gradually produce dark orange and rosewood. But if it is false nuclear color, the nuclear patina is light orange and black red. If we can remember and master the characteristics of ancient nuclear carvings in different periods, such as components, shapes and technological styles, and be familiar with the artistic style evolution of other carving techniques in different periods, it will be of great help to identify the authenticity of ancient nuclear carvings.

* * * The representative figures in the early liberation of the Republic of China are: Zhong, Zhao, Yin Genfu, Xu Yinsheng and Zhong Nian's nuclear sculpture. Broadly speaking, nuclear carving refers to works of art created with various stone cores, usually peach cores, plum cores, apricot cores, olive cores, walnuts or other stone cores with certain hardness; The traditional nuclear carving in China is usually a narrow nuclear carving, that is, a work of art carved with peach pit as the creative carrier.

The reason why nuclear carving is unique in China folk arts and crafts is not only because it has a long history, but also because it has its own characteristics. The first is the uniqueness of the creative carrier of nuclear carving, which is different from jade carving, stone carving, tooth carving, root carving and other carving arts. Secondly, the randomness of this craft creation is very small, and the creator must conceive and shape the disordered stone texture with rich imagination. The artistic creation of nuclear carving is largely limited by the texture and shape of the stone.

Moreover, nuclear carving belongs to the category of micro-carving. This process is different from rice carving and hair carving, both of which are micro-carving. The difference between carving and engraving is that the former is at least three-dimensional and the latter is one-dimensional. Therefore, although rice carving and hair carving are micro-carvings, they only leave scratches on the plane, while nuclear carving is at least bas-relief. The creation of nuclear carving technology is really like the chant in The Book of Songs Chyi Yu: "If you cut, if you explore, if you cut, if you grind." It is necessary to master techniques such as relief, round carving, general carving, line carving and grinding. Creation requires both realism and rich imagination.

The production of nuclear carving not only needs the painting, calligraphy and carving foundation needed by general carving, but also needs special materials selection, special knife making, special eyesight, special fingering, special perseverance and special ideas. Be sure to choose a thicker peach pit, which can carve a larger convex area and provide more creative space for later creation. There should be carving tools suitable for weighing hands. According to different purposes, the cutting tool can be divided into long and short thickness, and the cutting edge can be divided into flat, round, oblique, pointed, triangular, hook and other shapes. There are also high requirements for the strength of arms, wrists and fingers and the sensitivity of fingers. Nuclear carving is a kung fu job, and impetuous can't be done. The peach pit is small and hard, and it is inevitable that your fingers will be scratched by a knife when carving, which requires perseverance even more, otherwise you can only give up halfway.