Famous woodcarving figures in Putian in past dynasties

Putian woodcarving flourished in Tang and Song Dynasties and Ming and Qing Dynasties. Known as "exquisite carving." At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the architectural decoration, Buddha statues, scriptures and so on of temples had been carved in embryonic form; Screens, railings, wood carvings, antiques, musical instruments, furniture, etc. The figures and flowers carved in Putian are very delicate and vivid; Putian in the Ming Dynasty was good at carving Buddha statues and decorating plane buildings. There are still Ming Dynasty woodcarving Mazu statues, plaques, screens, ritual vessels and other cultural relics in Tianhou Palace, Nagasaki and Kagoshima in Putian, Taiwan Province Province. The glory of our ancestors comes from famous craftsmen, belonging to famous teachers, who have been representatives of famous artists in all directions for generations. Sun Liaoxi, a famous teacher in the late Qing Dynasty, was good at figurine carving flowers. His masterpiece 1903 won the first prize of Panama International Fair. "Liao's Wood Carving" has become a treasure that Chinese and foreign antique dealers are scrambling to buy. The Palace Museum still has many "Liao's" wooden seats and a tribute carved by foreigners after Putian during the Qing Qianlong period-gold-plated and blue-carved. In modern times, Putian woodcarving mostly carved various military commanders, ladies or gods with longan wood rich in the local area, supplemented by old lacquer paintings, which made the works more dull and antique, and longan woodcarving became famous for a while.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Putian woodcarving has flourished in the east wind of the times. 1956, Putian woodcarving created a set of musical instruments, the edges, handles, bellies and buttons of which were decorated with boxwood pieces one inch square, such as figures, flowers, fruits, birds and animals in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which were subtle and exquisite, and were selected for the Czech * * and China exhibitions in Eastern Europe and won prizes; 1959 Putian woodcarving created 27 round figures, tables, screens, and Jinjing presented the 10th anniversary of the National Day. Since 1979, Zhu Toupai, Huang Dangui, She and others, the first generation inheritors of new China, have formed a neat artistic creation team, and Zhu's works such as "Three Beats of Zhujiazhuang" and "Dragon and Phoenix Lantern" can be regarded as the best of China woodcarving products. Society's Spring in Fishing Port and Huang's Thirteen Golden Flowers were selected for the exhibition in Fujian Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Master Min's natural wood carvings, such as Dharma and Shouxing, are recognized as first-class masterpieces in the industry. Luo Shen, written by him in boxwood carving in 1980s, won the first national handicraft quality appraisal award. Since 1989, Putian woodcarving products have appeared one after another at the National Masters of Arts and Crafts Expositions in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and have always won high votes from the judges for their fine traditional stunts and bold modern creativity. They have been affirmed by their peers, publicized by the media and admired by the audience. Gold and silver awards have made Putian famous, and its overall creative level has been among the best in the country.

Since the reform and opening-up, a group of masters such as the second generation inheritors and social organizations of Putian woodcarving have seized the opportunity to establish individual woodcarving enterprises and achieved success, thus attracting a large number of folk artists to return to their old businesses and set up factories to start businesses, which has promoted the rapid development of Putian woodcarving industry. At the same time, a group of foreign businessmen and Taiwanese businessmen also came to Putian to set up wood carving enterprises, making Putian the most concentrated processing, factory and trade center for Taiwanese businessmen in Chinese mainland. With the development of various ownership enterprises, the production scale of Putian woodcarving has been expanding. At present, there are nearly 1,000 wood carving craft factories in Putian, among which there are more than 10 with an annual output value exceeding10, and there are more than10 with an annual output value exceeding10, with more than 20,000 employees and a total output value of1500 million yuan.

The development of production has brought about the development of the market. Putian woodcarving producers and operators actively face the domestic and foreign markets and adopt various forms to expand market share. Famous domestic woodcarving trading markets, such as Daihe Road Antique Street in Guangzhou, Huabao Street in Shanghai Chenghuangmiao, Panjiayuan Antique City in Beijing, etc ... Where there are big places for woodcarving trading, there are traces of Putian woodcarving operators. Woodcarving wholesalers in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Dongyang, Zhejiang, Dalian and other places often go to Putian. They went deep into woodcarving enterprises, professional villages and ancient families, and transported the woodcarving products of Putian in a whole box, such as Xianyou County, Putian City. Every day, handicraft dealers from all over the country enter the county to visit and buy Xianyou woodcarving products. The production and operation of folk artists from all walks of life have been growing, from family workshops to professional manufacturers, from local factories to overseas factories, from single operation to comprehensive operation, the integration of production, supply and marketing, and the integration of domestic and foreign trade, forming an industrial development pattern. Putian has not only become the largest producer of architectural decorative woodcarving and statue woodcarving in China, but also the largest main producer and distribution center of woodcarving gifts, handicrafts and craft furniture in China. In recent years, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and even Europe have also purchased and collected traditional woodcarving works by famous Putian artists. Putian's woodcarving family also held trade fairs abroad (such as Australia), which attracted the appreciation of people of insight overseas. Wood carving industry has become the pillar industry of Putian private enterprises. It has solved a large number of rural surplus labor forces and trained a large number of skilled craftsmen from the people. At present, there are more than 20 people with the titles of associate professor or above, 8 masters of arts and crafts, and a group of wood carving artists with the titles of intermediate and senior arts and crafts in arts and crafts colleges and universities inside and outside the province. A total of 100 folk artists have been awarded the title of "Arts and Crafts Artist".

In May, 2004, Putian Folk Writers and Artists Association organized a delegation to participate in the "First China Arts and Crafts Expo" sponsored by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and hosted by China Folk Writers and Artists Association and National Culture Palace, aiming at adhering to the orientation of advanced culture, carrying forward the excellent national traditions, exploring local cultural characteristics, protecting and rescuing folk arts, displaying excellent folk arts, building famous-brand folk arts and crafts enterprises and promoting the development of cultural industry. The exhibitors are mainly young and middle-aged. They are all descendants of Putian woodcarving industry and a group of rising stars who dare to fight and fight. Their works are mainly wood carvings, as well as stone carvings, bamboo carvings, bronze carvings, gold carvings and antique furniture. There are 26 booths and more than 300 works. Some of them come from the mainland, and some come from woodcarving production and distribution enterprises all over the country; These works have a deep complex and persistent pursuit of traditional folk art, and they are the display of artistic individuality and the inheritance of traditional culture.