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    WOODCARVING ARTS IN CHINA

    Written by: Hang Jiang
    Posted on: November 12, 2013 | | 中文

    Woodcarving in China constitutes three major categories: architecture carving, furniture carving and artworks carving.

    Woodcarving as handiworks for display or fondling started from the Song Dynasty (960—1279 AD) when the practice of fondling artworks gradually rose among men of letters and scholars. This prevailing custom reached its primary stage in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Furnishing artworks are a traditional category in wood carving, which are placed on cabinets, windowsills, tables, shelves, etc. Wood carving can also be used to decorate all sorts of furniture and other artworks such as jade ware, cloisonné and chinaware.

    Woodcarving can be seen all over the region on both sides of the Yangtze River where the best known includes the Dongyang woodcarving in Zhejiang Province, the golden-lacquer woodcarving in Guangdong Province, Longan woodcarving in Fujian Province and Huizhou woodcarving in Anhui Province.

    The Dongyang County of Zhejiang Province has always been celebrated for being the "home of carving arts." Dongyang woodcarving started from the Tang Dynasty, developed in the Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Dongyang carvings preserve the original textures and colors of the wood which, when meticulously polished, makes the finished works appear smooth and lustrous. Relief carving is the essence of Dongyang woodcarving in which the depth of the patterns ranges between two and five millimeters. The centerpiece is focused on by the force of the cutting. The designs of Dongyang woodcarving stress on "carving all over the background," which means to have patterns carved over the entire surface of the object so that it has three dimensional display while the background is fully covered. This is a unique artistic style.

    Gold lacquer woodcarving is a specialty of the Chaozhou region in Guangdong Province, also known as Chaozhou woodcarving, so named because of the gold coating on the surface. Gold lacquer woodcarving at first was a decorative art used in architecture in ancient China. Later on it was influenced by local art and became a school of woodcarving featuring local flavor. In Chaozhou, local people have especially compounded a kind of lacquer which not only enables the gold foil to adhere to the surface of the wood, but also makes it moisture-proof and rot-proof. The history of Chaozhou woodcarving can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, or even earlier times. The Qing Dynasty was the heyday of its development when the fretwork developed from single-layer to multi-layer piercing, thus producing an artistic effect of a strong contrast between far and near, large and small.

    Fujian Longan (Euphoria Longan, evergreen tree) carving developed from furniture decoration and statue-of-Buddha carving, matured at the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. Longan is slightly brittle in texture, fine grained, reddish brown in color, mainly growing in the southern area of Fujian Province. The trunk, in particular the roots of old-age Longan, often grow to be either spectacular or grotesque in form, which is an ideal wood piece for engraving. Root carving therefore becomes the unique variety of Fuzhou woodcarving. Local artisans, making the best use of its natural shape, by chopping with axe or cutting with chisel, have the twisted roots with their rough nodes carved into all sorts of figures, such as birds and beasts, in shapes that are vivid and artistically exaggerated. Fuzhou woodcarving, when smoothed and polished, can reveal an unsophisticated brass yellow or orange color that will never fade.

    Wood used in Huizhou woodcarving includes softer tree species such as pine, China fir, camphor tree, nanmu, (a kind of Phoebe), gingko, etc. What Huizhou woodcarving stresses is not the quality of wood, but the content of subject matters, the skills at carving, and the perfection of the composition and lines, which has exerted a great influence on the surrounding areas. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Huizhou woodcarving focused on architecture and furniture decoration, well-known for its giant-sized carved paintings whose themes are mostly "men farming and women weaving," fishing, woodcutting, plowing, studying, fairy tales, legends, historical stories, classic novels, and so on and so forth.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021