Millennium heritage: the historical origin of Chinese wood carving

The art of ancient Chinese wood carving is like a vivid historical picture. From the simple patterns of ancient times to the exquisite masterpieces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, every picture tells the story of the past. As early as in primitive society, our ancestors began to use natural wood to make simple tools and utensils. With the passage of time, after the Han Dynasty, with the introduction of Buddhism into China and its widespread spread, a large number of wooden structures were used in temple buildings, which gave birth to a number of highly skilled professional craftsmen.

The Tang and Song dynasties were one of the golden ages of wood carving development. At this time, not only many large Buddha statues appeared, but also small ornaments and hanging screens were popular among the people. Especially in the Song Dynasty, the literati advocated a quiet and indifferent life, which promoted the diversified development of furnishings in the garden courtyard. The Ming and Qing Dynasties reached their heyday. Exquisite relief patterns can be seen everywhere on the court furniture, while the Jiangnan region has bred two unique schools of "Soviet style" and "Cantonese style" due to economic prosperity.

Although it has experienced numerous ups and downs, this ancient skill has always maintained vigorous vitality and still exudes unique charm in modern society. Nowadays, more and more young people are devoting themselves to learning this precious intangible cultural heritage, so that tradition and fashion can blend with each other and create new sparks.

Material selection: key factors for extraordinary achievements

It is not easy to create an amazing wood carving. Material selection is often the first and most important step. A variety of hard broad-leaved forest trees that grow up in the humid climate of southern China have become the preferred objects, such as nanmu, red sandalwood, and yellow poplar. These tree species are very suitable for fine carving creation because of their high density and fine and smooth texture.

nanmu has been regarded as one of the high-grade building materials since ancient times. its color is as warm as jade and its fragrance is lasting and charming. Red sandalwood is the top of the royal special luxury raw materials, hard but easy to process and form. As for boxwood, it is famous for its strong corrosion resistance and will not deform and fade even after long storage.

Not only that, excellent woodcarvers will also decide which specific types of logs to choose for creation according to different themes. For example, when making portraits of people, mahogany with uniform and stable texture is usually selected, which is not easy to crack and warp; while for the theme of landscape, it tends to choose old elm or ebony with natural and beautiful grain changes.

ingenious craftsmanship: exquisite craftsmanship of carvers

When we stand in front of a lifelike portrait of a character, we can't help but marvel at the creator's uncanny knife and pen skills. Every subtlety is vividly portrayed, as if giving life to the general vivid. And how many days and nights of hard work are hidden behind this? And how much hard work and sweat have been poured into it?

a real artist not only needs to have a solid basic skills and technical level, but also needs to have a keen insight into things and an aesthetic vision accumulated by profound cultural heritage. They tend to think over and over again in their minds until a complete blueprint is formed before they formally begin to implement it. First, according to the design drawings to determine the general outline of the line, and then gradually in-depth refinement of each part until satisfactory.

"I often think of myself as the image I want to create," a well-known woodcarver once said, "so that I can better grasp the overall feeling."

In addition to mastering various traditional techniques, modern technology has also brought unprecedented changes and development opportunities to this industry. Laser cutting machine can accurately complete complex graphics hollow processing tasks in a short period of time; CNC machine tools can automatically perform multi-angle rotary cutting operations according to pre-programmed instructions... However, no matter how advanced and efficient the tools are, the final effect still depends on the infinite creativity contained in the dexterous hands of the manual masters.

Art Treasures: The Value and Significance of Wood Carving

As an important part of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, wood carving carries rich historical memory and social value. It's not just.