Carving Time: The Historical Beauty and Craftsmanship of Chinese Woodcarving

Chinese woodcarving art originated in the Neolithic period. There were woodcarvings in Hemudu, Yuyao, Zhejiang more than 7,000 years ago. The woodcarving craftsmanship of the Qin and Han dynasties became mature. The colored woodcarving marks that the ancient woodcarving craftsmanship has reached a fairly high level. The woodcarving craftsmanship of the Tang Dynasty has become perfect. Many preserved wooden Buddha statues are masterpieces of ancient Chinese art. Woodcarving is divided into two categories: craft woodcarving and artistic woodcarving. Among them, craft woodcarving can be divided into ornamental and practical. After hundreds of years of development, the five major schools of Dongyang, Yueqing, Fujian, Guangdong, and Central Plains have each formed a unique craft style. "Woodcarving art is referred to as wood art"
The history of woodcarving
Wood was originally a living object. Since ancient times, people have discovered their special gentleness and beauty, as well as their simple qualities. Our ancestors used local materials and applied their skills according to the materials to create many exquisite woodcarving artworks. It has the characteristics of concise shape, skillful and smooth knife skills, and clear and bright lines. The themes of woodcarving in the Ming and Qing Dynasties are mostly auspicious patterns and mythological stories. Themes such as auspiciousness, abundant harvest, dragon and phoenix, peace and prosperity, pine and crane longevity, etc. were very popular in the society at that time.
Materials used for wood carving
Considering the characteristics of wood being warm, expanding with heat and contracting with cold, in order to prevent it from cracking or mildewing, the materials used for wood carving artworks are extremely sophisticated. Commonly used are camphor wood, beech wood, Chinese torreya, red pine wood, basswood, cypress wood, boxwood, rosewood, etc. ... Among them, the wood with excellent stability and performance that is generally loved by sculptors and collectors is cypress wood.
Crafts
Wood carving crafts are one of the art categories that people love and collect, and they occupy an important position in the history of Chinese art. There are many types of it, and the classification methods are not unified. In the various wood carvings, the three-dimensional beauty and craftsmanship created by environmentally friendly materials and craftsmanship are fully demonstrated.
Ornamentality refers to the artworks displayed and placed on tables, tables, desks, and shelves for people to appreciate. It is carved using the technology of three-dimensional round sculpture, such as birds and beasts, flowers, birds, fish, insects, marine life, the twelve zodiac signs, etc.; practicality refers to the use of wood carving technology to decorate the artworks that combine practicality and art, such as palace lanterns, mirror frames, pen holders, pen holders, jewelry boxes, piggy banks, and furniture carvings.
Artistic wood carvings usually refer to works with ingenious ideas, profound connotations, and can reflect the author's aesthetics and artistic skills, fully reflecting the interest of wood carving art and the beauty of environmentally friendly materials. Artistic wood carvings are the product of the sculptor's ingenuity, and are also artworks for decoration, decoration, beautification of the environment, and cultivation of sentiment. They have high ornamental value and collection value. For example, our common root carvings.
Round carvings are simulated animal carvings, also known as three-dimensional carvings, which can be appreciated from multiple directions and angles. Round carvings are the overall expression of art on carvings. Viewers can see all sides of the object from different angles, and they are carved from front, back, left, right, top, middle, and bottom.
Relief: A sculpture that carves out convex and concave images on a plane. It is an artistic expression between round carvings and paintings.
Root carving is an art form that uses the natural and distorted forms of tree roots (including tree knots, bamboo roots, etc.) as the subject of artistic creation. Through the conception of artistic processing and craftsmanship, it creates artistic images of people, animals, utensils, etc. Root carving art is a plastic art that discovers the beauty of nature and displays creative processing, so-called "three parts artificial, seven parts natural."