China's Four Famous Woodcarvings refer to boxwood carvings, Dongyang woodcarvings, gold lacquer woodcarvings and Guangdong Chaozhou woodcarvings. These woodcarving art treasures are deeply loved by people for their exquisite craftsmanship, unique style and rich connotations, and have become an important part of Chinese culture.
Chinese woodcarving art has a long history and is spread all over the country. Prosperity and decline are intertwined, changing like the ebb and flow of the tide. Influenced by regional folk customs, cultural differences and resource endowments, each school has its own merits in material selection and craftsmanship, thus giving birth to many unique local styles. Among the many schools, Dongyang woodcarving, Yueqing boxwood carving, Guangdong Chaozhou gold lacquer woodcarving and Fujian longan woodcarving are particularly eye-catching and are known as the "Four Major Woodcarvings in China". Next, let us explore the unique charm of these four schools one by one.
Dongyang woodcarving, with its profound historical heritage and outstanding artistic achievements, is the leader among the four major woodcarvings in China and is known as the "national treasure". Originated from Dongyang, Zhejiang, it opened the glorious history of wood carving as early as the Tang Dynasty. The woodcarving artists passed down from generation to generation, with their exquisite craftsmanship and endless creativity, created countless masterpieces, making Dongyang a veritable "hometown of wood carving".
Dongyang woodcarving is not only artistic, but also famous for its unique relief technique. In the design, it cleverly uses composition methods such as scattered perspective and bird's-eye perspective, making the overall layout full and scattered, complicated but not disordered, with clear layers, clear themes, and fascinating storylines, so it is deeply favored by many collectors. Whether it is carved beams and painted buildings, or the decoration of door lintels, rafters, window panes, railings, and flying covers and hangings, Dongyang woodcarving can show the simple, elegant and magnificent style, which is undoubtedly the best interpretation of the unique decorative role of woodcarving art in ancient buildings.
Next, we will take a deeper look at another type of woodcarving art-longan woodcarving.
Longan woodcarving is named after the longan wood, a specialty of Fujian. This wood is hard, fine-grained, and warm in color, making it particularly suitable for carving. The roots of old longan trees have peculiar shapes, with scars and knots intertwined, providing endless creative inspiration for woodcarving artists.
Longan woodcarvings are often steady and vivid in shape, with reasonable layout and beautiful structure. They not only incorporate precise anatomical principles, but also creative exaggeration and deformation techniques. In terms of carving techniques, there is both a rough axe-chopped and chiseled feeling, and a delicate rounded depiction. The characters are lifelike, with smooth clothing lines and rich texture. The overall color tone of the product is simple and steady, revealing a kind of "antique" charm.
In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, with the separation of architecture and Buddha statue carving, longan woodcarving gradually shifted from large-scale Buddha statue carving to indoor display of artworks. This transformation not only adapts to the folk custom of worshiping gods and Buddhas, but also allows the artistic charm of longan woodcarving to be more widely spread and appreciated.
Gold-lacquered woodcarving, a traditional carving art of the Han nationality in Chaozhou, Guangdong, originated in the Tang Dynasty, reached its peak in the Song Dynasty, and has been passed down for thousands of years. It uses camphor wood as the carving material, with exquisite craftsmanship, and can present delicate images of people, scenery, birds and animals, as well as flowers, birds, insects and fish. These works are hollowed out in multiple layers, with a strong sense of three-dimensionality and exquisiteness. After being carefully carved, pure gold foil is affixed to make the works shine and magnificent. In temples, ancestral halls, mansions, and halls, these lifelike gold-lacquered woodcarving crafts can be seen everywhere. They not only decorate the space, but also contain deep meaning, with a strong story, and are thought-provoking. At the same time, the statues for worship are often made of camphor wood. After being painted and gilded, they highlight their noble status and show a magnificent artistic effect. Boxwood carving is named after the boxwood used for its carving. This wood grows very slowly, often taking 40 to 50 years to grow to a diameter of about 15 cm, so there is a saying that "it takes a thousand years for boxwood to grow". According to legend, a folk artist who sculpted statues of gods and Buddhas discovered the uniqueness of boxwood by chance: it has a tough texture, fine texture, and yellow color, just like ivory. As time goes by, the color gradually deepens, which is both simple and beautiful. What is more rare is that its hardness is moderate, making it an ideal choice for carving small round sculptures. After painting, boxwood carvings are initially ginger yellow, then gradually turn orange yellow. As time goes by, the color changes from light to dark, and finally becomes reddish brown, which makes people feel a simple and elegant charm, and is even more precious.
Boxwood carvings cover a wide range of themes, but they mainly show characters in Chinese folk myths and legends, such as the Eight Immortals, the God of Longevity, Guan Gong, Maitreya Buddha, and Guanyin. These works not only carry a profound cultural heritage, but also present the characters in myths and legends vividly in front of people through exquisite carving techniques.