Chinese woodcarving art originated in the Neolithic period.
But in fact, woodcarving art, like other sculpture arts, was born with the birth of human beings; it was just an unconscious behavior at the beginning, and it was not until people had aesthetics that woodcarving truly became an art.
Woodcarving art originated in China during the Neolithic period. Woodcarving fish appeared in the Hemudu culture in Yuyao, Zhejiang more than 7,000 years ago. The woodcarving craftsmanship of the Qin and Han dynasties became mature, and the painting and carving techniques were exquisite and perfect.
The emergence of colored woodcarvings marked that the ancient woodcarving craftsmanship had reached a fairly high level.
The Tang Dynasty was a period when Chinese craftsmanship and technology flourished, and woodcarving craftsmanship became more and more perfect. Many wooden Buddha statues that have been preserved to this day are masterpieces of ancient Chinese art, with concise shapes, skillful and smooth knife skills, and clear and bright lines. They have become the "darlings" of the art market at home and abroad today.
The themes of wood carvings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were mostly about life customs and mythological stories. Wood carvings such as "Auspicious and Abundant", "Abundant Grains", "Dragon and Phoenix", "Safe and Prosperous", "Pine and Crane Longevity" were very popular in the society at that time.
There are many types of wood carvings. After hundreds of years of development, the major schools have formed their own unique craftsmanship styles and are well-known throughout the country. Dongyang wood carving was born in Dongyang, Zhejiang in the Song Dynasty. It is good at carving, with beautiful patterns and exquisite structures.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, more than 400 craftsmen in Dongyang, known as the "hometown of carvings", were summoned to the capital to repair the palace; Yueqing boxwood carvings have become one of China's folk wood carving crafts since the mid-Qing Dynasty, and are famous for carving small boxwood furnishings at home and abroad; Guangdong gold lacquer wood carvings originated in the Tang Dynasty. It is carved with camphor wood, then painted and gilded, and has a strong artistic effect.
Inheritance and Development
Wood carving is carved with various woods and tree roots as materials, and is an important category in traditional carving techniques. Woodcarving has a very long history. A woodcarving fish was unearthed at the Hemudu Cultural Site in Yuyao, Zhejiang. This is the earliest physical object in the history of woodcarving in my country. The woodcarving beast unearthed from the Warring States Tomb in Xinyang, Henan, and the colored woodcarving servant unearthed from the Han Tomb in Yunmeng, Hubei are both early woodcarving works in my country. Due to the difficulty of preservation, it is difficult to see woodcarving works that are more than a thousand years old today.
Woodcarving works were more common during the Song Dynasty. At this time, woodcarvings were made with fine-textured wood as a carrier, which was conducive to the inheritance of woodcarving works. Some temples in my country still preserve woodcarving works from the Song Dynasty.
Due to the rapid development of overseas trade during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the types of wood increased. Many hard woods imported from overseas led to the rapid development of woodcarving technology.
The Ming and Qing Dynasties were a glorious period for woodcarving art. A large number of historically verifiable masters, artists and their works emerged, which was a peak of ancient woodcarving art.
From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, due to the corruption of the government, the decline of national strength, the invasion of foreign powers, the people were in poverty, and the wood carving art declined from then on. Artists and masters could only live as craftsmen. After the founding of New China, under the care of the Party and the country, folk crafts were protected and excavated, and wood carvings were revived, and a group of national masters emerged. Their works are exquisitely crafted, adhering to tradition, with profound intentions, and praising the times. They reflect the masters' deep feelings of being based on tradition, keen on innovation, and expressing their renewed mind and serving the country.
The country's reform and opening up, economic take-off, and national prosperity and people's strength, the strong support of the Party and the country for folk crafts, have aroused the people's love and pursuit of traditional arts and crafts. In this prosperous era, folk arts and crafts have made a new leap, and wood carving art is no exception. Faced with the actual situation, in the national handicraft exhibition, the authors of excellent works are older, and there are very few young authors.
As time goes by, a serious problem lies before us. How to inspire young people's interest in making folk crafts, how to cultivate qualified successors, and how to ensure that folk art careers are not left without successors, this is the work that is attempted and studied in addition to normal artistic creation. How to effectively protect folk art and inherit folk traditional culture has become a common issue of the times faced by the government, scholars and artists. As a successful artist, he should use his influence to pass on knowledge while becoming famous.
The previous form of inheritance can be changed. Folk crafts are mostly produced and operated by individual families, and there is no reliable guarantee in terms of economic sources and sales of works. In particular, there are more difficulties and problems in continuing, extending, inheriting and developing. If there are no very suitable and ideal family heirs, and the society does not pay attention and support, many folk art treasures may be discontinued in our generation. This urgently requires us to carry out cultural rescue so that these precious artworks and art forms can be protected. However, the difficulty encountered is that due to the high development of the machine manufacturing industry, more and more time-consuming manual operations are squeezed out. For example, it is common to spend several days on a simple wood carving, but it only takes tens of minutes with a machine.
For the same work, due to the huge difference in cost and price, the share of handmade products in the market is getting smaller and smaller. Secondly, it is precisely because the profit space has squeezed the living space of folk handicrafts that, under the pressure of low cost, shoddy handmade wood carvings are everywhere.
Handmade wood carvings have gradually lost their inherent cultural value and are increasingly on the edge of social culture. In order to make wood carvings stand out in the market, it is necessary to produce excellent works of art that cannot be mass-produced by machines, which requires the author to have superb skills. However, mastering comprehensive and solid skills is by no means a one-day job. Many art masters hope to find good disciples so that their skills can be passed on and carried forward, but there are not many young people interested in folk crafts. Regardless of the type of craft, the author is required to love the craft itself, be focused, be willing to use his brain, be able to endure loneliness, and resist the temptation of the outside world. Regular exhibitions of works are held in society to allow the general public, especially young people, to have a deep perceptual understanding of traditional art, from liking to yearning, and to devote themselves to it and gradually deepen. Government departments should pay more attention to artists, especially young and middle-aged artists, so that they can focus on artistic creation without having to rush for a living. Report more successful artists in the media to make young people understand that engaging in art will eventually bring great honor and is a good career that benefits society and individuals. While taking apprentices, incorporating wood carving art into the teaching and research of higher art colleges and universities, and teaching by example on the podium, this is the urgent and long-term task of art education reform in the new era.