Woodcarving: A folk art passed down for thousands of years
Woodcarving, a sculpture art known as "folk craft", has a long history in China. It usually uses fine and tough trees that are not easy to deform as raw materials, such as nanmu, red sandalwood, camphor wood, etc. After being carved by the skillful hands of craftsmen, it finally presents a unique artistic charm.
There are many types of woodcarving, mainly including round carving, relief carving and hollow carving. These works not only focus on the shaping of the form, but also pursue perfection in details, and even use coloring to further protect the wood and beautify the works.
On June 7, 2008, the folk craft of woodcarving was approved by the State Council and officially included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, which is undoubtedly the best proof of its profound cultural heritage and exquisite craftsmanship.
It is generally believed that China's woodcarving art originated in the Neolithic period. However, in fact, woodcarving art, like other sculpture arts, has existed since the birth of mankind. At first, it was just a natural behavior without a clear aesthetic consciousness. It was not until later that people began to appreciate and pursue beauty, and wood carving gradually evolved into a true art.
A wooden fish was unearthed in the Hemudu cultural site in Yuyao, Zhejiang, and it is hailed as a treasure in the history of Chinese wood carving. This wooden fish is 11 cm long, 5 cm wide, and 7 cm thick. It is lifelike in shape, and the whole body is carved with round patterns of varying sizes using intaglio techniques, showing the exquisite craftsmanship of ancient people.
With the advent of the Warring States Period, China's wood carving art ushered in a booming development. This is due to the widespread use of metal tools, which made the wood carving skills more exquisite. The Warring States wood carving maid collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing is an outstanding representative of this period.
Entering the Qin and Han Dynasties, the trend of lavish burials prevailed, and wooden figurines began to appear in large numbers as burial objects, which further promoted the prosperity of wood carving art.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the prosperity of Buddhist statues, stone carvings and wooden Buddha statues gradually became fashionable. Emperor Wu of Liang vigorously built temples in Jiangnan, which not only promoted the rapid development of architectural sculpture art, but also made the carving skills reach the realm of perfection.
In the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, wood carving crafts gradually became an important part of architectural decoration. Especially in the Tang Dynasty, wood carving art shone brightly, and many artworks spread overseas through the Silk Road and were deeply loved by overseas people.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, wood carving art further prospered, and the themes became more extensive and diverse. Most of the works are based on life customs and mythological stories, covering rich themes such as auspiciousness, bumper harvests, dragons and phoenixes, peace and happiness, and pine and crane longevity, which are deeply loved by the people. During this period, wood carving art reached its peak, fully demonstrating the outstanding skills of our country's craftsmen.