Bamboo carving (Jiading bamboo carving)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Bamboo carving (Jiading bamboo carving)

Applicant: Jiading District, Shanghai

Project No.: 345

Project No.: Ⅶ - 46

Time of publication: 2006 (the first batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Shanghai

Type: new item

Applicant: Jiading District, Shanghai

Protection unit: Bamboo carving Association of Jiading District, Shanghai

Introduction to bamboo carving (Jiading bamboo carving)

Applicant: Jiading District, Shanghai

Jiading bamboo carving technology is popular in Jiading area of Shanghai. Jiading is located in the northwest of Shanghai, with Liuhe River in the north. Jiading bamboo carving was created by Zhu He during the reign of Zhengde and Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1506-1566), and was mainly inherited in Jiading County (District).

Zhu He integrated the art of calligraphy and painting into bamboo carving, and created a "profound technique" characterized by penetrating carving and deep carving, making bamboo carving an independent ornamental art. Zhu Ying, his son, and Zhu Zhizheng, his grandson, both inherited the bamboo carving techniques of the previous generation and brought forth new ones. Zhu Ying's Sabre technique is more abundant than Zhu He's, and Zhu Zhizheng's achievement further surpasses his father's and grandparent's. Zhu Ying's Sabre technique is magical, and his style is simple and elegant, simple and honest. The three generations established the basic character of Jiading bamboo carving art, which was called "three Zhu" in history. After the "three Zhu", Li Liufang, Lou Jian and other "Jiading four gentlemen" not only did calligraphy and painting, but also inherited Zhu's "profound method" to carve bamboo for recreation. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, Wu created a kind of Yangwen carving method, which was beautiful, vigorous and varied, and was called "uncanny Craftsmanship" at that time. Another three brothers, Feng Xilu, Feng xijue and Feng Xizhang, are good at round carving, and they are good at figures. Their works are vivid and vivid, pushing Jiading bamboo carving into its heyday. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, there were many schools of bamboo carving in Jiading, with Zhou Hao as the leader. Zhou Hao collected the great achievement of Jiading bamboo carvings. His works are as vivid as a pen with a knife. He is known as the "top product" in the world. Zhou Li and Shi tianzhang were equally famous with Zhou Hao. They were called "three artists of Jiading". As early as the early Qing Dynasty, Jiading bamboo carvings were sent to the court as tributes. Kangxi and Yongzheng not only collected them, but also called the artists Feng Xilu, Feng Xizhang and Shi tianzhang into the inner court to worship them. Emperor Qianlong wrote his poems on the penholder for Jiading bamboo carvings artists to burn. In the late Qing Dynasty, Jiading bamboo carvings were concentrated in Jiading City, with numerous workshops and shops. Shidajing's wenxiuzhai, Han Yu's yunxiashi, ye Duanfu's cuiqingzhai, Zhang Xuehai's wenyuzhai, Zhu Houfu's youyangzu, fan Yatang's wenyuanzhai, Shen Zhuxiang's ruizhizhai, pan songyunzhai and Xie Yinxuan all had a certain influence, but there were some differences At this time, the whole bamboo carving industry has begun to stagnate and gradually decline. After 1949, Jiading bamboo carving had professional guild organizations and research institutions. Traditionally, Jiading bamboo carvings were handed down by the way of family and apprenticeship. Zhu's relief carving school, Feng's round carving school, Wu's Bodhi Yangwen school, Zhou's Nanzong painting school and many other schools have their successors. Now the main inheritors of this skill are fan Xunyuan, Zhang yingyao, fan Qichang, Ding Liliang, Wang Wei, Wang Leping, Zhang Weizhong, Jiang Yuming, Su Yurong, Zhuang long, Zhou Keng, Zhang Weizhong, Jiang Yuming, etc.

Jiading's Bamboo carving artists use knives instead of writing. They integrate calligraphy, painting, poetry, writing and printing into a whole, giving bamboo a new life. Bamboo carving works have acquired the style of books and the taste of gold and stone. They are elegant and vulgar, and become the elegant play of literati and officials in the past dynasties. The shapes of Jiading bamboo carvings are mostly suitable for literati's taste. The varieties of bamboo carvings include pen barrel, incense barrel (fumigation), armrest, screen insertion and cuddle made of bamboo tube and bamboo slice, as well as figures, landscapes, plants and animals made of bamboo root. Its techniques include more than ten kinds, such as shallow carving, deep carving, light relief, deep relief, openwork carving and round carving. It has obvious regional style and distinct originality, and its aesthetic value far exceeds its practical value.

Because Jiading bamboo carving is purely manual operation, the process is complex, the production is time-consuming and laborious, it is difficult to form large-scale production, and the economic benefit is low, so most of the artists have changed their jobs. The Chinese painters trained by the Academy of fine arts also did not carve bamboo with their swords. There was a lack of communication between calligraphers and painters and bamboo carvers. As a result, the cultural connotation of Jiading bamboo carving was gradually lost. In addition, with the pace of urbanization, large areas of bamboo forests disappear, and the raw materials of bamboo carving are scarce. All of these lead to the decline of Jiading bamboo carving skills, and it is urgent to formulate measures to rescue them.