Bamboo carving (Liuqing bamboo carving in Wuxi)

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

Applicant: Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province

Project No.: 345

Project No.: Ⅶ - 46

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Jiangsu Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province

Protection unit: Wuxi Folk Art Museum

Introduction to bamboo carving (Liuqing bamboo carving in Wuxi)

Applicant: Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province

Wuxi bamboo carving has a long history, diverse techniques, elegant and simple style, unique. As early as the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Xihuang, a famous bamboo Carver from Wuxi, established the technique of shallow landscape carving in Liuqing, which played an exemplary role in the history of Chinese bamboo carving. In the Qing Dynasty, the bamboo carving technology spread continuously in Wuxi and produced many important works. In 1915, Zhang Ruizhi, a Wuxi bamboo Carver and Jinshi artist, opened the "shuangqixuan Art Workshop" on Fuxing Road in the center of Wuxi City, which was inscribed by Wu Zhihui. After a long period of development, Wuxi bamboo carving has developed from Yinwen shallow carving to Liuqing shallow carving, bodiyangwen, Yangwen rough ground and other carving methods. It is famous for its fine, elegant and beautiful artistic features along the Shanghai Nanjing line.

In the early stage, Wuxi bamboo carving was mainly based on fine engraving, followed by famous calligraphy and painting. Wuxi bamboo carvers express the charm of calligraphy and painting incisively and vividly through the depth and astringency of the knife. The works are ancient, fresh and elegant, showing a strong literati temperament.

After 1949, Wuxi bamboo carving techniques developed from the original light carving to relief, opencut and round carving, and gradually formed a unique way of fusing the light carving with relief, opencut and round carving, which is unique in Jiangnan bamboo carving art garden. The bamboo carvers in Wuxi shuangqixuan are good at calligraphy, painting and writing. They have created a large number of exquisite works in practice.

At present, Wuxi bamboo carving practitioners are increasingly scarce, the main artists are only four, the survival and development is extremely difficult. It is very difficult to learn such difficult skills as round carving, relief carving and openwork carving, which leads to the lack of successors in this traditional craft. Without protection and support, Wuxi bamboo carving, which has a long history and excellent craftsmanship, is bound to decline.