Stone carving (Fangcheng stone monkey)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: stone carving (Fangcheng stone monkey)

Applicant: Fangcheng County, Henan Province

Project No.: 832

Project No.: Ⅶ - 56

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Henan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Fangcheng County, Henan Province

Protection unit: Fangcheng County Cultural Center

Introduction to stone carving (stone monkey in Fangcheng)

Applicant: Fangcheng County, Henan Province

Stone carving, also known as "stone carving", is a traditional hand carving technique with stone as raw material. China's stone carving art has a long history. It has been carried on for thousands of years and has been handed down to the present day. It shows the exquisite technology, ingenious conception and abundant creativity of traditional folk crafts. Stone carving is usually created on natural stone materials such as marble, granite, bluestone and sandstone. In this process, a series of skilled folk carving techniques such as round carving, relief carving, openwork carving and line carving are used. Because these stone materials are natural and can be preserved for a long time, stone carving techniques are mostly used to make large-scale sculptures and decorative sculptures. According to the use, stone carving products can be divided into three categories: first, building components and decorations, such as platform base, memorial archway, stone lion, etc.; second, god Buddha statues, such as the statues of Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi Province and Longmen Grottoes in Henan Province; third, daily necessities, such as desk ornaments and inkstones, which can be appreciated and used. Traditional stone carving used axes, hammers and chisels as tools. In modern times, some more advanced tools such as glycerine powder and simple machinery were used. With the development of society, the stone carving technology is improving day by day. As a unique commodity, the related products are widely circulated in the market and have unique artistic charm.

Fangcheng stone monkey is a kind of folk stone carving art with talc as raw material. It is mainly spread in Fangcheng County, Henan Province, and gets its name because it mainly carves monkey images. Talc is commonly known as "flower stone" in Fangcheng. It is soft in texture, white in color and glossy in surface. The light yellow rib pattern mixed in the middle has a natural beauty and is suitable for carving. It is said that stone monkey in Fangcheng originated in Song Dynasty, and its history can be traced back to Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty, Wang Jiankui and other local stone monkey artists were the representative ones in Fangcheng, whose skills have continued to this day in the form of family inheritance. Fangcheng stone monkey works have a variety of styles, such as single monkey, double monkey, mother and son monkey, monkey backed monkey and so on, which are consistent with the local folk customs and show the auspicious meaning. After the stone monkey of Fangcheng is carved into shape, it needs to be colored or decorated with the special red, yellow, green and black pigments, and finally covered with tung oil. Fangcheng stone monkey's works are simple in style, straightforward in nature, and show honest local color and strong local flavor. In Fangcheng, the stone monkey is regarded as a mascot, which is often used as a gift or a treasure.