Stone carving (chrysanthemum stone carving)

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

Applicant: Liuyang City, Hunan Province

Project No.: 832

Project No.: Ⅶ - 56

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Hunan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Liuyang City, Hunan Province

Protection unit: Liuyang Chrysanthemum Stone Industry Association

Introduction to stone carving (chrysanthemum stone carving)

Applicant: Liuyang City, Hunan 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.

Chrysanthemum stone carving is a traditional stone carving art based on chrysanthemum stone, which is mainly distributed in Liuyang City, Hunan Province. It is said that the stone carvings of chrysanthemums have a history of more than 260 years in Liuyang, and the shaped works were once presented to the imperial court as tribute. Chrysanthemum stone, also known as "stone chrysanthemum", is a kind of rare stone. There are white patterns in the dark gray stone, just like the blooming chrysanthemum. Local stone carving artists make full use of the characteristics of stone, carefully design according to its natural texture, shape and color, and skillfully carve to highlight the "Chrysanthemum" hidden in the stone. Chrysanthemum stone carving technology has a set of technology designed according to the characteristics of materials and modeling needs. The whole carving process consists of more than ten links, such as material collection, material selection, flowering, modeling, design, carving, painting and sealing, and seat bottom making. After processing, the simple stone becomes a lifelike work of chrysanthemum stone carving, which integrates the beauty of material and craftsmanship, fully showing the aesthetic character and artistic creativity of folk artists.