Wood carving (Putian wood carving)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: woodcarving (Putian woodcarving)

Applicant: Putian City, Fujian Province

Item No.: 834

Project No.: Ⅶ - 58

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Fujian Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Putian City, Fujian Province

Protection unit: Putian Second Light Industry Association

Introduction to wood carving (Putian wood carving)

Applicant: Putian City, Fujian Province

Putian woodcarving is the general name of woodcarving artworks produced in Putian City, Fujian Province. The materials are longan wood, boxwood, sandalwood and mahogany.

Putian wood carving has a history of nearly a thousand years. In Tang Dynasty, Putian wood carving was used to decorate buildings, as well as to carve Buddhist statues and books. The statue of Guan Yu painted by Ma Yuan of Song Dynasty, a famous sculptor in Putian, is still stored in Wanshou temple. By the Ming Dynasty, there were many artists who were good at Buddha statues and decorative sculpture in Putian. The wooden statue of Mazu in Puxi Tianfei palace not only had good facial expression, but also could move up and down, left and right. It is still well preserved.

In the Qing Dynasty, Putian woodcarving art has been further developed. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, gilded and transparent carving works have been used as tribute. Liao Mingshan, a famous craftsman in the late Qing Dynasty, was good at carving figures, flowers, insects and fish with inch wood. His grandson Liao Xi and other five brothers were all famous sculptors. His works won many awards at the Panama world expo.

Putian wood carving has beautiful shape and exquisite craftsmanship. It is especially famous for its traditional crafts such as three-dimensional round carving, fine carving and triple through carving. Due to different materials, longan wood carving, boxwood carving, sandalwood carving and mahogany carving all show their own style characteristics. Most of their works are treasured by rich and noble families, and have attracted many overseas antique dealers to buy them.