Zi Gang created many jade carvings in his life, including exquisite baby paintings, jade pots, jade pendants with ring handles, exquisite study jade washing, jade pen holders and tea crystal flower inserts, jade pendants with "exquisite and exquisite stems" and "one price is worth five or six gold", and even more attractive jade brands.
The jade pendant made in Zigong is square or rectangular, generous and three-dimensional, just like a brand, so it is called Zigong brand for short. The special charm of Zigang brand is reflected in its unique shape, delicate jade quality and exquisite carving style, and its appreciation of the artistic style of Luzigang jade carving. Fangzigang brand, which is not used in Hotan, Xinjiang, is white and flawless, moist and warm, with outstanding patterns. With superb jade carving skills, more ground relief patterns are made, and the patterns of calligraphy and painting are beautifully expressed in the form of bas-relief. Often a picture of landscapes, flowers and birds, figures and animals, although crushed with jade cutting tools, still does not lose the painter's pen and ink interest; On the other hand, poems and songs are all carved, like dragons and phoenixes flying, as if a famous calligrapher had written them directly, and he had just printed them. Carving China's calligraphy and painting art on the front and back of the jade brand, coupled with the exquisite decoration of the brand head, has high appreciation and endless fun, which is the main reason for the popularity of Zigang brand.
The tree attracts the wind, Zigang brand is better than Changyu, and the price is higher than. Once published, it was immediately loved by the ruling and opposition parties, especially the literati. Often demand exceeds supply, forming a lot of imitation wind. Not only did it secretly imitate in the Ming Dynasty, but even in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, many jade shops in Suzhou and Yangzhou were still imitating Zigang brand, and there was still a big market. There are still many people who have feelings for Zigang brand. After the Ming Dynasty, a kind of jade brand with Zigang style instead of Zigang style appeared, which is called Zigang style brand, which is different from Zigang brand made by Lu Zigang himself.
Superb craftsmanship is generally passed down from generation to generation, from son to grandson, which has become an ancestral housework. Zi Gang refused to be an apprentice for some reason. "I am dead, and the technology is not passed on." It is said that Zigang carved "Zigang Kuan" on a dragon-shaped jade article, which was later denounced, offended the emperor and was secretly executed. Although Lu Zigang's life story is fragmented and contains legendary elements, it is still a rare reference for us to distinguish "Zigang brand" from "Zigang model brand". From this, we can roughly see three points. First, "Zigang Brand" embodies the jade carving style of difficult bas-relief in the late Ming Dynasty, which is meticulously carved and meticulous; "Zigang Brand" embodies the jade craft in the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China. Although it is similar to Zigang brand on the surface, it lacks charm between the lines. Second, "Zigang brand" is mostly jade brand worn by literati, so the pattern is auspicious or interesting to meet the needs of the people. Third, Zigang's main activity is in Zhuxiang, Suzhou. He is a folk jade carving artist, not a court jade worker. His jade carving works can't have the dragon and phoenix theme that is common in the palace, otherwise it is a taboo. A large number of popular dragon and phoenix "Zigang brand" should be jade articles in the late Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China.