Historical origin of gourd carving

Gourd has a long history of planting in China, and its voice is close to "Fulu". At the same time, the eldest son in the gourd has the meaning of generations, so people usually regard it as a mascot and call it "auspicious gourd". A gourd culture includes the life in heaven, earth and pot. Gourd ancient pen holder, commonly known as gourd melon, said in the Book of Songs: "Jingua is born for the people", which means that human beings come from gourd melon. The whole life course of China people is contained in the "three pots": "broken pot" (people produce melons), "hanging pot" (medicine helps people) and "pot day" (soul returns to pot day), all of which refer to gourd. The ancestors of many ethnic groups in our country once worshipped the gourd symbolizing the "mother" body. According to legend, Fuxi Nuwa, the ancestor of mankind, was born in Kunlun Mountain. "There is a small world hidden in the gourd, accompany me to Yunshan Wan Li. Taking away ghosts and gods is invisible, and it can be used with things. " This is Lu You, a great poet in the Song Dynasty, who sincerely praised and loved the gourd. Hulu culture permeates people's daily life. In rural China, little dolls often wear small gourds on their chests to pray for a long life. Taoists regard gourds as sacred objects, and Taoists carry gourds with them as utensils. The legendary Tie Guai Li and Magu Antarctic immortals all carry gourds as utensils, which are called "treasure gourds". Many Taoist temples and Buddhist temples use gourd as a symbol to ward off evil spirits and suppress five poisons.

Gourd can not only be used for food and medicine, but also be used as a container for water, noodles, medicine and wine after drying and ripening. It is a very common daily necessities. It can also be made into farm tools, boats, musical instruments and even firearms, which play an important role in production, transportation, entertainment and even war. In order to be beautiful, various patterns are carved on the outside of the gourd, which is the original function of the gourd carving art, and later it gradually evolved into a folk handicraft.

Time flies. 2 1 century, although we can't verify the exact origin of the carved gourd planted in Dongchang, there are still many touching legends circulating among the people. According to legend, Wang Heshang, an ancient court artist who was good at painting and carving, returned to Yan Temple in Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng City. At that time, Yan Temple was rich in gourds, and Wang Heshang carved exquisite patterns on the gourds to raise his favorite fruits. Later, local people followed suit, and gourd carving spread.

According to local documents, Dongchang gourd carving was very popular in the Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Dongchangfu was adjacent to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and was the political, economic and cultural hub of western Shandong. Businessmen gathered and were prosperous for a while. At that time, carved gourd was once an important commodity produced by farmers on both sides of the canal, and it was exported to all parts of the country with the canal.

In the new century, the origin of Dongchang carved gourd is mainly centered on Tangyi Town, Dongchangfu District, and radiates to the surrounding township offices of Yanmiao, Liulin, Sang 'a Town and Xinji Township in Liangshui Town, basically within the scope of the original Tangyi County. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China, there were many famous local artists, such as Li Wenpu, Zheng Shijun, Little Bi Heng and Topaz Valley, who were called "teachers" by local industry artists. We can't research their skills and works, and we can only trace back and taste them from the dictation and skills handed down from generation to generation by artists.