Jinling bamboo carving

The prosperity of bamboo carving art in the late Ming Dynasty was also related to the social aesthetic atmosphere at that time. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the social fashion changed from the "simplicity" fashion in the early Ming Dynasty to "no lofty halls at home, no extravagant clothes", and social life gradually became extravagant. The gentry and literati "lead extravagance and extravagance", embroidering households to carve buildings and flower stone gardens, and the original quaint bamboo utensils have also begun to be finely crafted, becoming their favorite desk play. As far as the wind is concerned, ordinary citizens are also dancing in groups. This objectively promoted the development of bamboo carving art.

In Ming and Qing Dynasties, the bamboo carving art, especially the Jiading School founded by Zhu He and the Jinling School founded by Pu Zhongqian, was the most prominent, and the two schools kept pace with each other, which became a double gem in the history of bamboo carving art in China.

Jiading Bamboo School was founded by Zhu He and Qin Long (1522- 1572) during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. He is good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, and has profound artistic attainments. Knowing the ancient seal, the secret seal is not passed on. Therefore, in the design and production of bamboo carvings, brushwork is often integrated with knife method. Pen holder, incense burner, armrest, Buddha statue, etc. The production is simple and clumsy, but also subtle and meticulous, mostly carved in five or six layers in parallel for "hollowing out". In his view, if the bamboo carving is impenetrable and deeply carved, it can't be carved. Different from Jiading bamboo school, which is exquisite and deliberately seeking work, Jinling bamboo school is famous for its simple carving style. This technique is not deep and the level is not reduced. The surface is slightly scratched, but the artistic conception is profound. At the same time, the Jinling Bamboo Party attaches great importance to the use of round carvings and selects strict materials. When carving, he is good at taking shapes without artificial modification, which is simple and elegant. Jinling School is good at bamboo carving calligraphy, which adds a strong literati flavor to the traditional bamboo carving in China. This is the artistic charm of Jinling Bamboo School and the concrete embodiment of its main features.