Zigang Jade Brand was named after Lu Zigang, a jade worker in Jiajing Wanli period of Ming Dynasty. I have seen some Zigangyu brands on Bao Bo Art Network.
Lu Zigang is from Taicang, Jiangsu. According to historical records, Lu Zigang's jade carving is not a good material, and his sculptor is exquisite and exquisite, paying attention to the description of background details. I am used to making rectangular jade cards, and my skills are not as good as others, so I call them "Zigang cards". Because Lu Zigang's works won the championship. The price is twice that of ordinary jade pieces, attracting the world to follow suit. Legend has it that Lu Zigang's skills were not passed on to future generations after his death.
Zigang brand is rare. At present, there are a considerable number of Zigangyu brands in museums and private collections at home and abroad, most of which were copied by future generations in the late Ming and Qing Dynasties. Yu Xiansheng said that in ancient times, the Zigang brand was often the keepsake of men and women ... Those who played with jade had to know the "Zigang soil" in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou, Beijing and Yangzhou were the three jade carving centers in China, especially Suzhou. Song Yingxing said in "Tiangong Wu Kai": "Although good workers gather in the capital, they skillfully push Su Shao." According to historical records, there appeared jade carving masters such as He Si, Liu Patent and so on in Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty. Lu Zigang is the most famous. Although he was only a simple craftsman, his jade carving skills were called "Wuzhong stunt", and the jade he made was called "Zigangyu", which was sought after by dignitaries at that time and was very precious. At that time, Suzhou people also compared "Purple Harbor Jade" with contemporary Tang Bohu.
Lu Zigang was born in Taicang (now Taicang City) near Suzhou during Jiajing and Wanli periods of Ming Dynasty. He studied in a jade workshop in Hengtang outside Suzhou since childhood, and he became a very comprehensive master in jade carving. He raised the male pattern, hollowed out the carving, carved the negative line, especially the technique of reducing the land on the plane, which can make it present an artistic effect similar to shallow carving. The jade carvings we made are various, imitating the Han Dynasty, taking the method from the Song Dynasty, which is quite old, forming the artistic characteristics of emptiness, floating and thinness. Empty, that is, the contrast between virtual and real, the density is appropriate, so that people do not feel burdensome, but have an ethereal feeling; Gone with the wind refers to the vivid sitting posture and smooth lines, which makes people feel dull and elegant; Fine means careful thinking and exquisite design, which makes people feel wonderful but not rough and swollen. If the carved water is like a fairy hairpin, it will be ingenious. The stems and branches under the receptacle are as thin as a millimeter and continuous, showing the delicate state of flowers in a trembling way. It's really hard to imagine that it was carved with jade.
It is still a mystery what tool Lu Zigang used to carve jade so exquisitely. Moreover, he is very particular about cutting jade, and there is a saying that "jade is not beautiful, jade is not good, and jade is not good". You know, the better the jade, the harder it is to carve. According to Lu Yugang himself, all his unique skills come from the original precision carving knife "Kunwu". But this "Kunwu Dao" has never been kept secret from others, and the waving skills have never been passed down. Lu Zigang is famous all over the world. Ming Taizu, Mu Zong and Zhu Zaiyu, after hearing this, specially ordered him to carve a picture of a hundred horses on the jade finger. He was not stumped, but finished it in a few days. On the small jade finger, he carved the breath of mountains and rivers and a wide-open city gate, but only carved three horses, one galloping in the city, one galloping towards the city gate, and one just emerged from the valley. Only in this way can people feel that there are countless Ma Benteng horses coming out. He expressed the meaning of a hundred horses in a virtual way, which was wonderful. Since then, his jade carving has become the exclusive product of the royal family.
In the Palace Museum, Lu Zigang's Jade Baby Pot and Jade Landscape Figure Square Box are still treasured. Most of Lu Zigang's jade carvings are engraved with Zigang or Zigang and Zigang system. During the Wanli period, Ming Shenzong Zhu Yi ordered him to carve a jade pot, and he was not allowed to do so. He skillfully left his name on the mouth of the jade pot by using the skill of internal carving only by hand. Lu Zigang didn't leave his "Kunwu Dao", nor did he pass on his fencing skills. The carving skill of "Zigangyu" is still a stunt, which is difficult to imitate. Since the Qing Dynasty, there have been many imitations of Zigangyu, and many experts have done them, but the carving level is far from that of Zigangyu. In the Qing Dynasty, Suzhou jade industry worshipped Lu Zigang as the founder of this industry.