Miniature carving is a traditional Chinese arts and crafts. The so-called microcarving, as the name suggests, is a carving technique that is famous for its tiny details. Microcarving is divided into three-dimensional carving and two-dimensional calligraphy and painting carving. The two-dimensional calligraphy and painting carving is also called "microcarving". The ones that go in belong to the category of "yin carving" and "shallow carving", while the three-dimensional carving refers to "round carving", "relief carving" and "open carving" and belong to the category of Yang carving. Micro carving is both a micro art and a calligraphy and painting art. The difference is that These works are extremely small. For example, the world's smallest oil painting "Mona Lisa" by miniature sculptor Shi Feng is only 4 mm x 5 mm. Although the work is one hundred thousandth of the original work, when viewed under a 180x microscope, some The details, the texture of the oil painting, the expressions of the characters, the proportions and colors, the relationship between distance and light and darkness are still handled very realistically. To appreciate the miniature sculptures, the environment must be quiet. When you go deeper, you will be taken into another quiet micro world, and you will forget about your surroundings. Everything, this kind of feeling is not found in other arts. Only the art of miniature sculpture has this unique charm.
The history of miniature sculpture in China has a long history. Miniature sculptures appeared in the oracle bones of the Yin and Shang Dynasties. The seal is as small as millet, but the text is divided into red and white. The well-known "He Zhou Ji" by Wei Xuezhen is also a classic of miniature sculpture art in Chinese history. "In addition to his mastery of calligraphy and painting, he is also good at miniature sculptures. In 1915, his work "Night Tour at Red Cliff" won the gold medal at the Panama International Exposition. Tianjin Museum collects six of his works.
Miniature sculptures are special Pay attention to the selection of materials. The stone texture must be absolutely pure, and no sand or cracks are tolerated, because half a sand point may destroy a fine picture or more than 10 Chinese characters. Secondly, the micro-carving tool is also a special fine knife. , it must be both tapering and sharp. Third, you must have particularly proficient calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting skills, so that you can perform "meaning carving" and "meaning carving" when carving. Fourth, you should hold your breath and concentrate on the scene, concentrate your thoughts, and make every detail possible in one go. Fifth, the knife must be used steadily, accurately and ruthlessly. A micro-carved knife is like a pen. If the skill is insufficient, the knife will not achieve the purpose due to the slight loss of control. When matching micro-engraved inscriptions on miniature works, one must pay attention to the effect of calligraphy. Those things that make the calligraphy look ugly, are crooked, uneven, inaccurate in painting, and inappropriate in matching are all things that creators should avoid. Fifth, we should grasp the artistic effect of line changes produced by cutting tools and stones. Only in this way can calligraphy and knife skills achieve perfect unity.
The "Nuclear Boat Chronicle" written by Wei Xuezhen of the Ming Dynasty describes the traditional micro-carving technology. Thanks to this article, everyone has a preliminary understanding of micro-carving. ?