Jinling Bamboo Carving is one of the important art schools of traditional Chinese bamboo carving art. It keeps pace with the Jiading School and has become the twin gems of Chinese bamboo carving art.
Jinling bamboo carvings are world-famous for their shallow and simple carving style. This technique does not reduce the depth of the carvings but slightly scratches the surface, but the artistic conception is profound with a few strokes. At the same time, Jinling bamboo carvings are very particular about the use of round sculptures and strict selection of materials. They are good at taking advantage of the shape when carving, and do not use much artificial modification, making them simple and elegant. The Jinling School is good at bamboo carving and calligraphy, which adds a strong humanistic flavor to traditional Chinese bamboo carving. Jinling bamboo carving has exquisite skills in history and has many famous artists, making it unique in the history of Chinese arts and crafts. Basic introduction Chinese name: Jinling Bamboo Carving Category: Traditional Chinese Bamboo Carving Art Style: Shallow Carving, Simple Carving Time: Mid-Ming Dynasty Introduction, Jinling Bamboo Carving, Founder, Introduction In the mid-Ming Dynasty, Jinling (now Nanjing) Bamboo Carving also rose at the same time as Jiading Bamboo Carving . Jiading bamboo carvings are famous for their profoundness, while Jinling bamboo carvings are famous for their shallow and sketchy carvings. Jinling bamboo carvings are distinguished by shallow carvings and rough carvings. The main representative figures of Jinling bamboo carvings are: Li Yao, also known as Wenfu. According to historical records: "He was good at carving fan bones, and the flowers and plants he engraved were all exquisite. He could also carve tooth seals, and he caught knives for Sanqiao, Wen Zhengming's eldest son." Pucheng, whose courtesy name was Zhongqian, was born in the tenth year of Wanli (1585). His bamboo carvings are good at carving according to the shape of the bamboo, making use of the intertwined roots of the bamboo, and it is surprising that he does not use swords and axes. After a little scraping and polishing by hand, and the outline of several knives, he becomes extraordinary. Jinling Bamboo Carving The prosperity of bamboo carving art in the late Ming Dynasty is also related to the social aesthetic trend at that time. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, social customs changed from the "simple" fashion of the early Ming Dynasty, in which "unless aristocratic families did not raise high halls, and clothing and utensils did not dare to be extravagant", social life gradually became extravagant. Flowers, stone gardens, and bamboo vessels that were originally quaint and simple began to be carefully crafted and became their favorite desk toys. Wherever the storm reaches, ordinary citizens will also "follow each other". This objectively promotes the development of bamboo carving art. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Jiading School created by Zhu He and the Jinling School created by Pu Zhongqian were the most prominent in bamboo carving art. The two schools kept pace with each other and became the twin gems in the history of Chinese bamboo carving art. The Jiading Bamboo School was founded by Zhu He during the Jiajing and Longqing years of the Ming Dynasty (1522-1572). He was good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, and had profound artistic attainments. He knew ancient seal scripts and learned the secrets of Miao seal scripts, so he was very involved in the design and production of his bamboo carvings. , often blending brushwork with knife skills. The pen holders, incense holders, armrests, Buddha statues, etc., are either simple and lush, or exquisite and delicate. Most of them are "high, shallow and deep", with five or six layers of hollows and deep openwork carvings. Made in parallel. In his opinion, if bamboo carving is not carved through and deeply, it cannot be called sculpture. Quite different from the Jiading Bamboo School, which is meticulous in carving and meticulous workmanship, the Jinling Bamboo School is famous for its shallow and simple carving style. This technique is not deep but the layers are not reduced. The surface is slightly scraped and polished. The pen has a profound artistic conception. At the same time, the Jinling Bamboo Party is very particular about the use of round sculptures, and is very strict in the selection of materials. They are good at taking advantage of the shape when carving, and do not use much artificial modification, making them simple and elegant. The Jinling School is good at bamboo carving calligraphy, which adds a rich literati flavor to China's traditional bamboo carvings. These are the artistic charm of Jinling Bamboo School and the concrete expression of its main characteristics. Founding Figures However, since the founding of the Jinling Bamboo Sect by Pucheng, few people have been directly taught by him or directly influenced by him. After the Pu family, only Pan Xifeng and Fang Ji had the most outstanding achievements and prominent reputations. They are regarded by future generations as the two pillars of the Jinling School's bamboo carving art inheritance. They mainly use the shallow relief carving technique with a knife, carving according to the shape, naturally forming the tool, and the style is elegant. The founder of the Jinling Bamboo Sect, Pu Cheng (1582-?), named Zhongqian, was a native of Jinling. He was mainly active during the Wanli and Chongzhen years. He mainly carves shallowly and combines lines and surfaces, which is very different from the "high, deep and transparent" bamboo carving style of the Jiading School. The scenes he carves are quite interesting in the brushwork and ink of Chinese paintings. He is good at bamboo root carving. He is often able to skillfully use simple knife techniques to carve slightly according to the natural shape of the bamboo, and carve according to the shape. He naturally makes the tools, with unique ingenuity and natural beauty. The first volume of "Memories of Tao'an Dreams" written by Zhang Dai (1597-1679) in the late Ming Dynasty contains a record of Pu Zhongqian's carvings: "Nanjing Pu Zhongqian has an ancient appearance and an ancient heart. He seems to be incompetent, but his craftsmanship is unparalleled. His bamboo utensils include a broom, a brush, a bamboo inch ear, and several knives. The price is two cents. However, the reason why he is so proud is that he must use the intricate knots of bamboo. It is strange that he does not use knives and axes, so he scrapes them slightly with his hands. It is really incomprehensible that Zhong Qian is so famous that if he gets a piece of it, his property will become very expensive. When I see a good bamboo or a rhinoceros among my friends, I will take care of it. Even if I try to take advantage of it, I will not be able to get it." Song Lipshang, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, praised Pu Zhongqian in "Song of the Bamboo Poppy Cottage". "Dapu does not chop", "wheels twist and turn", and "ingenuity creates wonderful things", it is also said that Zhong Qian can use a little chisel to see the interest of nature. Liu Luan's "Five Stone Gourds" calls it a "water mill". He used this technique to carve fans, wine glasses, pen holders, armrests and other utensils. They were quaint, cute and wonderful, and were loved by the world. Generally speaking, the fur carvings and shallow carvings that the Jinling Bamboo School specializes in are inscription-type carvings on bamboo surfaces. The fur carvings are the shallowest, and the carvings are as fine as a hair. Most of them are carved with one stroke, and the carvings have burrs. Generally, this method is used for utensils and details that are not suitable for deepness. Shallow engraving is a method of engraving where the marks are very shallow and it often takes high light to see the knife marks clearly. It is the shallowest form of concave engraving and is mostly used for arm rests and fan bones. The knife marks not only have lines, but also surfaces, which can carve out the interest of calligraphy and painting.
In a broad sense, shallow carving also includes extremely shallow reliefs in the Yangwen category. Pu Zhongqian's shallow carving is just like this. It is famous for its harmonious and rich pictures and simple and mature knife skills. Authentic works by Pu Zhongqian are extremely rare. Most of them have complicated carvings and vulgar themes, and are mostly forged by later generations. The Palace Museum in Beijing has a small pine tree-shaped teapot carved from bamboo roots by Pu Zhongqian. It has a unique shape. The body, lid and bottom of the pot are carved into a vigorous ancient pine; the handle and spout are made into two twisted pine branches; the whole body is covered with branches and leaves. Mao is like a shade tree, with novel conception, concise knife skills and simple style. Mr. Wang Shixiang’s old collection of Snow Scenery and Cold Forest is a typical work of Pu Zhongqian’s bamboo carvings. The close-up view is a rocky mountain slope with three thatched cottages among ancient trees and twigs; the distant view is a towering mountain peak, with inscriptions on the rocks wrapped in hemp and cracked ropes. It is extremely simple. Generalization. The layout of the knife technique shows simplicity and simplicity, which is thought-provoking. On the left is a poem written by Cheng Jiasui (1565-1643) in the twelfth year of Chongzhen. Of course, the rise of the Jinling Bamboo School in the late Ming Dynasty did not happen overnight. Its emergence is also related to the Jinling bamboo carver Li Yao during the Zhengde and Jiajing years. Li Yao, with a famous name and Wenfu style, and superb skills, had a very important influence on Pu Zhongqian's bamboo carvings. In a sense, Li Yao can be regarded as the pioneer of the Jinling Bamboo Sect. He is good at ivory seals and uses a knife to paint landscapes, flowers and birds, with a simple and lively style. Wen Peng, a master of seal cutting in the Ming Dynasty, made many dental seals. He also worked on fan bone carvings, and the flowers and plants he engraved were all exquisite and elegant, and his reputation spread far and wide. Even in the Qing Dynasty, there was a saying that "the old Beijing fan is more expensive than Li Zhao". Pu Cheng's carving of fans actually followed in Li Yao's footsteps. The artistic characteristics of Jinling Bamboo School can be summarized in four words: "simple and elegant". The so-called "simple" means that bamboo is cheap and easy to obtain. After carving, there is no need to apply color, oil, or paint. It can be carved out and it is ready. It can even be made into a vessel using its natural form and a little scraping to show its simplicity. The interest can be summed up in the simplicity and conciseness of bamboo carving materials and processing techniques. The so-called "high" refers to the high artistic value of bamboo carving. Precisely because bamboo is cheap and easy to obtain, carvers must work hard to create a variety of techniques, use various themes, measure shapes and make utensils, express the state of the bamboo, give full play to the characteristics of bamboo, and compete with other carving techniques. Short and long, so in a certain sense, it also refers to the superb carving skills. The so-called "elegant" refers to the most bookish style of bamboo carving art. Bamboo carving technology has evolved from craftsman carving to literati creation. As a result, the taste pursued by bamboo carving has undergone a qualitative change - the craftsmanship is gradually weakening, the bookish style is gradually increasing, and bamboo carving has gradually become The literati's desk confessions and treasures in the palm of their hands. In fact, the art of bamboo carving underwent a significant change in the mid-Qing Dynasty, that is, a large number of highly accomplished bamboo carving artists emerged. What distinguished them from ordinary craftsmen was that they were not only able to use carving techniques freely, but they themselves were Artists with high literary accomplishments often personally participate in the production of bamboo carvings, designing the shapes and decorations of their works, and absorbing the nutrients of calligraphy and painting, making their works free from the vulgarity of ordinary craftsmen and more elegant and literati. This has changed the In the past, people regarded bamboo and wood carving crafts as "wonderful skills", but playing with famous bamboo carvings has gradually become an elegant thing. During the Qianlong period, Pan Xifeng (1736-1795) was a typical literati bamboo carver. He achieved great success and further promoted the Jinling Bamboo Sect. Pan Xifeng is from Xinchang, Zhejiang. He regards bamboo as his life and loves to carve bamboo. He attaches great importance to the use of carving techniques, the choice of decorative themes and the innovation of modeling and composition. Therefore, some people praised the poem and said: "Old Tung and bamboo are close friends, and the bitter bamboo carving is very painstaking." He is a bamboo carving master. Pucheng mainly focuses on shallow carvings. He is good at making use of the natural deformities, curls and etchings of bamboo and slightly carving them into instruments. His sword skills are concise and precise, and there is no rashness. He was praised by Zheng Banqiao (1693-1765). It is called "a person after Puyang Zhongqian". Pan Xifeng was in trouble in his official career. He was a staff member of Nian Gengyao (1679-1726) and helped a lot. However, some of his offers were not accepted, so he returned home and made a living by selling art. He once selected the best bamboos and copied Wang Xizhi's "Seventeen The calligrapher Weng Fanggang appreciated the inscriptions and postscripts, and his value doubled. During the Jiaqing period, he was included in the Imperial Palace and turned into a royal treasure. The deformed rolled bamboo arm rests, with moth-eaten marks, are still visible to the eye, as if they have not been made by human hands, and have a unique natural interest. The inscription is not many words, but it is meaningful and meaningful. It can be seen that Pan Xifeng's bamboo carving also has the wonder of "the original is not cut". There are not many of Pan Xifeng's masterpieces that have been handed down from generation to generation. Among them, the bamboo root-carved plum blossom pen holder in the Guangdong Folk Arts and Crafts Museum is the most representative. After the original fibrous roots were cut off from the bamboo material of the pen holder, numerous scars were revealed, with various heights and sizes, and a strange image. After these scars were polished, various plum blossom petals were shallowly carved on the top, with realistic shapes and unique ingenuity. Luck, sincerity reveals a spirit of elegance. There is an inscription in official script on it: "Be humble in your heart, be strong in your integrity, provide me with a study room, and live with you day and night. Lao Tong." The double entendre adds a bit of a literati atmosphere to the pen holder. As Zhao Ruzhen said in "Antique Guide", "Bamboo carvers also carve bamboo. Their works are the same as calligraphy and painting, but they use knives instead of pens and bamboo as paper ears. Calligraphy and painting are difficult to understand, but now it is easy to use knives and bamboos. "It is more difficult than calligraphy and painting." In the late Qing Dynasty, bamboo people regarded imitating calligraphy and painting on bamboo as a skill, and they imitated each other, which gradually became a trend. From this, the round sculptures, high reliefs, and openwork sculptures of the Jiading Bamboo School became popular. The technique is gradually declining, almost becoming extinct. At the same time, the Jinling Bamboo School, which was accustomed to shallow carvings, had a tendency to come back from the dead and once again became popular, but it was still at the end of its life. After Daoguang, the Jinling Bamboo Sect gradually disappeared and was almost lost.
At that time, most of the descendants of the Jinling Bamboo School followed Pu Zhongqian's simple engraving of "No cutting in the big picture" as their purpose. Their sword techniques advocated simplicity and simplicity, and their highest pursuit was the natural beauty and the reproduction of the emotions of calligraphy and painting. They believe that fine craftsmanship can easily reveal the craftsmanship, and the craftsman's work is more than skillful in craftsmanship, but insufficient in natural beauty. In terms of subject matter, in addition to picture books and small portraits, many famous artists also included calligraphy and painting, vegetable and fruit sketches, or self-titled and self-engraved works. They especially liked to imitate and engrave epigraphic inscriptions, which also reflects the preference of literati. The main varieties are fan bones, arm rests, pen holders, and bamboo sticks - these categories are also loved and commonly used by literati. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang years (1796-1850), Fang Ji, a native of Shexian County, Anhui Province, who lived in Huangyan, Zhejiang Province, became the main pillar of the Jinling Bamboo Sect. He inherited the legacy of Pucheng and achieved impressive results in bamboo carving, becoming a representative figure of the Jinling Bamboo School in the later period. Fang Jie was good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, and was good at iron pens. He was especially good at carving bamboo, so he was known as "Fang Bamboo". Especially the characters or portraits carved with Yangwen bas-relief method on the bamboo armrests and bamboo inner yellow are the most outstanding. The face is carved in low-relief and the rest is inscribed. The combination of the two is just right, with both form and spirit, lifelike, and is known as "unparalleled art" , commentators call the carving method "deep carving". At that time, many celebrities asked Fang Jie to carve small portraits. "Chen Chen Meng Video Record" records that Fang Jie "made an image of Lushan walking on his arm for Shiliu Zhou Dameng (1791-1858), with his men and eyebrows fully visible, and the eighty small portrait for Ruan Yuan is even better." Carved by Fang Jie. Landscapes, flowers, figures and portraits are all based on his own paintings and are full of personality. He wields the knife like a pen, and is good at integrating changes in brushwork into his knife skills, revealing the unique charm of Chinese calligraphy and winning praise from the world. Li Lanjiu's "Xiyun Poetry Notes" says: "Fangzi is good at both poetry and painting, and is good at carving and carving. Who knows that reproducing the originals has a history, and he is good at carving and conveying the spirit again." The words of admiration are beyond words. The arm rest of the statue of Su Wu in the Shanghai Museum is Fang Jie's representative work. Su Wu is sitting upright on the ground holding a banner, with a serious demeanor and simple clothing patterns. The carving method uses a bamboo table as the ground, and the sword is not deep, and the style is elegant. Throughout the hundreds of years of development history of the Jinling Bamboo School, it has developed from being clumsy and simple in the early stage, to being elegant and colorful in the middle stage, and then to being plain and simple in the late stage. Although there are changes from time to time, the overall style remains roughly the same. Among the artistic trends of reproducing calligraphy and painting through sculpture, shallow carving and simple carving are the leading ones, and the interest of bamboo carving is used to pursue the charm of pen and ink, achieving the perfect combination of bamboo carving and calligraphy and painting art. However, it should be pointed out that it was precisely the use of sculpture to reproduce the art of calligraphy and painting that caused bamboo carving to be restricted by calligraphy and painting. This was also the crux of the Jinling Bamboo School's tendency to be monotonous and superficial in the late Qing Dynasty. Just as Mr. Jin Xiya lamented in the book "The Art of Bamboo Carving": "Bamboo carving and calligraphy and painting have many similarities, but carving is still carving after all. Sculpture is a three-dimensional art, and calligraphy and painting are two-dimensional art. How can we abolish three-dimensional art and replace it with As for graphic arts? Therefore, if there is more interest in calligraphy and painting in bamboo carving, then there will be less interest in sculpture. How can bamboo carving be an appendage of calligraphy and painting? "This should be a topic worth pondering.