Zhang Minhui

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In 1972 he joined the Daxin Ivory Craft Factory, where he studied ivory carving under Li Dingrong and drew widely on the strengths of other masters. Within the regional tradition and school record of Xiangya Carving in Guangzhou, Guangdong: Guangzhou ivory carving is renowned for its openwork and deep-relief carving techniques and lays stress on the bleaching of ivory stock and colored decoration, suiting both refined and popular tastes. Openwork-carved ivory balls, flower boats, and micro-engraved calligraphy and painting are all representative of Guangdong ivory carving; the works are distinguished by lustrous ivory texture and fine, detailed openwork carving, with dense, lively overall compositions that leave no blank space, and are often inlaid on a single object with materials such as red sandalwood, rhinoceros horn, tortoiseshell, and kingfisher feathers. The technical genealogy of Guangzhou ivory carving relies mainly on master-apprentice and family transmission, adopting a handicraft-workshop mode of production; famous inheritors include Chen Zuzhang, Weng Zhao, Weng Rongbiao, Feng Shaoxia, and Li Dingning. Zhang Minhui, born in 1953 in Jiangmen, Guangdong, has engaged for many years in the design and production of ivory carving and has also researched and created bone-carving craft works, opening up a new avenue for transmitting the traditional techniques of ivory carving.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in January 1953, a native of Jiangmen, Guangdong Province. For many years he has been engaged in the design and production of ivory carving, and he has a thorough command of figure-carving techniques such as group carving, pierced carving, full-round carving, relief, openwork and inlay. His ivory carving integrates traditional concepts with modern aesthetics. His works have ingenious and varied forms, delicate and translucent carving, and embody profound cultural depth and rich auspicious motifs, representing the characteristics and style of Lingnan ivory carving. Works he created or directed have won more than thirty gold awards at national, provincial and municipal levels, and some have been collected by institutions such as the China National Arts and Crafts Museum. He has researched and created bone carvings, opening a new path for transmitting the traditional art of ivory carving, and he is committed to training successors. Within the documented technical tradition of Xiangya Carving in Guangzhou, Guangdong: Ivory carving refers to the carving craft that uses ivory as its material, and the finished products made from it. The ivory carving of Beijing and Guangzhou has different artistic styles. Beijing ivory carving, that is, ivory carving in Beijing, has a documented history traceable at least two thousand years. In the course of its later development, outstanding craftsmen who migrated or were recruited to the capital from other regions constantly exchanged skills with local Beijing craftsmen; after several hundred years of practice, Beijing ivory carving acquired an elegant and sumptuous courtly artistic character and formed distinctive craft characteristics. Beijing ivory carving once declined in the late Qing, but through the efforts of Yang Shihui and his successors this ancient craft was revived. Owing to the inherent qualities of the ivory material, ivory carving possesses a noble and refined beauty and has become part of China's special craft art. Beijing ivory carving is a complex and demanding craft with a wide range of subjects, and its techniques are transmitted orally from master to apprentice. Since the 1980s, out of consideration for protecting elephant populations, the international community at one time banned the ivory trade, which plunged Beijing ivory carving, an industry entirely dependent on imported ivory raw material, into difficulties, facing a situation with neither raw materials nor young successors. Guangzhou ivory carving, that is, ivory carving in Guangzhou: openwork-carved ivory balls, flower boats, and micro-engraved calligraphy and painting are all representative of Guangdong ivory carving. Guangdong ivory-carving products fall into three main categories. The first is appreciation pieces, including ivory balls, flower boats, crab baskets, flower pagodas, vases, birds and beasts, human figures, and miniature mountain landscapes. The second is utilitarian articles, including folding fans, desk lamps, cigarette holders, cigarette tips, brush pots, powder boxes, seals, comb sets, chopsticks, toothpicks, bookmarks, paper knives, and Chinese chess pieces. The third is ornaments, including bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, and brooches. Guangzhou ivory carving places emphasis on carving work and is world-renowned for its openwork and deep-relief carving techniques; through long craft practice it has gradually formed a complete and superb set of carving techniques. Guangzhou ivory carving is delicate and exquisite, intricately wrought, and lays stress on the bleaching of ivory stock and colored decoration, suiting both refined and popular tastes. The works are distinguished by lustrous ivory texture and fine, detailed openwork carving; their overall composition is dense and lively, leaving no blank space. Ivory carving is ingeniously inlaid with various other materials such as red sandalwood, rhinoceros horn, tortoiseshell, and kingfisher feathers on a single object, giving the patterns greater depth; at the same time, the knife work is sharply angled, splendid and beautiful. Guangzhou ivory carving has a long history: it had already developed to a certain degree in the Qin and Han periods; in the Ming and Qing dynasties its craft and scale of production reached a historical peak; since the Republican era its level of craftsmanship has grown ever more refined, and it stands alone in the national ivory-carving trade. Located at the southern gateway of China, Guangzhou has close economic and trade exchanges with overseas regions, and the market for handicrafts with ethnic characteristics has considerable prospects for development. At present, however, there are no longer any family-style workshops in the Guangzhou ivory-carving trade, master-apprentice relations have changed greatly, and manual skills are imperceptibly being lost or altered, while the meticulous craft process has also come under pressure. Nobody is willing, or able, to make a living solely by traditional ivory-carving techniques, which has greatly affected the development of the Guangzhou ivory-carving industry and the transmission of its traditional skills; plans must be drawn up as soon as possible to change this unfavorable situation. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Records of Process Steps": Located at the southern gateway of China, Guangzhou has close economic and trade exchanges with overseas regions, and the market for handicrafts with ethnic characteristics has considerable prospects for development. At present, however, there are no longer any family-style workshops in the Guangzhou ivory-carving trade, master-apprentice relations have changed greatly, and manual skills are imperceptibly being lost or altered, while the meticulous craft process has also come under pressure. Nobody is willing, or able, to make a living solely by traditional ivory-carving techniques, which has greatly affected the development of the Guangzhou ivory-carving industry and the transmission of its traditional skills; plans must be drawn up as soon as possible to change this unfavorable situation.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

National representative bearer of ivory carving, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Zhang Minhui · National Representative Bearer Archive