Chen Yijing
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Chen Yijing, Male, Han, from Fuzhou, Fujian, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Shoushan Stone Carving (Ⅶ-35). The tradition is documented in Fuzhou, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Shoushan Stone Carving in Fuzhou, Fujian: During the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns of the Qing dynasty, Shoushan stone carving developed its own distinctive style, giving rise to the two great schools of Dongmen (East Gate) and Ximen (West Gate): the Dongmen school, represented by Lin Qianpei and Lin Yuanzhu, excels at round carving of figures, landscapes and animals, while the Ximen school, represented by Pan Yumao and Pan Yuquan, created from the traditional seal-knob technique the bonyi technique with the character of Chinese painting; afterwards, Lin Qingqing's bonyi carving brought Shoushan stone carving into a realm rich in poetic flavour. The appearance of independently shaped Shoushan stone carvings dates back 1,500 years. In the Southern Song dynasty, Shoushan stone mines were already being worked, and after development through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, an independent Shoushan stone-carving industry finally took shape. During the Tongzhi and Guangxu reigns of the Qing dynasty, Shoushan stone carving developed its own distinctive style, giving rise to the two great schools of Dongmen (East Gate) and Ximen (West Gate).
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Chen Yijing is anchored in the documented technical standards of Shoushan Stone Carving in Fuzhou, Fujian. Within the documented technical tradition of Shoushan Stone Carving in Fuzhou, Fujian: Shoushan stone carving is a traditional folk carving art that uses Shoushan stone, produced in the Beifeng hills of northern Fuzhou, as its material and, through special techniques, produces small carvings for people's enjoyment. The craft of Shoushan stone carving is mainly transmitted in Gushan, Yuefeng Town, Xiangyuan, Wangzhuang Street and Shoushan Township in Jin'an District, Fuzhou. The stone's texture, colour, form and veining are all extremely rich; it is lustrous and moist, comes in many varieties, has a hardness of between 2.5 and 2.7 on the Mohs scale, and is a first-class carving stone, fine, dense, smooth, lustrous, warm and compact; among the people it is called the 'emperor of stones' and 'queen of stones', and there is a saying that it is 'honoured above jade'. Emperors such as the Qing Emperor Shengzu all used Shoushan stone to make imperial seals, and among Shoushan stones tianhuang stone commands the highest value, as the saying goes, 'one liang of tianhuang is worth three liang of gold'. The Dongmen (East Gate) school, represented by Lin Qianpei and Lin Yuanzhu, excels at round carving of figures, landscapes and animals, while the Ximen (West Gate) school, represented by Pan Yumao and Pan Yuquan, created from the traditional seal-knob technique the bonyi technique with the character of Chinese painting. Later, Lin Qingqing's bonyi carving brought Shoushan stone carving into a realm rich in poetic flavour, raising its cultural refinement. The techniques of Shoushan stone carving are rich and varied, consummate and highly practised; in the course of development they have drawn widely on other arts, absorbing the carving techniques and artistic essence of Chinese painting and various folk crafts. Its principal techniques include round carving, seal-knob carving, bonyi carving, openwork carving, low relief, high relief, inlay carving, chain carving, seal carving and micro-carving. The subject matter of Shoushan stone-carving works is broad, covering figures, animals, landscapes and flower-and-bird motifs. For these reasons, Shoushan stone carving has an extremely wide social reach, possessing the artistic charm of 'accompanying emperors and generals above, reaching literati and refined scholars in the middle, and pleasing the common people below', and it is highly regarded by connoisseurs and collectors at home and abroad. Shoushan stone carving occupies a prominent place in traditional Chinese jade-and-stone culture, and related carvings have become symbols of elegance, beauty, solemnity and wisdom. Shoushan stone carving pursues an artistic effect of simultaneous carving and polishing, advocating a return to natural simplicity; it therefore treats 'reading the stone' (xiangshi) as a crucial stage, stressing the use of the stone's form and colour and the skilful application of technique so as to achieve a state of unity between nature and craft. Shoushan stone is a rare stone material, and its resource management was for a time in a state of disorder in recent decades, leading to over-extraction that has adversely affected the carving craft. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "East Gate and West Gate schools": The East Gate excelled in round carving of figures and landscapes, the West Gate created the painting-like thin-relief manner from seal-knob technique. "Thin-relief carving": A painting-like shallow carving developed by the West Gate and brought to poetic refinement by Lin Qingqing. "Tianhuang stone": Fine, translucent and of low hardness, Shoushan stone was prized above jade; its tianhuang variety was costlier than gold. "Lin Hengyun's polar bears": Trained in figure modelling, wood and ivory carving, Lin Hengyun's polar bears are reckoned unique in stone carving.
East Gate and West Gate schools
The East Gate excelled in round carving of figures and landscapes, the West Gate created the painting-like thin-relief manner from seal-knob technique.
Thin-relief carving
A painting-like shallow carving developed by the West Gate and brought to poetic refinement by Lin Qingqing.
Tianhuang stone
Fine, translucent and of low hardness, Shoushan stone was prized above jade; its tianhuang variety was costlier than gold.
Lin Hengyun's polar bears
Trained in figure modelling, wood and ivory carving, Lin Hengyun's polar bears are reckoned unique in stone carving.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Chen Yijing was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Shoushan Stone Carving, with Fuzhou, Fujian as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Shoushan Stone Carving in Fuzhou, Fujian: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2006 (batch 1), with Fuzhou, Fujian as its declared area, and Haixiashoushanshi Culture Research Institute as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
The appearance of independently shaped Shoushan stone carvings dates back 1,500 years. In the Southern Song dynasty, Shoushan stone mines were already being worked, and after development through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, an independent Shoushan stone-carving industry finally took shape.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feng Jiuhe | Fuzhou, Fujian | 01-0097 | Same declared area |
| Lin Hengyun | Fuzhou, Fujian | 01-0098 | Same declared area |
| Chen Lizhong | Fuzhou, Fujian | 05-2609 | Same declared area |
| Chen Yijing | Fuzhou, Fujian | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。