Qingtian Stone Carving
01 · Historical Records
Qingtian stone carvings were exhibited and won awards at the Paris Exposition of 1899, the Belgian Exposition of 1905, and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in the United States in 1915; in recent years, dozens of works have in turn won first prizes for outstanding creative design at the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th “Hundred Flowers Awards” of China.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Qingtian stone carving is a traditional stone-carving art made from Qingtian stone; it is named after the high-quality pyrophyllite produced in Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province. Qingtian stone has a warm, smooth texture with a felicitous balance of brittleness and softness, rich colors, and unusual veining; it is both the finest material for seal carving and an ideal stone for the art of stone carving. According to historical records, the craft of Qingtian stone carving originated in the Six Dynasties period. It emphasizes working in accordance with the material and exploiting its colors, and involves such process steps as stone selection, rough blocking, carving, wax sealing, and polishing. It is especially noted for openwork carving, with round carving, openwork, high and low relief, and line engraving used in alternation. Qingtian stone carving covers a wide range of subjects — fish, insects, flowers, birds, landscapes, and figures — all meticulously carved with spirit and form alike captured; realist and expressive methods are equally well developed, grand in overall bearing yet exquisite in detail, with standardized craftsmanship and a distinctive style of its own. With the approval of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Qingtian stone carving was successfully registered as a certification trademark of geographical origin; Qingtian County has accordingly been named a “Home of Chinese Folk Art” and a “Home of Chinese Stone Carving” by the Ministry of Culture and the China National Light Industry Council.
Archival Records of Process Steps
According to historical records, the craft of Qingtian stone carving originated in the Six Dynasties period. It emphasizes working in accordance with the material and exploiting its colors, with such process steps as stone selection, rough blocking, carving, wax sealing, and polishing. It is especially noted for openwork carving, with round carving, openwork, high and low relief, and line engraving used in alternation.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Qingtian stone carving uses the high-quality pyrophyllite produced in Qingtian County, Zhejiang, as its material, emphasizing working in accordance with the material and exploiting its colors, with such process steps as stone selection, rough blocking, carving, wax sealing, and polishing; it is especially noted for openwork carving, with round carving, openwork, high and low relief, and line engraving used in alternation. Ni Dongfang joined the Qingtian Shankou stone-carving producers' cooperative in 1955 and is known for flower carving; Zhang Aiguang founded a stone-carving studio in 1978 and is known for flower and figure carving, making full use of the natural colors of Qingtian frozen stone in his creations.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, after more than a thousand years of mining, the high-quality pyrophyllite resources are nearly exhausted, while the scale of Qingtian stone-carving hand workshops is gradually shrinking; the traditional craft faces the danger of being lost and urgently needs rescue and protection. Ni Dongfang (from the official archive of associated inheritors): Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1928, a native of Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province. Senior Arts and Crafts Artist and Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts. In 1955 he joined the Qingtian Shankou stone-carving producers' cooperative and successively served as deputy factory director and head of the creative research group; he is known for flower carving. Over the past sixty-odd years he has achieved notable results in inheriting tradition, pioneering and innovating, and expressing the spirit of the times. His works have been exhibited, awarded, and published on many occasions, and many have been collected by the China National Museum of Arts and Crafts; representative works include “Millet,” “Autumn Chrysanthemums Defying Frost,” “Blooming Flowers and a Full Moon,” “Cleverly Colored Seal Carving,” and “Bayberry.” In 2016 he was awarded the title of “Asia-Pacific Master of Handicrafts” by the Asia-Pacific Branch of the World Crafts Council, and in 2005 he received the China Arts and Crafts Lifetime Achievement Award from the China National Academy of Arts and Crafts. Representative inheritor of Qingtian stone carving, a project of the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. Zhang Aiguang (from the official archive of associated inheritors): Male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1959, a native of Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province. Senior Arts and Crafts Artist, Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts, and National Model Worker. In 1978 he founded a stone-carving studio and is known for flower and figure carving. For more than forty years he has studied assiduously, working in accordance with the material and exploiting its colors, making full use of the natural colors of Qingtian frozen stone in his creations. In 2012 he became director of the Qingtian Stone Carving Technique Research Center and has done a great deal of work for the transmission and development of Qingtian stone carving. Representative inheritor of Qingtian stone carving, a project of the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. His works have won the gold prize of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art “Shanhua Award,” jointly organized by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Folk Literature and Art Association, among other prizes.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Ni Dongfang 03-1242
- Zhang Aiting 04-1781
- Zhang Aiguang 05-2606
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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