Stone Carving
01 · Historical Records
According to the "Genealogy of the Yin Clan", in the Tang dynasty Yin ancestors made their way from Tianshui in Gansu through Ruichang in Jiangxi and elsewhere, and afterwards moved on to Daye, where they settled in Yin Jieyuan Village, quarrying stone from the hills and earning their living by carving; the history of Daye stone carving begins at this point.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Stone carving, also known as "stone engraving" (shike), is a traditional manual carving art that uses stone as its raw material. China's stone-carving art has a long history and has been passed down in an unbroken line over thousands of years to the present day, displaying the consummate technique, ingenious conception and abundant creativity of traditional folk craftsmanship. Stone carving is generally carried out on natural stone materials such as marble, granite, bluestone and sandstone, and in the process the carver must employ a series of practised folk carving techniques, including round carving (yuandiao), relief carving (fudiao), openwork carving (toudiao) and line engraving (xianke). Because these stone materials are taken from nature and can be preserved for a long time, stone carving is mostly used to make large-scale sculptures and decorative sculptures. According to their use, stone-carving products fall mainly into three categories: first, architectural components and ornaments, such as pedestals, memorial archways and stone lions; second, images of deities and Buddhas, such as the statues in the Yungang Grottoes of Shanxi and the Longmen Grottoes of Henan; and third, everyday articles that are both decorative and practical, such as table ornaments and inkstones. Traditional stone carving uses tools such as axes, hammers and chisels; in modern times more advanced implements such as glycerine gunpowder and simple machinery began to be adopted. With the development of society, stone-carving craftsmanship has steadily improved, and related products circulate widely on the market as distinctive goods, possessing an artistic charm all their own. Daye stone carving is a folk stone-carving art unique to Yin Jieyuan Village, Bao'an Town, Daye City, Hubei Province. The stone-carving skill has been transmitted from generation to generation in Yin Jieyuan Village, from the generation named with the character "guo" to the generation named with the character "cheng", through twenty generations in all. With one hammer and one chisel, these inheritors of stone carving have left a great store of artistic treasures among the people. The relief "Fishing, Woodcutting, Farming and Reading" kept in Yin Jieyuan Village was carved by the Qing-dynasty craftsman Yin Guangde. Taking the scenery of the Jiangnan region as its theme, this work is ingenious in design, strict and orderly in composition and refined in carving, with a strong sense of depth and space and full of decorative interest, displaying the basic characteristics of Daye stone carving. Daye stone carving, represented by Yin Jieyuan Village, can produce many types of products used for production, construction, decoration, commemoration and religious devotion, with steles and stone lions being the most numerous.
Yin Jieyuan village and its twenty generations
Daliye stone carving has passed through twenty generations in Yin Jieyuan village, taught mainly within families and through apprenticeships.
The relief Fisherman, Woodcutter, Farmer and Scholar
A relief carved by the Qing artisan Yin Guangde, held in Yin Jieyuan village and regarded as showing the basic traits of Daliye stone carving.
Steles and stone lions as the main products
The craft serves production, building, decoration, commemoration and worship, with steles and stone lions the most numerous products.
Round carving, relief, openwork and line engraving
Local bluestone and granite are worked with round carving, relief, openwork and line engraving; axes, hammers and chisels were only latterly joined by simple machinery.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Daye stone carving takes Yin Jieyuan Village in Bao'an Town as its centre of craftsmanship; stonemasons also work in the surrounding townships of Bao'an, Jinshandian and Huandiqiao and in neighbouring Yangxin and Ezhou, and the extant objects in the village, such as the relief "Fishing, Woodcutting, Farming and Reading" carved by the Qing-dynasty craftsman Yin Guangde, are the principal evidence for judging its character. Local stonemasons pass the skill on along two lines, family and master-apprentice; besides steles and stone lions they also make door lintels, column bases, stone rollers and millstones, and their products are sold by water along the Yangtze to various places in southeastern Hubei.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving · Stone Carving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, under the impact of the modern market economy, the living space of Daye stone carving is shrinking day by day; its development is difficult and its prospects worrying, and it urgently needs protection and support.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Qian Gaochao 03-1272
- Gongbaocaidan 03-1273
- Wang Guoqing 05-2657
- Cao Mingzhu 05-2658
- Tang Jun 05-2659
- Shi Yongen 05-2660
- Yang Jianming 05-2661
- Bao Wuwen 05-2662
- Yuan Jiaqi
- Liu Nengfeng
- Wang Shilin
- Ye Meisan
- Yin Guoan
- Hu Yang
- Liangbinggong
- Caidanjia
- Chen Jiwu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。