Stone Carving

01 · Historical Records

Since the Qing dynasty, Baihua stone carving has developed considerably, forming a carving art with strong local characteristics.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Stone carving, also known as 'stone engraving,' is a traditional handcraft carving technique that uses stone as its raw material. Chinese stone carving art has a long history; passed down without interruption for thousands of years, it survives to this day, displaying the exquisite 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 requires the masterful application of a series of folk carving techniques, including round carving, relief, openwork, and line engraving. Because these stone materials are taken from nature and can be preserved for a long time, stone carving techniques are mostly used to produce large-scale sculptures and decorative sculptures. By use, stone carving products fall mainly into three categories: first, architectural components and ornaments, such as pedestals, memorial archways, and stone lions; second, statues of deities and Buddhas, such as those in the Yungang Grottoes of Shanxi and the Longmen Grottoes of Henan; and third, everyday articles that are both ornamental and practical, such as desk ornaments and inkstones. Traditional stone carving uses tools such as axes, hammers, and chisels; in modern times, more advanced implements such as glycerol gunpowder and simple machinery began to be adopted. With the development of society, stone carving techniques have steadily improved, and related products circulate widely in the market as distinctive commodities with a unique artistic charm. Baihua stone carving is a traditional carving art that uses Baihua stone from the Daba Mountains as its raw material; it is found in Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province. Baihua stone is as hard as iron yet as fine and moist as skin; local artisans exploit its natural red-and-white or green-and-white colors and grains in carving and finishing it, creating a Baihua stone carving art of distinctive style. Stone carving art has a long history of development in Guangyuan: from the Northern Wei through the Sui and Tang dynasties, numerous grotto carvings and cliff-face statues appeared there, and their remains survive to this day. It encompasses deep carving, shallow carving, openwork, and other carving techniques, and frequently takes landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, and animals as its subjects; its products are mostly practical objects such as cigarette cases, stationery, flowerpots, flower stands, and stone screens. Baihua stone carving artisans are adept at working according to the material, deftly uniting the stone's natural beauty with the subtlety of their conception in the finished work, demonstrating superb craftsmanship and a distinctive artistic character.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Baihua stone carving is centered on Lizhou District of Guangyuan (formerly Guangyuan County), taking its material from the Baihua stone produced in the Daba Mountains; since the Qing dynasty a relatively stable community of artisans has formed in the urban area of Guangyuan. Today, transmission and training are carried out through the Guangyuan Baihua Stone Carving Training Center and intangible cultural heritage training bases at local colleges and universities.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Tang Jun (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in August 1973, native of Guangyuan County, Sichuan Province. Master of Arts and Crafts of Sichuan Province; fifth-generation inheritor of Baihua stone carving. He has devoted himself to Baihua stone carving for nearly thirty years, insisting on creating in the traditional manner; he is adept at working according to the material, with ingenious conception and consummate technique. His works are exquisitely modeled, vividly rendered, and clearly differentiated in color, bearing pronounced regional characteristics; he is representative and influential in this field. He compiled and published 'Guangyuan Baihua Stone Carving,' tracing the century-long history of Baihua stone carving. He is a representative inheritor of stone carving (Baihua stone carving), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item, from the fifth national-level batch. Works such as 'Su Wu Herding Sheep,' 'Jianmen Pass,' and 'Early Spring on the Shu Road' have participated in cultural exchanges at home and abroad and have won prizes. He attaches importance to the transmission of the craft, having established the Guangyuan Baihua Stone Carving Training Center and trained more than ten inheritors. He has jointly established intangible cultural heritage training bases with colleges and universities in Guangyuan, held Baihua stone carving training lectures, and cultivated a reserve of college students.

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

1. Stone Carving (Guangyuan, Sichuan) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Tang Jun · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗