Stone Carving

Ⅶ-56Traditional Fine ArtsZeku, QinghaiBatch 2 (2008)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

It began in the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, when the third Deldun, abbot of Heri Monastery, invited stone carving artisans to engrave scriptures and Buddha images; it was subsequently transmitted through the living Buddha Luojacang and several generations of folk artisans, and has a history of more than a century to this day. Beginning in the Song dynasty, Suzhou jade carving stood out alone, winning fame throughout north and south for its exquisite workmanship and ethereal, free-flowing beauty.

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. Zekog Heri Monastery stone carving is a Tibetan folk carving art that uses stone as its raw material; it is found at Heri Monastery in Heri Township, Zekog County, Qinghai Province, and the surrounding area. During the Cultural Revolution, stone carving production was suspended for a time; after religious policy was restored, the elderly monastery monk Gonpo Tseten took on apprentices and passed on the craft, bringing about a revival of the traditional stone carving technique. Heri Monastery stone carving comprises two major types, scripture engraving and Buddha-image carving, along with technical forms such as line engraving, relief, and round carving. Its workmanship is exquisite, its patterns refined, its images vivid, and its lettering clear; the finished works are fine and smooth in texture, the engraved scriptures are written in graceful, neat, and vigorous script, and the carved Buddha images are open and full in form with flowing lines, bearing a distinctly Buddhist artistic character. China began working jade as early as primitive society; as society developed, jade production gradually took shape as an independent industry. The demands of the royal and aristocratic strata in history drove the continuous development and growing maturity of jade carving techniques. Because jade is relatively hard, special tools and methods must be used in its processing. Before work begins, a series of strict process steps must be carried out, including selecting the material, drawing the design, sawing the material, and roughing out the blank; the jade is then processed using the two basic craft methods of carving and polishing. The quality of the carving and polishing work, together with the level of skill in rendering images and handling form, determines the quality of the finished jade carving. During the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, jade carving reached its peak, giving rise to the historically famous 'Jingzuo' (Beijing) and 'Suzuo' (Suzhou) schools. In modern times, jade carving in Guangdong and other places has risen with striking force, lending this traditional handcraft vigorous vitality.

Archival Process Records

Before work begins, a series of strict process steps must be carried out, including selecting the material, drawing the design, sawing the material, and roughing out the blank; the jade is then processed using the two basic craft methods of carving and polishing.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Zekog Heri Monastery stone carving is transmitted in the area of Heri Monastery in Heri Township and the neighboring Dedun Monastery, in the Tibetan-inhabited pastoral region of Huangnan, Qinghai. Monastery monks and folk artisans jointly undertake scripture engraving and image carving, and the rebuilt Heri stone scripture wall, a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit, embodies this craft in concentrated form; the works serve both for worship within the monastery and for circulation among believers in the surrounding area.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Zekog Heri Monastery stone carving provides invaluable 'stone book' materials for research on Tibetan studies and Tibetan art, and has very high historical and cultural value. Gonpo Tseten (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): At the age of fourteen he became a monk at Heri Dedun Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, where he successively studied under the monastery's stone carving artisans Ninglongcang, Wabudan, and others. He learned artistic skills including stone carving, thangka, painting, pile embroidery, mural painting, clay sculpture, and embroidery, laying a solid foundation, and created many Buddhist relief works. His representative works include 'Tangdong Gyalpo,' 'Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara,' 'Akshobhya Buddha,' and 'Four Harmonious Friends.' After the 1980s he took on apprentices and taught the stone carving craft, enabling the Heri Monastery stone carving technique to be passed on and developed. Male, Tibetan ethnicity, born in April 1934, died in April 2020, native of Zekog County, Qinghai Province. He was a representative inheritor of stone carving (Zekog Heri Monastery stone carving), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item, from the third national-level batch. During the reconstruction of the Heri stone scripture wall, a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit, he served as planner and designer and carved the wall's principal Buddhist stone images and inscribed the Buddhist scriptures, becoming a well-known stone carver in the local area.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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