Jade Carving
01 · Historical Records
It has a long history, beginning in the mid-Ming dynasty, flourishing in the Qing dynasty, with more than 500 years of history to the present day. Since the late 1970s, electrically powered mechanical equipment has come into use, making carving both faster and finer, greatly raising work efficiency and bringing rapid advances in craftsmanship.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Tengchong jade carving is a famous traditional craft of Yunnan. It is now distributed mainly in the main urban area of Tengchong City, Yunnan Province, and is also found in the urban-rural fringe and in Tengyue Town, Heshun Town and Hehua Town. Tengchong jade carving uses jadeite produced in northern Burma as its material, which is second in hardness only to diamond. Because jadeite is so hard that it cannot be carved but only ground, in traditional practice it is worked mainly by milling and grinding: the jade worker holds the rough jade and works it constantly at the edge of the grinding wheel, which is why it is called “grinding jade” (nianyu). Practitioners of Tengchong jade carving have always upheld their predecessors' tradition of “striving for perfection”, integrating the strengths of various styles and schools; responding to the character of each material, they organically combine traditional culture and craft, forming a distinctive jade-carving style. Their carved works are rich in form and type, carefully composed, finely cut, fluent in line, rigorous in structure, beautiful in shape and excellent in both form and color — the workmanship revealed in the finest detail — and are deeply loved. Its works come in a great variety of types, chiefly several hundred kinds including ring faces, heart-shaped pendants (jixin), gall-bladder pendants, zodiac figures, bracelets, Buddha images, seals, dragon-and-phoenix plaques, the Eight Immortals, the “hidden Eight Immortals” symbols, thumb rings (banzhi), jade hairpins, ear ornaments, pendants, hand-play pieces and display pieces. Tengchong jade carving is transmitted mainly through the master-apprentice relationship, and operates through the model of shop in front, workshop behind. Tengchong jade carving is an organic component of Chinese jade culture, and has a certain reference value for the study of the spread of jade culture to the southwestern frontier and to Southeast and South Asia, as well as of ancient arts and crafts and the evolution of society and culture. Its works are fresh and elegant, with every kind of thing represented; they are the finest characteristic folk craft of Tengchong, a vivid testament to the wisdom and creativity of local artisans, and of high cultural and artistic value. Tengchong jade carving has great market potential and broad prospects, and is of positive significance for promoting local economic development.
Grinding jade on the lapidary wheel
Because jadeite is too hard to carve, traditional work is ground: the craftsman holds the blank against the edge of the lapidary wheel, a process called “grinding jade”.
Cabochons, hearts, pendants and dragon-phoenix plaques
Products run to several hundred kinds, among them cabochons, heart and gourd pendants, zodiac pieces, bangles, Buddha images, seals, plaques and small hand pieces.
Beginning in the mid-Ming, flourishing under the Qing
Tengchong jade carving began in the mid-Ming and flourished under the Qing, over five centuries of practice, turning electrical machinery only in the late 1970s.
Teaching through the shop-and-workshop unit
Transmitted from master to apprentice within shop-and-workshop units, the craft blends different schools and adapts traditional culture to each piece of stone.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Tengchong jade carving is centered on Tengyue Town and Heshun Town, with workshops also distributed in the urban-rural fringe and around Hehua Town. In former times artisans gathered in the market streets of Tengchong city known for jadeware, forming an operating pattern of shop in front, workshop behind, with self-production and self-marketing; besides local sales, products were resold to Southeast Asia through the Burma-India trade routes.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Jade Carving · Jade Carving · Jade Carving · Jade Carving · Jade Carving · Jade Carving.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Tengchong jade carving is an important witness to the spread of Chinese jade culture to the southwestern frontier and to Southeast and South Asia, and has reference value for the study of craft exchange along the ancient southwestern trade routes. Because jadeite is second in hardness only to diamond and can only be ground, not carved, practitioners have always upheld their predecessors' tradition of “striving for perfection”; after electrically powered mechanical equipment was introduced in the late 1970s, efficiency and refinement advanced together, while the locality still operates through master-apprentice transmission and the shop-in-front-workshop-behind model. The variety of its works reaches several hundred kinds, and it has considerable market potential.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Song Shiyi 03-1274
- Wuhaizhou 03-1275
- Gao Zhaohua 03-1276
- Liu Chaoguo 04-1797
- Li Bosheng 04-1798
- Yuan Yao 04-1799
- Hong Xinhua 04-1800
- Dinianwei 04-1801
- Yang Xi 04-1802
- Cui Lei 05-2663
- Hong Ronghui 05-2664
- Guo Shilin
- Yang Genlian
- Zhang Tiecheng
- Jiang Xi
- Yin Zhiqiang
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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