Wood Carving

Ⅶ-58Traditional Fine ArtsShanghaiBatch 3 (2011)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The works of the earliest founder, Tu Shiyu, were described by people of his time as "a marvelous skill of the Ming dynasty."

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Shanghai-style zitan (red sandalwood) carving is a type of traditional Chinese redwood carving art. In modern times, Shanghai-style zitan carving artists have skillfully integrated Western sculptural techniques into traditional Chinese zitan carving, giving Shanghai-style zitan carving works a distinct regional character. Shanghai-style zitan carving has a long history and is said to have originated in the Ming dynasty. His descendant Tu Wenqing was appreciated by the Imperial Workshops ("zaobanchu") of the Qing court, and the "Suzhou-style" zitan carving he produced reached a high level of attainment. In the late Qing and early Republican period, Tu Jingshu opened a redwood workshop in the old city of Shanghai, excelling at small objects and being especially skilled in zitan carving. His son Tu Hanmin studied zitan carving with his father from childhood, later went to the United States for study, and served as a professor at Harvard University. Proficient in Western sculptural art, his works are a typical example of the fusion of Shanghai-style zitan carving with Western sculpture. Today, Tu's descendants have inherited the family's "zitan lineage"; after returning from study abroad they settled in Shanghai and devoted themselves to zitan carving, being especially good at producing large-scale zitan works. Shanghai-style zitan carving reformed the traditional carving tools so that they could be applied to the hard zitan material, both raising work efficiency and achieving the special standards required by the craft. Shanghai-style zitan carving works cover a wide range of subjects, with consummate skill and an elegant, bright and smooth knife work, enjoying a high reputation both in China and abroad.

The Tu family's century-long lineage

The founder Tu Shiyu's work was praised as the finest skill of a Ming generation; later Tu Wenqing was prized by the Qing court workshop, and Tu Jingshu opened a Shanghai workshop in the late Qing.

The absorption of Western sculpture

Tu Hanmin studied the craft with his father, later taught at Harvard and mastered Western sculpture, his work exemplifying the fusion of the two traditions.

Reforming the tools for hard rosewood

The school redesigned its cutting tools to suit the hardness of red sandalwood, raising both efficiency and finish.

Tu Jie and the Century Guanyin

The national inheritor Tu Jie founded a rosewood research institute in 1985 and has produced over a hundred red sandalwood works, including the Century Guanyin.

The national standard for rosewood

Tu Jie drafted the national rosewood standard GB/T 18107-2000, which won a first prize for standards innovation, and contributed to the survey of traditional Chinese crafts.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Shanghai-style zitan carving was centered on the old city of Shanghai, where Tu Jingshu opened a redwood workshop in the late Qing and early Republican period. After the mid-20th century, it spread to various parts of the city as institutions such as the Institute of Ming and Qing Redwood Carving Art and the Shanghai Chinese Zitan Culture Research Institute settled there. For a long time the technique relied on transmission within the Tu family, with exchanges also taking place with redwood furniture workshops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang; in recent years it has been particularly noted for the production of large-scale zitan carving works.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Tu Jie (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in May 1961, a native of Shanghai. Senior industrial artist, member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Master of Shanghai Industrial Art. In 1985 he founded the Institute of Ming and Qing Redwood Carving Art, which later developed into the Zitan Culture Research Institute. He served as an editorial board member and invited contributor to "Sculpture," part of the major research project "The Complete Works of Chinese Traditional Crafts" under the Ninth Five-Year Plan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, filling a number of gaps concerning zitan carving in the history of traditional craft technology. He has created more than one hundred zitan carving works. His representative works include "Century Guanyin," "Teacher for All Ages," "The Duke Who Relieved the Distressed," "Lord of the Way and Virtue," "Century Dragon Boat," and "Harmonious World." He is a representative inheritor of wood carving (zitan carving), a fourth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project. He drafted the "National Standard for Redwood (GB/T 18107-2000)," which won the first prize of the China National Standards Innovation Contribution Award.

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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