Wood Carving

Ⅶ-58Traditional Fine ArtsRuicheng, ShanxiBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

Yongle peach wood carving arose on the basis of the Daoist atmosphere of Yongle Town, which is traditionally said to be the hometown of Lü Dongbin; the belief that peach wood exorcises evil and secures the dwelling provided it with a foundation in faith. The carving technique was already highly mature by the Tang dynasty, developing methods such as carving, openwork, engraving, incising, inlaying, setting, paring, and rolling. After the Yongle Palace was completed in the Yuan dynasty, the construction of temples and religious ceremonies spurred the production of peach wood ritual objects and auspicious items.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Yongle peach wood carving is a traditional wood carving technique passed down in Yongle Town, Ruicheng County, Shanxi Province. Yongle peach wood carving expresses Daoist culture and folk beliefs and customs. Its area of circulation and source of raw material, Yongle Town, is famous as the legendary hometown of Lü Dongbin, and peach wood carving flourished thanks to the existence of the Yongle Palace, a famous Daoist sacred site. In traditional belief, peach wood has the power to exorcise evil and secure the dwelling, and it was often used as an object to ward off evil. Peach wood is fine-grained and smooth, not prone to cracking, and becomes ever more polished with use. At first, peach wood swords had a blade but no scabbard, and the blade was also "plain" — without patterns or designs. Later the blade gradually gained incised patterns or bas-relief images such as dragons and snakes, and the blade came to be paired with a scabbard. The carving technique was already highly mature by the Tang dynasty, developing methods such as carving, openwork, engraving, incising, inlaying, setting, paring, and rolling, and giving rise to the wheel, conch, umbrella, canopy, lotus, vase, fish, and intestine motifs of peach wood carving — the "Eight Treasures" or "Eight Auspicious Symbols" — and other auspicious objects. Yongle peach wood carving follows strict ritual regulations: makers must observe fasting and purification, conduct the prescribed ceremonies, choose an auspicious time to begin work, and carve according to Daoist auspicious numbers and fixed proportions. Decorative patterns are mostly composed of traditional auspicious designs such as the eight trigrams and the taiji symbol; the azure dragon, white tiger, vermilion bird, and black tortoise; and dragons, phoenixes, joined heart clouds, concentric ruyi scepters, the Eight Treasures, and the hidden Eight Immortals. The method of production uses carving, openwork, engraving, and incising, supplemented by inlay and paring-rolling decorative techniques. Yongle peach wood carving is transmitted around the Li family of Yongle Town. There are professional peach wood carving institutions locally, which also serve as training and employment bases for persons with disabilities, playing a positive role in transmitting and promoting Yongle peach wood carving and advancing local employment for persons with disabilities. The craft skillfully exploits the properties of peach wood and combines them with traditional auspicious imagery; its decorative techniques are diverse, its content rich, and its workmanship exquisite. It expresses Chinese folk belief and aspirations and has high artistic and folkloric value.

The “eight treasures” of peach wood

Peach-wood work developed the eight auspicious emblems — wheel, conch, parasol, canopy, lotus, jar, fish and knot — alongside bagua and four-symbol motifs.

The evolution of the peach-wood sword

At first the peach-wood sword had no scabbard and a plain undecorated blade; later intaglio patterns or low-relief dragon-and-snake forms were added, along with a scabbard.

Ritual observance and auspicious “fixed” proportions

Makers observe fasts, ritual rules and chosen start times, cutting to auspicious Daoist numbers and proportions, then adding inlay and carved decoration.

Li Yanjun and the Chunyang Shrine peach-wood institute

The national inheritor Li Yanjun, ordained as Li Litian in 2000, runs the Chunyang Shrine's peach-wood institute and has developed over a dozen product lines.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The technique is centered on Yongle Town in Ruicheng County and is transmitted around Daoist temples such as the Yongle Palace and Chunyang Temple. It has long been carried on within the Li family of Yongle Town; makers must observe fasting and purification and choose an auspicious time to begin work. Today transmission and training rely on the local Peach Wood Culture Research Institute and the wood carving training and employment base.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Yongle peach wood carving is an important vehicle for transmitting and promoting Daoist culture and has reference value for research into the history and spread of Daoism. Li Yanjun (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1976, a native of Ruicheng County, Shanxi Province. In 2000 he took as his master Taoist Priest Xu Yu (Xuyang Daoren) of the Yongle Chunyang Temple, was given the Taoist name Li Litian, and under Master Xu's planning established the Yongle Chunyang Temple Peach Wood Culture Research Institute. Inheriting the family trade, he personally attends to every step — material selection, design, finalizing the form, cutting, carving, polishing, and burnishing — and on the basis of traditional varieties has developed more than ten series of peach wood products, of which peach wood swords and peach wood auspicious items are the most popular. He is a representative inheritor of wood carving (Yongle peach wood carving), a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project. In recent years, relying on the research institute, he has established a wood carving training and employment base, held practical wood carving technique training courses for persons with disabilities, and taught dozens of apprentices, expanding the space for the transmission and preservation of Yongle peach wood carving.

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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