Hulu Carving
01 · Historical Records
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Dongchang Prefecture — one of the nine great commercial ports along the Grand Canal — was the political, economic, and cultural hub of the western Shandong plain; boats and carts came and went, merchants gathered, and it prospered for more than four hundred years. In the 1930s and 1940s, Dongchang carved gourds sold as far as all parts of China; after the founding of the People's Republic of China the craft maintained a good momentum of development and was once flourishing.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Dongchang gourd carving is practiced in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, centered on Tangyi Town in Dongchangfu District and extending to Liangshui Town, Yansi Subdistrict Office, and what is now Xinji Town in Guan County. Dongchang has had a longstanding custom of keeping katydids in carved gourds. In this context, carved gourds with local characteristics became an important commercial product for farm families on both banks of the canal. Dongchang gourd carving uses carefully selected materials, with mature carving work, fluent lines, rich patterns, and fine execution, displaying a distinct regional character. This gourd-carving craft combines elegant modeling technique with realistic expression, forming a complete artistic system. Finished gourds are mostly carved with patterns and motifs expressing auspicious meanings, expressing ancient cultural themes continuous with fertility worship and totem worship. Over its long history, Dongchang gourd carving has been transmitted strictly through the master-apprentice system, passing on uninterrupted from generation to generation. Dongchang gourd carving is a treasure of Chinese folk art; the distinctiveness of its materials, breadth of its themes, uniqueness of its technique, and diversity of its styles are rarely seen in other traditional crafts, and it can provide important reference for the study of traditional folk art, Shandong history and culture, and canal culture. Dongchang carved gourds have a wide range of uses: they can serve as everyday utensils and sacrificial offerings, as craftworks and personal ornaments, and can even be used medicinally and as food. The patterns and motifs carved on the gourds are full of auspicious meaning and are extremely rich in cultural connotation. Excavating, rescuing, and protecting the Dongchang gourd-carving craft helps enrich the cultural life of the masses and promote the building of a harmonious society.
Crickets in gourd cages
Since old times the district raised crickets in carved gourds, and the gourd's own silhouette suited the practical need, becoming a canal-side commodity.
Four decorative methods
The inheritor Li Yucheng, trained by Li Shangxian, works by knife, needle, painting and pyrography, excelling at Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Twin Dragons and Wu Song Fighting the Tiger.
Fertility and totem motifs
Its motifs descend from older fertility and totem worship, and the gourd's own associations with fortune and many descendants reinforce them.
Strict master-to-apprentice transmission
Transmission is strictly master to apprentice and unbroken through the generations; Li Yucheng was named among the province's ten outstanding rural young cultural figures.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Dongchang gourd carving is practiced in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, centered on Tangyi Town in Dongchangfu District and extending to Liangshui Town, Yansi Subdistrict Office, and what is now Xinji Town in Guan County; during the Ming and Qing dynasties Dongchang Prefecture, as one of the nine great commercial ports along the Grand Canal, saw boats and carts coming and going and merchants gathering, which drove the production of carved gourds as an important commercial product for farm families on both banks of the canal.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Li Yucheng (record from the official inheritor archive): Male, Han ethnicity, born in May 1956, from Liaocheng City, Shandong Province. From childhood he learned gourd carving under Li Shangxian, inheriting his master's methods and studying them diligently. He excels at knife carving, needle engraving, painted decoration, and branded gourds, and is particularly skilled at carving patterns such as “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea,” “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl,” and “Wu Song Subduing the Tiger.” The art of gourd carving is ancient yet not clumsy, combining the delicate beauty of line drawing in traditional painting with the elegant clarity of ink painting. His works have repeatedly been shown in provincial- and municipal-level exhibitions and have won many honors; for his achievements in gourd carving he has also received titles such as one of Shandong's Ten Rural Youth Cultural Celebrities. He is a representative inheritor of gourd carving (Dongchang gourd carving), a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Li Yucheng 05-2673
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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