Xiangshan Bamboo Root Carving

Xiangshan is the place where Tiantai Mountain goes eastward into the sea. It is located in the middle of the east coast of Zhejiang province. The mountains in Xiangshan are rich with bamboo and for thousands of years, bamboo has played a vital role in the area. Xiangshan people have lived among the bamboo, eaten bamboo shoots, used simple machines made from bamboo and developed bamboo crafts. One of the most popular bamboo crafts is bamboo carving, which is similar to wood and stone carving, which is similar to wood and stone carving and also enjoys a long history. Because bamboo is soft and deteriorates easily, it is difficult to preserve. As such, there are only a few ancient bamboo works which remain intact today.

Since the 1970s, Xiangshans root carving folk artists began to explore and innovate the art of bamboo root carving. These artists have continuously absorbed the elements of painting, calligraphy, wood carvings, stone carvings and other sister arts to bring life to the natural art elements of bamboo root. Artists have used a freehand technique to adapt to each individual bamboo roots shape and texture.

The artists have also developed newer methods to expand upon the traditional folk elements, including hollowing out, embossing, intaglio and other various forms. The artists use what they refer to as, disorderly carving method to create a great number of vivid bamboo root carving works with a multitude of shapes. They then use new mothproofing, anti-mildew and anti-cracking techniques to finish and preserve their work, which has recently achieved remarkable recognition at home and abroad.

Xiangshan bamboo root carving has tremendous historical and cultural value as well as technological and economic value, in that it requires a diverse set of skills, but at its heart it is still an art. The processing techniques may appear simple, but they are a product of the collective wisdom of generations upon generations of people, passed down through the ages.

Source: Ningbo Focus

LINK:	http://en.nbwh.gov.cn/art/2013/7/10/art_1325_41965.html...
	See more stories from ningbo

Most recent headlines