Bamboo Carving Art in China

Bamboo sculpture, also known as bamboo carving, as described by Zhao Ruzhen in the "Antiques Guide - Bamboo Carvings": "bamboo carving is carvings on bamboos, the artworks are same as paintings and calligraphy, just to use knife to replace brushes, and use bamboo to replace papers”, this summary is concise and comprehensive, and quite finespun and exquisite.

Bamboo Carving - Fisherman

China is the first country in the world that began to use bamboo products, so in China bamboo carving is also has a long history. Carved a variety of decorative patterns and words on bamboo utensils, or carved bamboo roots into a variety of ornaments and furnishings. Bamboo carving become a form of art since the Six Dynasties, and accepted and loved slowly by mass people until the Tang Dynasty. When bamboo carving developed to the prosperous times in the Ming and Qing dynasty, the exquisite techniques of bamboo carving had exceeded to previous generations, and bamboo carving become a unique and attractive art form in the history of Chinese arts and crafts.

Bamboo Carving in late time of the Ming Dynasty - Pen House

In earlier times, bamboo carvings were usually palaces, figures, landscapes, birds and flowers and so on decorations carved on utensils, and bamboo carving artworks survived in the world are very rarely, mostly are artworks created in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Bamboo carving products in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the exquisite carving skills has gone beyond the previous generation for a long time. Most of bamboo carvings created in the Ming dynasty is simple and vigorous, full composed and deep carved, as well as have powerful lines, usually the carved patterns will coved the whole body of utensil. While bamboo carvings created in the Qing dynasty were descended from the art style of the Ming dynasty, but has more rich and varied performance ways, carving techniques as relief carving and bas-relief are used simultaneous.

Bamboo Carving in the Qing Dynasty - Coins

Some bamboo sculptures and carvings are carved concisely, simple and generous, and some finespun and exquisite, some have dense and rich patterns, and ever-changing . The main carving methods of bamboo carving there are shade lines, positive carving, round carving, engraved carving, deep and shadow relief or high relief and so on.


* Original address of this China gift post: China Gift and Fine Arts & Crafts in China