2. Beautiful craftsmanship
The beautiful jade material is intoxicating and exquisite. The craftsmanship is even more amazing. Every jade work in history was made with the hard work and sweat of the craftsman. It is the crystallization of the wisdom and wisdom of the jade carving workers. I really don’t know how many people worked hard to carve a jade. , busy. For example, the "Dayu's Control of Water and Jade Mountain" collected by the Palace Museum took a full ten years from material selection and design to final engraving, and cost countless taels of money to make even a small jade article. It can only be completed after artists have repeatedly thought about and sketched it, and carried out careful design and consideration according to the conditions limited by the materials. Therefore, a successful work requires not only the high craftsmanship of the craftsman, but also the thinking and creation of the artist. Talent, it can be said, is a perfect combination of mental labor and physical labor.
The craftsmanship of jade is derived from the production of stone tools, but it is different from stone tools and is more delicate and complex than stone tools. First of all, we need to select the material, because only when the material is properly selected can we produce good jade. Second, the design of the jade must absolutely obey the specific conditions given by the material itself, and try to make the work an organic combination of the beauty of the material and the beauty of the shape. This is the most critical step in making jade, and it is also the most unique technology in jade making. Master craftsmen must use weight tools to carry out various processes such as cutting, hooking, removing, drilling, and hollowing out, one by one. The final step is polishing, which is to make the jade more bright, but it must not damage or destroy the shape and decoration of the jade in the Qing Dynasty. The author "Pictures of Ancient Jade" once recorded the entire process of making Chinese jade pods at that time. From material preparation to molding, there were roughly 13 processes. At the same time, because the jade material was hard and tough, the work was difficult. Other materials are incomparable.
In addition, after thousands of years of development and innovation, Chinese jade craftsmanship gradually formed three styles: Jingzuo (Beijing), Suzuo (Suzhou), etc. The style of jade work represented by Fanzuo (Western Regions), especially the skillfully crafted jade wares based on color and color, adds to the splendor of jade craftsmanship.
1. Jingzuo jade is a style of jade craftsmanship centered in Beijing, and can also be said to be the representative of northern jade. Jingzuo jade has a strong and solemn shape. There are many works of round carvings and reliefs, and the pattern craftsmanship is also relatively complex. For example, the various types of antique jade and contemporary jade collected by the Palace Museum all present a noble and elegant temperament and a leisurely, free and elegant Beijing style. Especially the animal-shaped round sculptures, whether they are beasts or birds, are mostly plump and round, and the carvings are solid and strong. Utensils are relatively thick and stable. Although sometimes it is artistically treated with intertwining flowers and plants and intertwined roots and branches, it still retains its simplicity, dignified local characteristics and open and cheerful northern style.
2． Su Zuo
Su Zuo refers to the jade craftsmanship represented by Suzhou. "Tiangong Kaiwu" written by Yingxing of the Ming and Song dynasties once recorded: "Every jade goes back from there by boat, or on a camel, and passes by Zhuanglangren Jiayu to Ganzhou and Suzhou. When they get there, they trade with each other, and people from the East get it. In China, the jade craftsmen in Yanjing judged the quality and then cut it. Although good craftsmen gathered in the capital, the craftsmen in Suzhou were ranked first in the country. . The famous jade carving artist Lu Zigang is one of the masters of jade carving in Suzhou.
Suzuo jade wares generally have many small pieces, and the patterns are mainly Jiangnan scenery and literati paintings. The craftsmanship is exquisite, ingenious and exquisite. According to records, during the Daoguang period, Xu Hong, a famous jade carver in Suzhou, was not only good at carving small pieces of jade, he was also good at carving ivory. He can carve gourds and peaches out of one-inch ivory, just like the real thing. The delicacy of the craftsmanship is amazing, and this kind of utensils are often used as accessories. Another artist, Zhu Hongjin, was able to carve extremely detailed hollowed-out images of flowers and birds, towers, pavilions, bridges, landscapes, etc. on thin sheets of jade, ivory, tortoiseshell, agate, conch shell, etc., which were lifelike. It can be seen that Su Zuo jade is good at a clever word. It mainly uses small materials and simple shapes. It uses hollowing out, hooking and other techniques to display its talents and specialties, and to reflect on common things, scenery and descriptions. It is lifelike, with a soft and gentle Jiangnan sentiment and a graceful and handsome appearance. It can be regarded as a wonderful flower among the jade works of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
3. Fanzuo
Fanzuo is also called Xifanzuo. It refers to the jade craftsmanship of China's western border and its neighboring countries. It mainly includes jade wares from North India, West Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, also known as Hendustan jade wares. Since this region is very different from mainland China in terms of religious beliefs, living customs, etc., the production of jade has a strong exotic flavor.
About the 20th year of Qianlong's reign, Fanzuo jade wares began to enter the Central Plains and were favored by the emperor. Therefore, Fanzuo jade wares gradually became popular. The craftsmanship is generally regular and exquisite, and the shapes are mostly plates, bowls, boxes and other daily utensils. But the walls are as thin as paper, crystal clear and smooth, and the decorative techniques are often based on inlays. Not only are they inlaid with gold and silver wires and gold foil, but they are also inlaid with various colored gemstones and glass, making the warm jade even more luxurious and gorgeous. At the same time, the patterns on the surface of the vessel are mostly based on plump and rich passion flowers, which are unique and refreshing.
4． Qiao Zuo
Qiao Zuo is also called Qiao Se. It is a special craft in which jade craftsmen skillfully design and use the natural color and texture of jade material, and apply polishing techniques suitable for jade material, so that the shape and color of the work can achieve a natural and perfect artistic effect.
According to the existing information, it can be seen that the ancients have mastered this technique relatively skillfully as early as the Shang Dynasty. For example, the two jade turtles unearthed from the Yin Ruins in Anyang were carefully designed by taking advantage of the different colors of the materials. A clever work of thought. After the Tang Dynasty, skillfully crafted jades became more mature. The agate cow-head cup unearthed in Hejia Village, the Qiu Shan jade from the Yuan Dynasty, the "Tongyin Ladies" from the Qing Dynasty, and the jade cabbage collected by the National Palace Museum in Taipei are all considered to be peerless masterpieces. crystal.
It can be seen that Chinese jade craftsmanship is not only a special craft technology with strong oriental art characteristics, but also a reflection of the wisdom and wisdom of the Chinese people for thousands of years. Its ingenious skills and full of That wonderful and moving interest in life makes Chinese jade art more colorful.
In addition, the decorative patterns of Chinese jade also reveal the intelligence and creative ability of jade workers of the past dynasties. Whether it is geometric patterns, natural realistic patterns, or abstract mythological animal patterns on the objects, the brushstrokes are flexible and the lines are vivid. The conciseness contains rich interest, and the vigor shows vivid spirituality, which is handy and free. However, as mentioned above, the beauty caused by Chinese jade does not only come from the form, but mainly from the specific factors that constitute it, that is, the human factor. It is people who have endowed it with various ideological concepts and cultural connotations. This allows talented art masters to skillfully integrate natural beauty and spiritual beauty, penetrate humanistic concepts and social functions into jade articles, and imbue the profound national culture. The comprehensiveness of the earth is reflected in Hu Fan's artistic works. At the same time, it is this kind of humanistic concept that is more vivid and charming than natural objects that arouses a spirit from the bottom of people's hearts when they appreciate and appreciate it, arouses a yearning that is more colorful than life, and induces Hope and love. In other words, the beauty of jade has long gone beyond the simple beauty of shape, craftsmanship and materials. It is a regenerated beauty, a sublimated beauty. This kind of beauty penetrates into the earth like spring rain, burying value and energy in the human spirit. Therefore, it not only wins people's inseparable love for jade, but also shows its artistic charm that touches the heart.