The "Jiu Chi" walnuts are irregular oval in shape, with a maximum diameter of nearly 4 cm. They are purple-brown and shiny in color, with a moisturizing feel and a ripe and smooth feel. They are old and mature.
Both chi and dragon are dragons, and the nine dragons are the most noble. Therefore, there were Nine Dragon Halls in the Han and Wei Dynasties, and Nine Dragon Tents, Nine Dragon Crowns, Nine Dragon Robes, Nine Dragon Walls, and Nine Dragon Pillars in the Five Dynasties. The dragon totem has become a symbol of Chinese civilization.
The "Jiu Chi" hand-kneaded walnuts and the "Jiulong" hand-kneaded walnuts are both carved from hickory nuts. The artist controls the knife and pen with the bamboo in his chest, treating the intricately wrinkled ridges and stems of the knife's core as a form of chaos. In the sky and the earth, sculpted clouds are fluttering, and the purple air is diffused. The nine dragons either turn their heads and move on top of the clouds, or they raise their heads and stretch out in the mist. The nine dragons fly through the sky, push the clouds and mist, or both appear. His body may fly straight up into the clouds. Four walnuts, like dragons and leaping dragons, all flew playfully in the sea of ??clouds, sky and mist.
The intricate wrinkled ridges on the surface of hickory nuts are like criss-crossing high hills and deep valleys. The knife-catcher must not only have the ability to skillfully use this complex shape to create intentional shapes for Jiuzhi and Jiulong, but also must have the ability to use the knife to create the desired shape. The road is a rich association of changing the intended shape at any time. The design layout strives to ensure that Jiu Chi and Jiu Long are not crowded or congested. Chi and Chi echo each other, dragons and dragons look forward to each other, clouds and air are connected, and "balls" and "balls" are separated and integrated. One breath. The "Jiu Chi" hand-rubbing walnut knife path is rough, the lines are not rounded enough, but more vigorous, and the wild charm is more important than the elegance. The artist clearly pays attention to the shape and does not care about the meticulous carving of the details. The chi head is obviously "square and bucket-shaped". "Kowloon" is a walnut-copper color with a moist and smooth hand feel, a round knife technique, and fine lines. Although the picture is complex, the dragons and dragon strips are clearly separated, and the scales are clear. As for the boldness of the use of the knife, the richness of imagination, and the sparseness, complexity and orderliness of the composition, they all show the skill of mastery. Although these two pieces of hand-kneaded walnuts are unsigned, who can say that their author does not deserve the reputation of an unknown master?
Compared with the hand-kneaded walnuts, the amygdala sculpture is insignificant. , it is the smallest among the core carvings, but it is small and delicate, and it can add elegance to viewing it. For example, the amygdala carving "Macaque" is only 2 centimeters high. The whole carving is a sitting monkey, holding food in both hands and taking big bites. The shape is lifelike, the knife skills are rough, but the lines are accurate and concise, with a few strokes and a few knives, it is naughty. The little monkey is ready to come out. Although he is so small and inconspicuous, he can show his skills in subtleties, and if he is so well-behaved, he will be loved by everyone.
Whether it is hand-kneaded walnuts, or olive stone carvings, peach stone carvings, or apricot stone carvings, their exquisite works are enough to fascinate people. Otherwise, why would the princes and Baylors bring hand-kneaded walnuts to the palace as tribute? For the enjoyment of the royal family and dignitaries? Princes, nobles and even literati and officials loved to rub walnuts in their hands. They would either weave a silk mesh bag and hang it on their waist as a decoration, and shake it to make a pleasant sound of "squeaking"; or they would play with it when they were meditating or leisurely. Use the palm of your hand and rub it to feel relaxed and strengthen your body and mind.
So the hand-kneaded walnut got a perfect nickname, called "Wenwan walnut", and the other walnuts were naturally called "Wenwan walnuts". The so-called "literary play" means that nuclear sculpture should be among the works of art. Its exquisiteness, elegance, fragrance and charm can all be included in the four words "elegant, elegant and elegant". What is the best choice for “Literature and Artifacts”? As today’s collecting world is increasingly developing toward the high level of collecting rare and elegant objects, art and antiques are not only exquisite objects, but also core carvings of works of art. Naturally, their value has skyrocketed. Nuclear boat: It is a folk handicraft specially carved into painted boats and small boats with fruit cores. It originated in ancient times and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It shows the superb state of ancient craftsmanship and the wisdom of the working people of ancient my country. It is a type of micro-carving in core carving techniques.
There was a man with special skills in the Ming Dynasty named Wang Shuyuan. He could carve a piece of wood one inch in diameter into palaces, utensils, figures, and even birds, animals, trees, and stones, all according to the original shape of the wood. The shapes are carved into the shapes of various things, each with its own mood. Wang Shuyuan is a master of the art of carving nuclear boats. The nuclear boat he carved "Su Shi's Tour of Red Cliff" was later written by the essayist Wei Xuezhen in the article "Nuclear Boat", which vividly described this exquisite micro-carving handicraft. Among them are sentences such as "Don't take pictures according to the situation, each has its own mood", "Since its length has never been more than an inch, those who build it with a simple peach core and trim it narrowly can do it." It can be seen that the core boat has high artistic and ornamental value. .
Today's nuclear boats inherit the exquisite traditional skills of their predecessors, while incorporating new era content and techniques, pushing this ancient and magical folk art to another peak. In the past, nuclear boats that people knew mostly represented ancient figures. The "South Lake Red Boat" of nuclear boats introduced realistic portraits into the creation of nuclear boats, realistically depicting a major representative of the party and showing the story of "the sun rises in the east and creates the world". A great initiative should be a new one. It not only applies the past to the present, but also introduces the new from the old, giving new connotation to the ancient nuclear boat art. Yang Hongwu, a provincial arts and crafts master from Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, spent more than five months carefully carving a nuclear boat work titled "South Lake Red Boat". This nuclear boat uses fine olive pits as its raw material and takes the Nanhu Hua Fang in Jiaxing as its prototype. It depicts in detail the historical moment when a large number of representatives who joined the party established the Communist Party of China on the Hua Fang. The entire "South Lake Red Boat" contains 2 engraved boats, 12 people, 10 small windows, 4 cabins, 2 pots, 2 cups, 5 books and documents, 1 oar, stove, small table each, and 1 chain link , 128 words of text, and 5 of the 12 people also wear glasses, all of which are included.
The nuclear boat "South Lake Red Boat", made of olive stone, was created by Mr. Yang Hongwu in June 2006 and donated to the China Maritime Museum on March 12, 2009. It is understood that the China Maritime Museum is the first national maritime museum established with the approval of the State Council. It is located in the main urban area of ??Lingang New City and the Donghai Bridge Bridge in Nanhui District, Shanghai.
It is reported that in addition to the "South Lake Red Boat", the nuclear boat donated by Yang Hongwu also includes two works: "The Queen of Heaven" and "Zheng Chenggong Misses His Hometown".
Suzhou nuclear carvings
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Suzhou nuclear carvings gradually became popular. Officials and merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas advocated elegance, and it was popular to appreciate rare treasures such as bamboo and wood ivory carvings to show their identity and status. Since then, nuclear carvings have become popular in both the government and the public, and there has been a grand phenomenon that "every literati must hold a folding fan, and if there is a folding fan, there must be a nuclear carving fan pendant." The exquisite, exquisite and skillful nuclear carvings are eagerly worn and collected by people. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were also many famous nuclear carving artists, such as Yang Zhishan and Du Guilan. Yang Zhishan's walnut carving "Picture Notes of the Elegant Gathering of the West Garden" is exquisite in skill; Du Guilan's walnut carving was even used as a gift to foreign heads of state when Premier Zhou Enlai visited in 1955.
During the Republic of China, nuclear sculptures gradually emerged in Zhoushan Village on the edge of Taihu Lake in Suzhou. Zhoushan Village has been a place for carving craftsmen since ancient times. According to "Xiangshan Xiaozhi": "Fifty-six out of ten Xiangshan Zi people are skilled. There are also carvers who specialize in carving bamboo roots, bamboo joints, boxwood, red sandalwood, as well as ivory, horns, peach stones, olive stones, and landscape carvings." The figures, flowers, birds and other toys are exquisite and elegant, and are both elegant and popular."