Huizhou Bamboo Carving

Huizhou Bamboo Carving

Huizhou bamboo carving is a national intangible cultural heritage.

　　Bamboo Carving: The bamboo carving art of Huizhou is an important part of China’s bamboo carving tradition. Huizhou bamboo carving has its own distinctive local characteristics, but overall, bamboo carving works from any region are unified under distinct stylistic trends of their respective eras, while regional styles are not particularly prominent—individual styles, however, are highly distinctive. The bamboo incense tube, as the name suggests, was used to hold fragrant flowers or spices, with delicate aromas wafting through its exquisitely carved, translucent walls. The tube's surface is intricately engraved with figures, flowers, birds, grasses, and insects. The elaborate and unique designs are treasured as precious artworks. The bamboo brush pot was one of the elegant stationery items highly esteemed by the literati of Huizhou during the Ming Dynasty, used to adorn study rooms and placed on desks. The bamboo arm rest was a tool used to support the wrist and forearm while writing or painting. Broadly speaking, bamboo carving falls into two categories: one is surface carving on bamboo, such as the aforementioned incense tubes, brush pots, arm rests, and fan ribs. Surface carvings can be divided into intaglio and relief, each of which includes both deep and shallow carving techniques. For intaglio, there are fine-line carving, line engraving, deep carving, and recessed deep carving; for relief, there are leaf-surface carving, thin-ground relief, low relief, high relief, and openwork. The other category is three-dimensional round carving, typically made from bamboo roots, creating solid figures of people, birds, and animals.

　　As an important school within Chinese bamboo carving, Huizhou bamboo carving techniques are distributed across the six former counties under the jurisdiction of old Huizhou—She County, Xiuning, Yi County, Jixi County, Qimen, and Wuyuan—as well as surrounding areas, primarily prevailing in Huangshan City (formerly the Huizhou region). Huangshan City is located in the hilly southern part of Anhui Province, covering a total area of 9,807 square kilometers, with a moso bamboo forest area of 63,300 hectares, making it a distinctive local ecological resource. Huizhou lies at the southern foot of Huangshan Mountain and to the north of Tianmu Mountain, characterized by numerous mountains and ridges, peculiar pines and rocks, drifting white clouds, and poetic bridges over flowing streams—all of which have served as themes for bamboo carvings throughout history. Ancient Huizhou was once a renowned “hometown of carving art” during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with Huizhou bamboo carving playing a significant role in the development of Chinese bamboo carving techniques. Historical records mention representative figures of the Huizhou bamboo carving school, such as Wu Yuanman, Li Liufang, Cheng Jiasi, Zhang Lifu, Li Xiqiao, Fang Jie, and Cheng Wencai (from the "Biographies • Acrobatics" section of the Republican-era She County Annals). According to Wang Shixiang’s "A Small Talk on Bamboo Carving," two out of the “Four Masters of Jiading” from the late Ming period were from Huizhou—Li Liufang and Cheng Jiasi. Even Zhu Songlin, the founder of Jiading bamboo carving, could trace his origins back to Huizhou. The master of traditional Chinese painting, Huang Binhong, once said that Zhu Songlin’s bamboo carving techniques and style were largely formed in Huizhou, with his works reflecting the region’s humanistic landscapes and features. Li Xiqiao was a famous bamboo carving artist of the Qing Dynasty and a disciple of Li Liufang. Li Xiangshun (from She County) followed Li Xiqiao in the craft and gained considerable fame for a time. Wang Xulun (1910–1975), also from She County, studied under Li Xiangshun, excelled in design and carving, and represented Huizhou-style bamboo and wood carving at the first National Model Workers Congress after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, where he was received by Commander-in-Chief Zhu De. From historical texts and preserved works in today’s museums, it is evident that Huizhou bamboo carving integrates multiple techniques such as relief carving, high relief, openwork, round carving, and line engraving. It serves as an expressive craft language of Huizhou culture, shaped by the region’s mountainous landscapes, humanistic background, and regional culture. It is both a folk handicraft that combines ornamental and practical values, and an art form appreciated by all. It holds the value of traditional craftsmanship, including historical, artistic, and utilitarian worth. However, after centuries of brilliance, Huizhou bamboo carving now faces a critical state of endangerment due to drastic social, economic, and cultural changes, corporate restructuring, and a severe loss of talent. Without prompt rescue efforts, it may soon be lost forever. Cherishing, protecting, and passing down this heritage is the shared aspiration of every person from Huizhou.