Shanghai Jade Carving

Shanghai Jade Carving

　　　Shanghai jade carving mainly falls into four categories: censers and vases, figures, birds, and beasts. Among these, censers and vases are the most renowned for their dignified and elegant designs, simple yet exquisite patterns, and a strong bronze ware aesthetic, setting them apart in the jade carving industry. There is a wide variety of Shanghai jade censers and vases, including incense burners, bottles, tripods, you-vessels, jue-vessels, incense censers, cups, boxes, and lamps. Their shapes are diverse: there are three-legged censers, four-legged censers, crane-shaped censers, phoenix-shaped censers, eagle-shaped censers, as well as double-chicken vases, double-ox vases, double-elephant vases, double-sheep vases, and various chain-patterned vases.

　　　　Shanghai jade carving produces not only small decorative items and medium-sized display pieces but also several world-rare large-scale jade carvings. In 1962, under the direction of veteran artisans Wei Zhengrong and Guan Shengchun, a massive jade carving titled “The Red Flag on Mount Everest” weighing over 4,000 jin (approximately 2,000 kg) was created, depicting the heroic feat of 41 Chinese mountaineers conquering the world’s rooftop. In 1979, the Shanghai Jade Carving Factory, led by master artisan Huang Derong and with the collaboration of dozens of artisans, used a 7,300-kilogram piece of dark green jade to design and craft the 2.6-meter-high, 1.4-meter-wide “Ten Thousand Waters and Thousand Mountains.” During the creation of this giant jade carving, artisans employed a combination of techniques including round carving, deep and shallow relief carving, openwork carving, and pierced carving, taking over a year to complete what is the largest jade carving product in China’s history.