Stone Carvings

Stone Carvings

　　Product Name: Stone Carvings

　　Place of Origin: Wenzhou, Zhejiang

　　Product Features: Rich in color, uniquely patterned, diverse in variety, with a waxy luster and a smooth touch.

　　Product Introduction: Wenzhou stone carvings are mainly made from high-quality argillaceous chlorite from Qingtian. They are rich in color, uniquely patterned, diverse in variety, and have a waxy luster with a smooth touch. To create exquisite stone carvings, a complete set of tools is required: chisels, carving knives, drills, awls (a tool covered with sharp copper spikes), saws, etc. The production process can be roughly divided into five steps: first is material selection, conceptualization, and layout; the second step is called “roughing and poking,” which involves chiseling out the general outline of the work; then further creating various sized holes in the stone to prepare for detailed carving; and finally, fine carving to scrape off unnecessary chisel marks, making the piece smooth. After the carving is completed, additional decorative work is done, such as adding bases, padding, polishing, and waxing. Stone carving techniques are diverse, with round carving and openwork carving being the most common, among which openwork carving is the most distinctive. The stone quality of Wenzhou stone carvings is beautiful and showcases superb craftsmanship, along with strong local characteristics, making them highly favored by tourists from both China and abroad.

　　Product History: The reform and opening up of China starting in the 1980s created excellent opportunities for the development of stone carving, ushering in a golden age for the spread of Southern-style stone carving. Over a hundred thousand workers from Hui'an spread across more than twenty provinces and cities nationwide, leaving behind countless timeless masterpieces. In addition to contributing to the construction of the Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and the Nanchang Uprising Monument in the 1970s, Fujian Province itself boasts the nation’s tallest statue on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen—a 15.7-meter-tall statue of Zheng Chenggong; the Goddess of the Sea Mazu statue on Meizhou Island in Putian, a symbol of peace across the Taiwan Strait; the tallest stone pagoda in China at Xichan Temple in Fuzhou; the Premier’s Memorial Hall in Huai’an, Jiangsu; the New Fourth Army Memorial Hall in Yancheng; the Memorial Hall at Yuhuatai in Nanjing; the Jinzhou Liberation Monument; the Liaoshen Campaign Monument; the Mao Zedong Poetry Stele Forest in Shaoshan, Hunan; the Terracotta Army Exhibition Hall in Xi'an; the Shaanxi History Museum; the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor; the Tibet Hotel; the Qinghai-Tibet and Sichuan-Tibet Highway Monument; the Jinggangshan Reunion Monument; the Xuanwu Tower in Guangzhou and the 500 Arhats in Fengshan, Taiwan. The over 200-square-meter Nine-Dragon Wall and Nine-Dragon Pond at the Xiantian Yuxu Palace in Chiayi, Taiwan, are particularly breathtaking and rare, considered the best in the world. There are also the Zheng He Statue in the Strait of Malacca, Malaysia, the Jianzhen Monk Garden in Japan, and the “Fuzhou Garden” in Naha City. It can be said that the modern history of Hui'an’s stone carving is a condensed version of China’s revolution and construction, a testament to China’s reform and opening up, a record of the shared roots across the Taiwan Strait, a history of promoting Southern-style stone carving art, and a glorious history of advancing the outstanding culture of the Chinese nation. As a nationally renowned hometown of stone carving, the stone carving industry has long been a pillar of Hui'an’s economy. Currently, Hui'an stone carvings are categorized into six major types—round carving, relief carving, shadow carving, colored carving, and stele stone—offering hundreds of varieties. The products are sold to dozens of countries including Japan, Europe, America, and Southeast Asia, as well as regions such as Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.