Artistic characteristics of Huizhou three sculptures
First, Huizhou merchants are giants and honor their ancestors. Huizhou merchants who have left their hometown and worked hard all their lives have the financial resources and desire to build ancestral temples, memorial archways, luxury houses and water gates in their hometown, and also have enough financial resources and elegance to show their luxury and wealth.
Second, elaborate, disguised over the limit. In the era of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining business", the mentality of Huizhou merchants has been in a depressed predicament. On the one hand, they want to take this opportunity to make a big splash and release a little bit, but on the other hand, they are limited by the rules and regulations of etiquette, so they have to spend all their financial resources, energy and venting desires on elaborate carving, so that they can go beyond the limit in disguise and remain magnificent.
Third, skilled craftsmen do their best. Since ancient times, Huizhou has been a versatile craftsman, and Huang Zeng, a master of traditional Chinese painting, once commented on "Huizhou's talented talents". Yangzhou gardens are mostly made by Huizhou craftsmen, and the carved dragons on the pillars of Dacheng Hall of Confucius Temple in Qufu are also made by Huizhou craftsmen. It is precisely because there are so many skilled craftsmen in Huizhou that the artistic characteristics of Huizhou's three sculptures are unique, exquisite and meaningful, and they are improving day by day and reaching the peak. One of the traditional "Huizhou Four Carvings". Brick carving is a kind of architectural decoration carved on the hard and fine blue-gray bricks in Huizhou. Widely used in Huizhou gatehouse, door cover, lintel, eaves, roofs, making the building look elegant and solemn. It is an important part of Huizhou architectural art rising since Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The production procedure of "Huizhou Three Sculptures" varies with different materials, tools and techniques. For example, the production procedures of brick carving include brick repairing, lofting, blank making, thinning, polishing and repairing. Traditional tools mainly include carbon rods, chisels, brick planers, crowbars, mallets, grindstones, emery cloths, bow saws, brown brushes, drag drills and so on. The production procedures of woodcarving include taking materials, lofting, rough machining, rough machining, polishing, wiping oil, painting and so on. Traditional tools mainly include hatchet, hardwood hammer, chisel, carving knife, wire saw, grindstone and emery cloth. The production procedure of stone carving includes stone processing, drawing, cleaning, rough machining, hollowing out and fine grinding. Traditional tools mainly include chisel, wedge, chisel, carving knife, hammer, axe, chopping axe, hammer, chop, grinding head and so on.
The representative works of Huizhou's three sculptures are Chengzhitang and Woodcarving Building in Hongcun, yi county, especially Chengzhitang's carved beam woodcarving "The Hundred Immortals Make the Lantern Festival"; The stone carvings are the "Songshi" and "Zhu Mei" sister stone carvings of Tang Yue Paifang Group in Shexian County and Xidi in yi county, especially the sister stone carvings are leaking windows, one on the left and one on the right, one on one, reaching the artistic perfection of poetry without words and pictures; Brick carving is a large-scale brick carving of the "500-Li Huangshan Map" in Tunxi Riverside Corridor. It is an unparalleled masterpiece in terms of many scenic spots, large frame area, diverse perspectives and exquisite carving techniques.
The contents of Huizhou Three Sculptures mainly include folk customs, operas, flowers and birds, animals, dragons, lions and red deer, scenic spots, folk customs, fishing and firewood farming, Eight Immortals of Light and Dark, and Bo Gu Jitu. Its carving techniques are generally relief, mixed with through carving, round carving, line carving and other techniques. Brick carving is a decorative art of traditional Han architecture, especially folk architecture, and a very important art form in ancient Han architecture carving. It was started by Bao Si, a kiln worker in Huizhou in the Ming Dynasty. According to legend, Bao Si learned to burn kiln with his parents. Although the brick business is good, it takes a lot of time and manpower to burn bricks, and he can't make much money. He saw that Huizhou merchants who knew how to do business often came back rich. They paid a lot of money, so they were insatiable and bought brick kilns to do business in Huai 'an. After doing business for four years, Bao earned countless money and became the richest man in Huizhou. He is so proud that he is shown to be rich everywhere. He built a treasure temple in Huai 'an, molded his whole body, unveiled a list to build a treasure temple street, and said that he had countless money. At this moment, a middle-aged woman with a long-necked wine bottle and a bottle of Yang Liuzhi came up to Bao Si and said, "Boss Bao, don't brag. There is no end to skills in the world. How can there be unlimited money? " Bao Si blushed and said, "What do you know!" The middle-aged woman said, "I can be a lotus." Bao Si doesn't believe it. With his own money, he made a bet, one lotus at a time, and the other side would follow, winning or losing was the same. The woman readily agreed, stepped forward and pointed to the ground with her hand. A lotus flower appeared on the ground, followed by Bao Si holding an ingot. Step by step, half a mile down, the woman's lotus is still there, and Bao Si's ingot is gone. Bao Si had to give up, and Huai 'an people built a street house on the way to put the lotus flowers on the land, named "Lotus Street". Baosi was penniless, so he had to smash his image in the temple, gather together some travelling expenses, and returned to Huisan, so he had to return to his old job-burning kiln. Someone told him that the woman who gambled on the silver ingot with lotus was Guanyin, and Bao Si realized that "money is limited, skills are endless" is the teaching of the gods. Since then, he has devoted himself to burning bricks. Because I was so impressed with the lotus, I burned the lotus brick and gradually carved flowers, trees, people and pavilions on the brick. Three years later, Bao Si became more and more skilled, and he took several masters to learn brick carving. At that time, after some Huizhou merchants became rich, they went back to their hometown to build large-scale buildings, repair word halls and build luxury houses, which often cost a lot of money. Exquisite, fresh and elegant brick carvings are widely used. Since then, Huizhou brick carving has developed and become famous all over the country.
Brick carving includes plane carving, relief carving and three-dimensional carving. Themes include feather flowers, dragons, tigers and lions, gardens and landscapes, and dramatic figures. , with a strong folk color. The style of brick carving in Ming dynasty is too rough and simple; In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, due to the pursuit of luxury life by wealthy businessmen, the style of brick carving in Qing dynasty became more and more exquisite and complex, paying attention to plot and composition, and deepening the level of through carving. Carve a picture with a complicated plot and an empty floor on a brick that is more than square feet and less than an inch thick. From close range to distant view, the layers are distinct, with up to nine levels, which makes people feel exquisite.
Huizhou brick carving is very particular about its materials and production. Generally, the blue bricks with pure color that have been fired and landed by special technology are used as materials. First, finely grind them into blanks, outline all parts of the picture on them, chisel out the depth of the picture, and determine the distance level of the picture. Then, according to the outline of each part, it is carefully carved and refined locally, so that the pre-designed pattern-I stands out. Brick carvings can be seen everywhere in Shexian, yi county, Wuyuan, Xiuning and Tunxi. Brick carvings embedded in ancient houses, support halls, temples and other buildings are still exquisite and intriguing, although they have been honed by years and eroded by wind and rain. There is a brick-carved stove temple in Shexian Museum. On the square brick surface, there is a circular carved bodhisattva, wearing a golden helmet, armor and holding a steel mace. According to research, this exquisite brick carving cost 1200 craftsmen, and it is a classic of Huizhou brick carving art. In 1980s, with the establishment of Huizhou Ancient Building Materials Company, brick carving revived as a practical decorative art.. Huizhou three sculptures
Stone carvings are widely distributed in urban and rural areas of Huizhou. They are mainly used for the decoration of pillars, door walls, archways and graves of temple houses. They belong to the art of relief and round carving and enjoy a high reputation. The theme of Huizhou stone carving is limited by the carving materials themselves, and it is not as complicated as wood carving and brick carving. There are mainly animal and plant images, Bo Gu patterns, calligraphy and so on, but there are relatively few stories about people and mountains and waters. In terms of carving style, the relief is mainly shallow through carving and flat carving, and the trend of round carving is obvious. The knife method is refined in simplicity and generosity, which is not as delicate and complicated as wood carving and brick carving in Qing Dynasty. Huizhou mountain area is rich in wood, and the buildings are mostly brick, wood and stone structures, especially the use of wood, which has become a place where woodcarvers give full play to their talents. Huizhou woodcarving, as the decoration of old buildings and household appliances, covers urban and rural areas, and its distribution is few and far between in China. Wood carvings can be seen on screens, window frames, columns, beds, tables, chairs, desks and stationery in the house, almost everywhere. Huizhou woodcarving has a wide range of themes, including figures, landscapes, flowers, animals, insects and fish, cloud heads, palindromes, eight-treasure Bo Gu, tin couplets and various auspicious patterns. Huizhou wood carving is based on the needs and possibilities of building objects, using round carving, relief carving, through carving and other forms of expression.
"Huizhou Three Sculptures" closely and steadily coordinate with the whole building, and its exquisite layout, structure, decoration, structure and connotation are amazing. Whether wood carving, brick carving or stone carving, relief, general carving, round carving, line carving and other techniques are used together, from which we can see the inheritance of architectural decoration carving art in China since the Han and Tang Dynasties, and also reflect the influence of other artistic styles in Huizhou culture, such as Xin 'an Painting School, Huizhou Printmaking, Huizhou Seal Carving, Huizhou Ink Painting, Huizhou Seal Carving and so on.