Chapter 15 Chinese Carving中国雕刻
Carving art has a long history in China and it reflects the culture of Chinese nation．The carving remains and cultural relics kept till now are the precious artistic pearls in the treasure house of Chinese art．There are many types of carving，mainly four types in China，that is，jade carving，wood carving，stone carving and bamboo carving．
1.Jade Carving
Jade is understood in China as the collective name for most precious stones，and the love of jade ware has been one of the cultural features of China．The Chinese regard carved jade objects as intrinsically valuable，and they metaphorically equate jade with human virtue due to its solidity，durability and(moral)beauty．Jade can be divided into many categories such as white jade，yellow jade，agate，and turquoise，etc．The jade carved into different shapes is called jade carving which is one of the oldest carving types and constitutes an important part of Chinese arts and crafts．
Many countries boast a jade ware culture，but none of them can match China's long jade ware history．In China，jade ware underwent a long process of development beginning from the Neolithic Age 10，000 years ago．The earliest jade ware found in China was a piece of serpentine stoneware unearthed at the Immortal Cave in Haicheng，Liaoning Province，dating back more than 12，000 years ago．
The second jade ware was a small hanging jade article excavated at Hemudu in Zhejiang Province dating back more than 7，000 years ago．Jade ware from that period was mainly used for personal decoration．A large number of exquisite jade objects were produced 4，000 years ago．At the time，jade ware was mainly used for witchcraft and as an emblem of privilege．
The three dynasties of Xia，Shang and Zhou were significant periods in the development of Chinese ancient jade articles．There were few jade articles found of Xia Dynasty．During the Shang Dynasty，with the development of society，craftsmen used metal tools to make progress in jade ware models and sculpture．During Zhou Dynasty，ancient jade art had achieved a high level and jade carving had become an independent trade．
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period，all the kingdoms paid special attention to the producing of jade carving articles;as a result，wellcarved，initiative and exquisite works were left and the coherent and undulating patterns of the dragon，phoenix and panli(a figure of Chinese folklore)on the jade decorations are still treasured today．
In Han Dynasty，Chinese jade carving art experienced its prosperous golden time，putting an end to the development of the ancient jade art of Shang and Zhou dynasties，and actively exploited new schools succeeding the techniques of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring State Period．During this period，jade ware became more practical and objects such as jade tablets became obsolete．At that time，people began to believe in the power of jade ware to increase longevity:they thought they would live forever like gods if they possessed jade ware．Therefore，the practice of burying the dead with jade ware became common．Invaluable jade figures and clothes sewn with golden thread have been found in tombs dating back to the Han Dynasty．
After the advanced Han jade art，jade carving met its low tide in the following 300 years．In Sui and Tang Dynasties，jade carving became flourishing again，but people didn't take jade carving as something mysterious．A large number of jade carving articles were collected as treasures by royal families，aristocrats and the rich，thus made jade carving articles mainly as rare curios，as well as a kind of complementary decorum．
Song Dynasty was a period in which Chinese craft got highly developed，and jade articles also began to develop in a worldly，decorative manner．Jade carving in Yuan Dynasty also gained big achievement．
Jade carving craft in Qing Dynasty was highly advanced．Jade carving articles in Ming Dynasty were often inlayed with silver and gold，or embedded with gems．White jade vessels with golden holders and white jade bowls with golden lids，which were unearthed in the Ming Tombs，reflected the Dynasty's peak level in jade carving．A wide range of jade was employed in making jade carving articles in this period，and the articles were delicate，diversified in form．The most flourishing period of jade carving craft was the 60 years under the reign of Emperor Qianlong(1736-1795)．After Emperor Daoguang(1821-1850)，jade carving craft began to decline．
2.Wood Carving
Wood carving can be divided into many different categories due to its wide range in application and decoration，diversity in methods of representation and difference in wood texture．In terms of application and decoration，there are three types of wood carving:architecture carving，furniture carving and display art ware carving，which will be explained in detail in this part;in terms of representation，there are carvings such as piercing carving，basso-relievo，solid tondo，piercing decal，etc．;in terms of different wood texture，there are two types:hard(often called rosewood carving)and soft wood carving(ash wood carving)．
1)Architecture Carving
Architecture carving refers to the wood decoration of architecture．Wood decoration of ancient architecture occupies a very important position in the history of world architecture．The methods that are applicable to ancient architecture are bassorelievo，piercing carving，solid tondo，etc．
2)Furniture Carving
Furniture carving refers to the carving of wood furniture and it can be called the most widely applied practical art．The furniture decorated with wood art shows simple and elegant nature of itself．Owing to the difference in customs and aesthetic value，furniture carving varies from one place to another in pattern of woodwork，design of carving decoration，and carving technique．For example，both rosewood carving furniture in Suzhou，Jiangsu Province and Dongyang wood carving furniture in Zhejiang Province are world-famous，but they differ with each other on the former being elegant and luxurious and the latter being exquisite and unique．Below please find two good examples of these two types of wood carving．
3)Art Ware Carving
Art ware carving boasts two types:appreciative display art ware and practical art ware．
A．Appreciative Display Art Ware
Appreciative display art ware refers to the small and single art ware that is put on the closet，window，desk or shelf for decoration purpose．As a traditional type of wood carving art，it is carved with the solid tondo technique．Modern display art ware has broken the limit on subject and pattern，bringing about a new situation on the development of display art ware．
B．Practical Art Ware
Practical art ware is the kind of art ware that combines practicality with art of wood carving technique．It is divided into two types:woodwork carving such as wood palace lantern，floor lamp，wall lamp，lacquer folding screen，woodcarving folding screen，mirror shelf，pen shelf and wood clock seat，and other art ware carving such as desk，table，seat and shelf，etc．
3.Stone Carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone．Owing to the permanence of the material，evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some stone carving activities．
1)History
Beginning in New Stone Age，Chinese stone carving art developed rapidly and became more and more mature during Shang and Zhou Dynasty．The stone chimed with tiger engraving unearthed at Anyang，Henan Province in 1950 displayed the beautiful sculpt，skillful cutting technique，and graceful and natural lines of stone carving．From Qin Dynasty to Tang Dynasty，stone carving art reached the peak，with many good stone carvings produced showing the simple，rough characteristics of Qing and Han stone carvings as well as the delicate and perfect characteristics of stone carving art in Tang Dynasty．The strong and lively Qin tombs with their pottery warriors and horses，exquisite Bodhisattva statue，tall and splendid Six Stone Steeds at the Zhaoling Mausoleum of the Tang Dynasty，etc．are all world famous and are regarded as the pearl in the treasure-house of human history．
2)Characteristics
Stone carving is mainly used for the base and tablet inscription of arch and civilian residence．It has a wide variety of ways to set up its modeling and composition．It can be divided into two types in terms of its characteristics:one is decorative，being fully developed，compact，well-organized and finely divided;the other is artistic，being simple，concise，and equally densified．
The carving methods are being perfect．Some carvings，overdone in carving either too deep or too shallow，are so interesting and impressive that till now under hundreds of years of wind and rain they still look attractive and are admired by people，especially those carving with three to four levels of architrave or railing board．The exquisite carvings are highly graded and combine different carving methods and techniques to extend the limited space，creating greater literary and artistic heights．
The manifestation of stone carving art is always limited by the nature and practicality of material，which determines the carving strategy．Not only is stone carving art limited by the nature of material but also it is limited by the function of construction components．Besides，it has high requirements for adaptability of composition，modeling and carving methods．Carving technique must meet the art form and content which is the principle of stone carving art．Differences existing in content and aesthetic value during each period propel the development of stone carving technique from single and shallow to complex and changeable and then to single and shallow again．The latter is not just the repetition of the former;it actually develops from original simple and naive form of art to complicated and neat form of art．
4.Bamboo Carving
China，the hometown of bamboo，boasts the richest resource of bamboo forest in the world，hence its title as the“kingdom of bamboo”and it is also one of the first nations to use bamboo．Since ancient times，bamboo has been widely used in the daily life of the Chinese people，and it has great influence on the development of Chinese history and culture．
1)History
Bamboo formed the earliest ties with Chinese characters，which can be traced back to 6，000 years ago．The pictographic symbol of“bamboo”was found on the potteries unearthed in the Yangshao cultural relics of Banpo Village，Xi'an in 1954，and the symbol was also discovered in oracle bone inscriptions and inscriptions on ancient bronze objects．During the period from the Warring States Period to the Jin Dynasty，people carved characters on the bamboo slips to keep records．Later，books made of bamboo slips were created to convey cultural information．Many of the earliest Chinese historical documents，such as The Book of History，The Book of Rites and Analects of Confucius，were recorded on such material，making great contributions to the development of Chinese culture．After the papermaking technique was invented by Cai Lun，bamboo slips were replaced by paper gradually．
2)Bamboo Carving
Bamboo carving，also called bamboo engraving，has a long history in China．Archeologists once unearthed a painted dragon-pattern bamboo spoon from the Western Han Dynasty at the No．1 Han tomb of Changsha Mawangdui in Hunan Province which shows that as early as 2，000 years ago people carved bamboo into elaborate utensils．
Bamboo slips can be regarded as the earliest form of bamboo carving．Although bamboo slips were replaced with the development of papermaking technology，the bamboo carving was still loved by people and is still today．Very few bamboo carvings pre-dated the Ming Dynasty，but mid-Ming-Dynasty bamboo carvings have become a professional industrial art，and more and more artists have taken it up，shifting its role from practical use into an art form．
Bamboo carving has two classifications based on the technique it adopts:bamboo board carving and three-dimensional round bamboo carving．The former can be further divided into positive and negative，each containing deep and surface carving．Negative carving includes line，deep and sunken round deep carving，while positive carving includes thin ground mass with positive relief，low relief carving，carved in high relief and openwork．Incense tube，bamboo brush pot，arm rest and fan rib belong to this category．The latter is three-dimensional carving in the round，or called bamboo root carving，which carves bamboo into different shapes like birds or animals．
There are two major schools of bamboo carvings:Jiading School and Jinling School．
The initiator of Jiading School was Zhu Songling，and the major feature and traditional skill of Jiading Bamboo Carving is“to use knife instead of brush and carve the bamboo in the same way as calligraphy”．
Pu Zongqian's Jinling School featured another style，which pursued natural tastes with minimal cut and polish．The major carving skill is shallow carving，which is also called intaglio carving．This carving skill not only carves lines and surfaces，and the figures carved could demonstrate writing sentiments on the drawings．
Chinese carving is precious artistic heritage in Chinese industrial arts and it benefits enormously from the four types of carving，that is，jade carving，stone carving，wood carving and bamboo carving．With the importing of other elements from other countries，Chinese carving is sure to have a bright future．
Word Bank
relics遗物
collective总的
intrinsically内在的
metaphorically比喻性的
turquoise绿松石
serpentine蛇纹的，蛇状的
immortal神仙
excavate出土
exquisite精致的
privilege特权
obsolete过时的
longevity长寿
aristocrat贵族
inlay镶嵌
basso-relievo浮雕
practicality实用性
adaptability适应性
参考译文
雕刻艺术在中国有着悠久的历史，闪耀着古老民族不朽的文化光芒。保留至今的雕刻遗迹、文物数不胜数，是中国文物中的瑰宝。雕刻的种类有很多，主要有玉雕、木雕、石雕和竹雕等四种雕刻形式。
1.玉雕
玉，实际是优质石头的总称。中国人自古就爱玉，因此玉是中华文明的一个重要组成部分。由于玉具有坚贞、不屈和灵秀等特性，因此人们常将玉石的品质比喻人。玉石的种类非常多，有白玉、黄玉、玛瑙、绿松石等，玉石经加工雕琢成为工艺品，称为玉雕，玉雕是中国最古老的雕刻品种之一，是中国传统工艺的重要组成部分。
玉文化是很多国家引以为豪的，但没有一个国家可以与中国的玉文化相媲美。在中国，玉器的发展大概要追溯到距今约1万年前的新石器时代。中国新石器时代的玉器，最早的见于距今1．2万年的辽宁海城仙人洞遗址的一件蛇纹石质地的石器。
第二件是距今7 000余年的浙江河姆渡遗址的项间挂饰小玉璜。这段时间的玉器主要是用于个人装饰。但在距今约4 000年前大量生产的玉器大多用于巫术或作为身份的象征。
夏朝、商朝和周朝是中国古代玉器发展史的重要阶段。夏朝的玉器特别少。在商朝，由于社会的发展，特别是青铜制工具的使用，使得玉器数量增加，品种增多。到了周朝，玉器艺术达到了很高的水平，玉雕变成一门独立的商业。
春秋战国时期，各诸侯国特别注重玉雕产品的生产，玉石雕刻技术发展迅速，出现很多雕刻精美的玉器，诸如龙、凤凰及蟠螭等形状的玉器现在仍被人们视为珍品。
到了汉朝，玉雕艺术进入了黄金时期，结束了商周时期古代玉器艺术的发展模式，在春秋战国时期技术的基础上，开创了新的雕刻形式。这个时期的玉器更注重实用性，像玉碑之类的东西已过时。这个时期的人们开始相信玉器能够延年益寿:人们相信拥有玉器就拥有了长生的法宝。所以，人死后用玉器陪葬成了非常普遍的事情，在汉朝古墓中就出土过用金线缝制的玉衣。
汉朝以后的300年，玉雕工艺的发展进入低谷期，一直到隋唐时期，玉雕工艺才重新开始繁荣，但在这个阶段玉雕并不是什么神秘的东西。皇室、贵族和富人收集了大量玉雕，使玉雕成为古玩，变成一种风俗。
宋朝期间，中国工艺得到高速发展，玉器逐渐向装饰方向发展。玉雕工艺在元朝也有一定的发展。
到了明朝时期，玉雕有了很大的发展，工艺上也有很大改进，人们开始在玉雕上镶嵌金、银或宝石等。明陵中出土的带金架的玉容器和带金盖的玉碗是玉雕发展到鼎盛时期的见证。在这个时期，多种玉被用来雕刻成玉器，工艺精细，品种多样。玉雕艺术最繁荣的时期是清朝乾隆统治的那60年间。但从道光帝之后，玉雕工艺开始走向衰落。
2.木雕
木雕，由于其应用及装饰的范围广泛、表现形式的多样以及雕刻木材质地的不同，所以它分出许多类型。从应用及装饰的范围来讲，可分为建筑雕刻、家具雕刻、陈设工艺品雕刻三大类。从表现形式来分，有镂空雕刻、浮雕、立体圆雕、镂空贴花等。因木材质地的不同，又分硬质木雕与软质木雕两大类(习惯上称硬质木雕为红木雕刻，软质木雕称白木雕刻)。
1)建筑木雕
建筑木雕是指建筑的木雕装饰。中国古建筑上的木雕装饰，在世界建筑史上占有很重要的地位。适用于古建筑的木雕表现形式大致可分为浮雕、镂空雕刻、立体圆雕等。
2)家具雕刻
家具雕刻指的是对木制家具进行雕刻，这可以说是应用木雕艺术最广泛的一种大型的实用艺术。用木雕艺术装饰的家具，具有古朴、典雅的风味。在中国，由于各地区风俗习惯的不同及人们审美趣味的差异，因而各地的木雕家具无论从木工制作的造型及雕刻装饰的图案花纹和雕刻技艺都各具特色。比如，虽同为红木雕刻家具，但江苏苏州的红木雕刻家具和浙江东阳的木雕家具却大不相同，苏州的红木雕刻家具端庄、豪华，而东阳的艺术雕刻家具则精美、别致。
3)工艺品雕刻
木雕工艺分观赏性的木雕陈设工艺品和木雕实用工艺品两类。
A．木雕陈设工艺品
所谓陈设工艺品，就是陈列摆设于橱、窗、桌、架之上，供人欣赏的小型的、单独的艺术品。木雕陈设工艺品属木雕工艺中的一个传统类别。它是利用立体圆雕的工艺技术雕制的。现代的木雕陈设工艺品，无论是造型制作，还是题材内容，都打破了历史局限，开创了新时代的新局面。
B．木雕实用工艺品
木雕实用工艺品指利用木雕工艺装饰的实用与艺术相结合的艺术品。木雕实用工艺品又分木制品木雕装饰和其他工艺品的木雕装饰两类。木制品木雕装饰比较多，如木制宫灯、落地灯、壁灯、漆器屏风、木刻屏风、镜架、笔架、木刻钟座等木雕装饰。木雕主要是为其他工艺品配制装饰的有几、案、座、架。
3.石雕
石雕是一项古老的活动，是根据预先设计，去除粗糙石头上的多余部分后，在石头上进行雕刻的艺术。所以有证据表明，石头具有持久性，在人类早期社会中，石雕这种活动就存在了。
1)历史
中国石雕艺术起源于新石器时代，商周时期的石雕艺术发展迅速，日趋成熟。1950年在河南安阳殷墟，发掘出商朝的虎纹石磬，此石雕造型优美，刀法纯熟洗练，线条流畅自然。秦汉至唐代是石雕艺术的高峰阶段，从纯朴粗犷的秦汉时期石雕到精致完美的唐代石雕艺术，诞生了许许多多的石雕精品。雄壮威武的秦陵兵马俑、精致完美的菩萨立像、高大雄健的昭陵六骏等均闻名世界，被誉为人类历史宝库中的明珠。
2)特点
石雕多用于牌坊、民宅的底基、碑刻等处。石雕艺术无论造型或构图，方法多种多样。论其特点可分为两类:一类书面充盈，紧凑饱满，层次分明，错落有致，富于装饰性。另一类书面简洁大方，疏密相同，构图大势开合，如同书画艺术。
石雕的雕刻方法也比较趋于完美。有些作品正是由于深雕浅刻过度，显得意趣无穷。因此，虽经数百年风雨剥蚀，至今看上去仍然十分耐人寻味。特别是那些雕筑有三至五层的额枋或栏杆华板，雕刻精丽，层次分明，综合运用了各种雕刻方法与技巧，方使有限的层面能表现出无限的空间，创造出较高的艺术境界。
石雕艺术的表现形式自始至终受到材料特性和实用性的制约。石雕艺术不仅受限于材料性能，而且受到建筑构件功能的约束，加之各种石质性能不同，要求构图、造型、雕刻方法具有极大的适应性，只有因地制宜，才能因材施艺。雕刻技巧必须以服从艺术形式和内容为原则。由于不同时代有不同的内容和审美要求，从而不断促进石雕技法的发展。石雕技法从平浅单一到复杂多变之后，复为平浅单一，后者并不是前者的重复，而是由当初的古朴稚拙发展到繁褥工整。
4.竹雕
中国是竹的故乡，因其拥有世界上最丰富的竹林资源而被称为“竹子王国”。中国也是世界上最早使用竹制品的国家，自古以来，在中华民族的衣食住行中到处可见竹的影子，竹子对中国历史和文化的发展产生了巨大影响。
1)竹子历史
1954年在西安半坡村发掘了距今约6 000年左右的仰韶文化遗址，其中出土的陶器上可辨认出“竹”字符号，而甲骨文和古青铜器的铭文中都发现了代表竹的符号。在战国到晋朝期间，人们将字写在竹片(有时是木片)上，再把它们用绳子串在一起就成了“书”。竹简等材料为我们保存了大量早期历史文献，如《尚书》《礼记》和《论语》等都是写在竹简和木简上的，对中国文化的发展做出了巨大贡献。直到蔡伦发明了造纸术后，竹简才逐渐被纸代替。
2)竹雕
竹雕，也称竹刻，在中国也由来已久。现知最早的竹刻是湖南省长沙马王堆1号西汉墓出土的彩漆龙纹竹勺。这证实早在2 000多年前人们就将竹子雕刻成各种精美的用具。
竹简可以说是竹雕的最初的形式，后来随着造纸业的发展，竹简被渐渐取代，但竹雕一直深受人们喜爱。明朝以前竹雕作品较少，但从明朝中期开始，竹雕发展成为一门专业艺术，越来越多的艺术家涉足竹雕，使其功能从实用向艺术欣赏转变。
竹雕大体分两类。一类为竹面雕，如香筒、笔筒、臂搁、扇骨等，竹面雕刻又可分阴文、阳文，两者又各有深刻、浅刻。如阴文则有毛雕、线刻、深刻、陷地深刻;阳文有薄地阳文、浅浮雕、高浮雕、透雕。另一类为立体圆雕即竹根雕，可塑造出鸟兽等立体形象之物。
当时的竹雕工艺发展形成了各具特色的两大派:一是“嘉定派”，二是“金陵派”。以朱松邻为创始人的“嘉定派”的主要特点和传统技艺是“以刀代笔，以书法刻竹”。濮仲谦开创的金陵派根据竹材的自然形状和特征，用简洁的刀法，略加雕琢，随形施刻，自然成器。金陵派竹雕以浅刻、简刻为主要特征。
雕刻是中国工艺美术中一项珍贵的传统艺术遗产。玉雕、石雕、木雕及竹雕对这个艺术形式的发展壮大起了很大的推动作用。从别国引进的新的技术及新的理念，肯定会对雕刻未来的发展产生极大的影响。
Exercises
Section A Thought-provoking questions
1．What do you think contributed to the development of jade carving and stone carving？
2．Why do people metaphorically equate jade with human virtue？
3．How many types can wood carving be divided？
Section B Cloze
How is that jade is so 1 ？First，its value 2 in its scarcity．Precious stones are formed 3 long geological epochs and are hard to get， 4 green jade，white jade and agate．Ancient people on a 5 hunt had to trek on the back of yaks in mountainous regions to get at the unhewn rocks containing the gems，exposed or half exposed， 6 the stamping of the animal's hoofs．
Sometimes，precious stones were washed down by mountain torrents and were got 7 of midway by men．In any event，exposed stones grew 8 and people began to bore through the mountains to time for precious stones，making them even more difficult to get．
Secondly，the value of jade lies in its 9 ．Precious stones are divided by their hardness into two major groups:jadeites and nephrites．Jadeites are the ones with a solid texture and a hardness of degree 6 or above(on the basis of 10 for diamond)．The more valuable varieties，such as green jade，may be as 10 as degree 8 or 9．