Riding the wind of rebirth

"Success..." Zhou Zhi murmured as he looked at the picture in the magazine.

"What success?" Wu Renzhong asked, "Master Zhu? Didn't you say she had already succeeded? Aren't all the Hetian jade carvings from Suzhou Jade Carving Factory being sent to Japan and South Korea for exhibition?"

The jade carvings produced by Suzhou Jade Carving Factory were a huge success in their exhibition in Hong Kong. Afterwards, the country struck while the iron was hot and sent them to Taiwan, the Peninsula, and the island countries for rotational exhibition. Now, a large number of Zhouzhi objects are still in the exhibition hall of the Fujita Museum in the island country for the island people to visit.

The fame and value of the three female jade carving masters in the factory naturally rose.

"I'm talking about the stones from our Lianhe Township, the Sichuan Red." Zhou Zhi murmured, "It's so exquisite, no wonder Master Zhu was so excited when he called me..."

In order for stone carvings to show off their craftsmanship, first of all, there are requirements for transparency. The material must be opaque. For example, light will penetrate the surface of crystal and ice jadeite into the inside, making it difficult to show the depth of the carving, and it is also difficult to give the viewer a three-dimensional sense.

But it cannot be completely opaque like stone, as it would lack luster and a layer of watery or oily sheen on the surface. In terms of photography or painting techniques, it is like lacking a layer of rendering, and the beauty is greatly reduced.

This is especially true when it comes to creations with traditional Chinese themes; the stones that were highly respected in ancient times all meet these characteristics.

For example, Hetian jade, Tianhuang stone, and even the second-rate Dushan jade and Lantian jade which have huge output are all like this.

On the contrary, crystals and jades with better transparency are often made into practical utensils, and only became known and loved by the public after modern aesthetics became simple.

"What do you mean?" Wu Renzhong knew nothing about this, but he was also quite interested, or rather, Shama Ricong was very interested.

After wearing the shiny Meigu Nanhong water pearl, she gave it to Shama Ricong, who liked it very much and gave Wu Renzhong a task, wanting him to make another bracelet for her.

"The stone is scarce, has jade-like properties, and has a festive color. It was sought after in ancient times, and it can show off the craftsmanship of carving in modern times." Zhou Zhi counted them on his fingers: "There are only a few stones with these characteristics in the country, which provides the basis for speculation."

Then he pointed to the Nanhong stove in the magazine and said, "If it wins a few more national awards, it will be hard for everyone not to pay attention to it..."

"I never thought that our Sichuan Red carving would have this effect..."

The covered stove in the picture is carved from a whole piece of southern red. To be more specific, it is the kind of brocade red defined by Zhou Zhi. The texture of the whole stone is extremely uniform, and there is almost no visible texture. Moreover, the height and width reach 30 centimeters, which is about one-third larger than the Qianlong one. As a stove-shaped object, it looks even more solemn.

The color of this persimmon red is very bright, like bright red mixed with a little orange, close to the color of MOMO coral, and it is not dark or heavy. It seems to have its own light effect when placed there, and it is very luxurious.

Due to the fine texture and high hardness of agate, it can be carved extremely finely. The exquisite craftsmanship of Su workers can be displayed to the greatest extent on it. This piece of material is enough for all masters to show off their skills.

The most important thing is that this kind of craftsmanship can be clearly demonstrated against the backdrop of Nanhong and presented in plain sight to the audience, which even Hetian jade cannot do.

The texture of the mutton-fat white in Hetian jade is also fine, and can also withstand extremely delicate carving. However, due to the base color, such delicate carving is extremely difficult to appreciate by viewing from a distance except by playing with it in your hands, which reduces the value of the jade.

The ancients did not have the concept of appreciating jade through a glass counter. They would look at it carefully with their hands, so it had little impact. Even so, the highest grade jade material in ancient times was still not mutton-fat white, but topaz with color and carving. Topaz is also Hetian jade, but the color is generated by the Hetian mutton-fat white jade being stained by the surrounding mineral environment in the river. If you often go to the Forbidden City or the National Museum, you will find that the carving and grade of topaz are higher than white jade in the royal family.

In the international art market, the auction price of topaz is one level higher than that of white jade. In addition to the royal preference for yellow, the colored raw material shows the craftsmanship of the carving, which may also be one of the reasons.

The carving on this red-nanhong lidded furnace is much more delicate than the hibiscus stone one from Emperor Qianlong's reign.

The entire lidded furnace has a three-legged shape, a large belly, two ears, a lid and a button on it. Although the height and diameter are only about 30 centimeters, the shape is generous and steady, dignified and beautiful, showing a royal style. It was copied from the Qianlong ware.

The overall shape of the light fixture is still focused on lines and polishing. The lines show Zhu Qinghong's control over the shape, and the meticulous polishing shows his confidence in the material, burying the show-off deep down.

The only parts that demonstrate the skill of carving are the ears, the ornaments and the cover knob.

At the most bulging part of the abdomen, there are two groups of larger Pan Chi carved symmetrically. One group is purely decorative, with agile and exaggerated shapes, as if they have the vigilance unique to reptiles, as if they would quickly crawl into the furnace as long as you stretch out your hand.

The other pair looks solemn, with a ring in their mouths, shaped like a door knocker holding a ring. The ring is not only a decoration, but also can be used as a handle to carry the incense burner, which is truly ingenious.

The top of the lid is decorated with four small coiled dragons, which are playing and overlapping with each other, forming the lid knob of the incense burner.

The cover button is hollow, which can release the incense from the furnace.

In other words, this incense burner can really be used as a practical utensil.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you are willing to give up.

The carvings of the small Panchi are so delicate, including the stretched forks on the tip of the tail, the fine teeth and snake-like tongue, the claw tips embedded in the upper half of the claws, and the cloud-like floating texture behind the joints of the upper and lower limbs...

All of them have reached the extreme.

In addition to craftsmanship, because the utensils were no longer intended for royal purposes, the masters had no restrictions on their creations and had greater creative freedom. Therefore, the movements of the dragons on the utensils were more relaxed and free, while maintaining a high degree of symmetry.

There is a small Panchi tail on the lid, extending out of the area belonging to the lid knob along the lid surface. The tip of the tail even spans a considerable distance, becoming a "conspicuous bag" on the lid.

In ancient times, such a creation would be punishable by death, but nowadays, the masters have used only this stretched little tail to vividly express the liveliness and playfulness of the little Panchi, which is absolutely amazing.

Showing off skills in an invisible way, learning from the ancients without being stuck in the past, this is why Zhou Zhi said that all the masters have made further progress. (End of this chapter)