Wuzhou book carving

Author: Xu Xuelin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: To summarize the research achievements of Huizhou culture since the 20th century and to explore new research, the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Anhui Provincial Association of Social Sciences organized over 40 Huizhou studies experts and scholars from across the country to plan and implement the "Complete Works of Huizhou Culture," a major national social science fund project. The book is vast in content, comprehensively and systematically presenting all aspects of Huizhou culture. When it comes to Huizhou, people often first think of the Huizhou merchants. In fact, Huizhou has other aspects worth attention, which is the brilliant, profound, and extensive Huizhou culture.Huizhou's historical chapters, it is not difficult to find that it has a unique development process, and the formation of Huizhou culture has a distinctive background. First is the role of cultural integration. From the Qin and Han dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties, Huizhou experienced an era of cultural integration and transformation, where the culture of the Shanyue people and the Central Plains culture merged, and the Central Plains culture eventually established dominance. During this period, on the one hand, the establishment of official governance by the court promoted the integration of Shanyue culture and Central Plains culture; on the other hand, after the Eastern Han Dynasty, large-scale southward migration occurred as people from the north fled wars. Among the migrants to Huizhou were numerous aristocratic families who lived in clans, strictly maintained their original clan organizations, and paid great attention to preserving their cultural heritage. They brought the Central Plains culture to Huizhou intact, directly inheriting the Central Plains civilization. Second is the influence of the geographical environment. In terms of location, Huizhou is located in southern Anhui, north of the Yangtze River, south of Jiangxi and Guangdong, and east of Suzhou and Hangzhou, not far from the Yangtze River Delta region. This is advantageous for economic and cultural development. In summary, large-scale migration activities promoted cultural integration, and the unique mountainous geographical environment gave rise to the distinctive Huizhou culture. Its core spirit includes the Confucian tradition of valuing education, the pioneering spirit of migrants, and the hardworking spirit of the Huizhou people, etc. These cultural factors have had a profound and far-reaching impact on Huizhou's development. They have enabled the people of Huizhou to possess a high cultural quality, allowing the later Huizhou to rise to prominence from a high starting point. It is well-deserved to say that Huizhou culture is profound and extensive. Its glorious achievements cover many aspects of traditional Chinese culture. For example: New Anhui Confucianism is a model. Huizhou was originally the homeland of the Cheng and Zhu school, known as the "Southeast," and the thought of Zhu Xi had a profound influence on Huizhou. By the early Qing Dynasty, Huizhou became the birthplace of pragmatic studies. From Zhu Xi to Dai Zhen, from Song and Ming Confucianism to Qing Dynasty pragmatic studies, it is not only a main line of Huizhou's intellectual and cultural development after the Song Dynasty but also represents the mainstream of the evolution of Confucian thought in China during that period. Huizhou's clans are typical, with aristocratic families dating back to the Han and Tang dynasties, and their customs were superior to those of other places in ancient times, making them a model of clan system inheritance. Huizhou education was highly developed, with ten households in a village not neglecting reading, and its level of was unmatched, and the number of scholars who passed the imperial examinations was the highest. New Anhui medicine was renowned far and wide, with numerous famous doctors and extensive medical works, with nearly a thousand famous doctors recorded and over 700 medical books. Huizhou architecture had distinctive features, with unique designs, structures, decorations, and functions; Huizhou wood carving, brick carving, and stone carving skills were outstanding and famous. Huizhou opera had a long history, with its own vocal styles becoming one of the sources of Peking Opera. Huizhou book printing was one of the major centers of printing during the Ming and Qing dynasties. As for the New Anhui school of painting, Huizhou seal carving, Huizhou woodblock printing, Huizhou crafts, all were brilliant, extraordinary, unique, and self-established schools, holding a prominent position in the history of Chinese art. The level of Huizhou culture was not ordinary. The profound intellectual attainments, exquisite artistic standards, and rich cultural connotations it demonstrated not only reflected Huizhou's characteristics but also represented the highest level of that era. "The Complete Works" takes a broad perspective on culture, presenting the profound and extensive Huizhou culture in all its aspects. Focusing on material culture, there are volumes such as "Huizhou Merchants," "Huizhou Science and Technology," "New Anhui Medicine," "Huizhou Architecture," "Huizhou Villages," and "Huizhou Cuisine"; focusing on institutional culture, there are volumes such as "Huizhou Land Relations," "Huizhou Clan Society," and "Huizhou Education"; focusing on behavioral culture, there are volumes such as "Huizhou Dialect" and "Huizhou Folk Customs"; focusing on conceptual culture, there are volumes such as "New Anhui Confucianism," "Huizhou Pragmatic Studies," "New Anhui School of Painting," "Huizhou Woodblock Printing," "Huizhou Seal Carving," "Huizhou Crafts," "Huizhou Opera," "Huizhou Book Printing," and "Huizhou Archives and Records," all rich and magnificent. Previous research on Huizhou culture was often scattered, and such a large-scale, comprehensive, and systematic exposition of Huizhou culture in a long and monumental work is unprecedented in the history of Huizhou studies. To this day, Huizhou still preserves over 300,000 pieces of archives, nearly 5,000 types of literature and classics, over 5,000 cultural heritage sites, including world cultural heritage, and countless cultural and artistic treasures. The tangible and intangible cultural heritage left by Huizhou for future generations is indeed a vast treasure. It holds too much wisdom, inspiration, experience, and lessons, all worthy of our exploration, refinement, reflection, and summary.