Wood Carving Patterns (Continued)

Author: Ma Muliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: In 1997, while designing and producing a large screen for the Hong Kong Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Hong Kong for the handover, I met Mr. Ma Muliang of Beijing Wood Carving Factory through my old friend Hong Jun Tao. We had a very tense yet enjoyable collaboration and exchange. Back then, I heard from Ma Muliang that he was preparing to collect and organize a pattern collection for wood carving craftsmanship as a reference. He also proposed that after it was compiled, he hoped I would write a few words for it, perhaps it could become an inspiration and a memento for this wood carving craftsmanship collaboration.
I remember growing up in my hometown of Nantong, small workshops for redwood crafts were very common. We seemed to live in an environment where wood carving art and fine woodwork could be seen everywhere. From wooden doors and windows, solid wood furniture, platform beds, ten-scene cabinets to inlaid screens, stools, small tables, and brackets, all involved exquisite designs, carved patterns, layout arrangements, and mortise-and-tenon structural construction. Especially the elegant aesthetic spirit deeply embedded in Ming-style furniture was an important topic that everyone paid attention to, discussed, admired, compared, and studied among many "arts of life." Moreover, "the arts of life" is a very broad topic, and it is closely linked with music, chess, calligraphy, painting, folk houses, roads, bridges, and garden pavilions, etc. Strictly speaking, it is a part of the traditional Eastern culture. As Mr. Yang Yao, a renowned late Ming-style furniture research expert in our country, pointed out: "Chinese Ming-style furniture has simple and lightweight shapes, not clumsy or heavy. The lines are smooth and lively, not stiff or rough. The carvings are appropriate and interesting, not tedious or purposeless. From the simple and beautiful carvings on Ming-style furniture, we find that they drew inspiration from bronze ware, jade ware, pottery, and various patterns from architecture. Once these patterns were adopted into furniture, they were refined and developed sufficiently, indicating that Chinese wood carving techniques had further advanced during the Ming Dynasty."
We earnestly summarize the purpose of our work—to contribute to the inheritance and development of the national art cause. Of course, there is also an issue of visual standards and how to select and choose. We are always full of good wishes, striving for higher standards and meeting the needs of our peers and the general public. However, we must firmly believe in a truth: doing is better than not doing, and more practice means more comparison. Our achievements are just like the process of history—constantly progressing through continuous accumulation.