China News Service, Beijing, February 21st Recently, Taiwan's "Economic Daily" published a report on Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, introducing the shell carving craft that has been inherited for more than 400 years in Beihai, Guangxi.
The report pointed out that Beihai shell carving is a traditional handicraft of Guangxi, which naturally integrates the charm of traditional Chinese painting, ethereal embroidery, jade carving texture and pearl luster, and has a high degree of unique artistic appreciation. Techniques include selecting, grinding, pasting, splicing, splicing, and gluing, drawing on techniques such as wood carving, jade carving, and traditional Chinese painting to make the image vivid, layered, and unique in style. It is a treasure house of Chinese culture and the city’s “business card” of Beihai.
Shell carving painting "Good Luck and Good Luck". Image source: Taiwan's "Economic Daily"
Shell carving has a long history. A large number of decorative shell ornaments were found in the funerary objects excavated from the Han tombs in Hepu County. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the improvement and popularization of smelting technology opened up new ways for shell carving. Craftsmen grind the shells into thin slices, then carve out patterns of birds and animals, and inlay them on bronzes, mirrors, screens, tables and chairs for decoration, commonly known as "mother-of-pearl". This craft is still preserved today.
Beihai shell carving was developed on the basis of "mother-of-pearl". The skill matured in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and was verified from the Ming and Qing shell carving furniture and handicrafts handed down in Hepu. Hepu Lianzhou was the seat of state, prefecture and county from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, where high-ranking officials and Yin merchants gathered. Most of the chairs, coffee tables, wardrobes, screens, etc. used by wealthy families were made of wood, and pearl shells were processed into flower, bird, character patterns and calligraphy fonts and inlaid on the furniture.
North Sea shell carvings are elegant works of art created by skillfully using the natural color, texture and shape of shells, carefully designing, carving and stacking them. There are six categories and more than 1,600 varieties. It mainly includes large-scale relief works, shell carving paintings, shell carving ornaments, shell carving handles, three-dimensional shell carvings, shell carving accessories, etc. Among them, the best shell carvings are flowers and feathers, such as birds, peonies, roses, dragon chrysanthemums and hibiscus.
The flower, bird and shell carving painting "What You Want". Image source: Taiwan's "Economic Daily"
Beihai shell carving techniques have been continuously inherited and innovated for more than 400 years, from shell strings, shell piles, flat shell carvings to reliefs, and then to three-dimensional shell carvings. Since 2005, Beihai Shell Carving has developed purely natural and uncolored shell carving works based on the original craftsmanship and using the natural colors and textures of the shells. With continuous efforts for excellence, Beihai shell carving skills have entered the treasure house of traditional Chinese art.