| China is one of the four great ancient civilizations of the world,with a long history and rich culture.In the lasting development of Chinese culture,many brilliant feats were achieved and many legacies were bequeathed from generation to generation,among which there are material ones like the Forbidden City,as well as intangible cultural heritage ones like the traditional handicrafts,which are the crystallization of the intelligence and diligence of the people.These handicrafts are of unique charm,however,under the impact of the modern industries,they are now greatly endangered.The micro-carving techniques in Bishan,as one of those that require preserving,has been acknowledged as the 4th intangible cultural heritage of Chongqing in May,2013.It is our precious spiritual wealth and is worth our attention.Micro-carving is an traditional folk art with a long history,which integrates handwriting,painting and carving.It can date back up to 5000-6000 years ago,when this technique was used on the pre-history jade wares.As it developed,its categories has increased and the skill has been more intricate.The modern micro-carving in Bishan derives from its ancient predecessors,and has had a history of more than 100 years.Different from the carving we commonly know,micro-carving uses special knives to carve on various materials such as gold,silver,jade,ivory,or even human hair.As it takes great magnitude of concentration and patience,micro-carving is an exhausting and arduous art.Meanwhile,the extremely tiny size of the works means its intricacy is beyond words,as it is said,“there is a universe in the bit.”Every technique will change as the time goes on.Some just disappeared,while some were adapted to suit the new age.Micro-carving,as one traditional handicraft,has also undergone some changes.Since the earliest days,the carving tools have been changed from stones,to metals,and to microscopes of present days.In particular,the advent of microscopes significantly improved the precision of carving,making carving of even smaller scale higher accuracy possible.This is a good example of benefits traditional crafts has gained from the advancing of technology.On the other hand,the rapid development of micro-carving with the help of microscopes has also led some artisans to emphasize more on the technological stuffs instead of artistic sense,which is dangerous for the further development of this art.This paper takes the micro-carving in Bishan as the subject of research,illustrating it in various aspects such as its development history,technical features,and representative works.In addition,the advantages and disadvantages of the technological vicissitudes are analyzed.In the end,some conclusions are drawn and some suggestions are raised,in the hope of helping micro-carving develop further. |
