Wood carving is a folk craft in the mainland and is known as "fine woodworking" in many types of work classifications. In the past, wood carving was closely related to people's lives, such as mahogany furniture, ancestral halls, pavilions, towers and other furniture, and there were wood carvings on buildings. It is a cultural carrier and a cultural symbol, and each wood carving work exudes a unique charm. This craft has been passed down for more than a thousand years, and in Banqiao Town, Shangzhou District, there is still a person who is silently passing it on. He is Zhang Junfeng, the third-generation inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Shangluo wood carving.
Walking into Zhang Junfeng's Jin Kemu Art Museum, I saw that he was holding a small carving knife on a plaque to carve and polish it repeatedly, and the side was full of various tools. The room is filled with various plaques, filling the studio. When he saw someone come in to visit, he introduced the story behind each work.
"This 'Shaanxi Shangzhou Danqu Big Stage' plaque was written by Mr. Chen Yan, he wrote it on rice paper, I copied it, adjusted the font size, passed it on the wooden board, and carved it by the method of Yang carving, some of which are flying white must be handled well, and the effect of carving out will be good, and it will better reflect the three-dimensional sense." Zhang Junfeng said.
Zhang Junfeng, also spelled Chunfeng, was born in November 1971 in Banqiao Village, Banqiao Town, Shangzhou District, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province. Zhang Junfeng has loved the art of calligraphy and painting since childhood, adhering to the principles of inheritance, refinement and innovation, and has copied the calligraphy posters of famous calligraphers of past generations, and after more than 30 years of diligent study and continuous progress, he has finally formed his own artistic style. In his early years, in order to earn a living, he went to Guangzhou to work. By chance, after seeing the exquisite wood carvings carved by the craftsmen, I fell into them and began to learn wood carving from my teacher. Because he had a deep foundation in calligraphy, after learning systematically with his master, he quickly learned the craft of wood carving.
After returning to his hometown, Zhang Junfeng studied wood carving with Guo Shushou, the inheritor of Wood Carving in Shangluo, and learned woodcut carving... In this way, he continued to improve in calligraphy and wood carving. Later, recommended by the Shangzhou District Cultural Center, he participated in the eleventh traditional carving inheritance class of Shaanxi Normal University, and the hand-carved work "Shou" wooden plaque was permanently collected by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall of Shaanxi Normal University, and was absorbed into the Shaanxi Provincial Arts and Crafts Artists Association, further improving his carving skills, and was also called "the artist who opened the bow left and right" by Jia Pingwa, chairman of the Shaanxi Writers Association.
"I wrote for 39 years, carved a plaque for 28 years, I can basically take a knife to ghostwrite, relatively finely carved out." Like the name of the new Shangluo Middle School, the ten sets of plaques on the "Qixiu Pavilion" tower of Jinfengshan, the Danjiang Wharf, the "Liyuan Pavilion" plaque in Danjiang Park, and the name of the boulder factory of Shangluo Landport Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd. were all engraved by me. Talking about his own works, Zhang Junfeng was proud.
With the development of machinery manufacturing, traditional craftsmen are also slowly decreasing. As the third-generation inheritor of the Shangluo wood carving intangible cultural heritage, Zhang Junfeng deeply feels that he has a heavy responsibility and must pass on this wood carving skill. On February 7, he was invited to participate in the Shangzhou District 2022 Spring Festival Overseas Entrepreneurship Returning Talents Accurate Docking Symposium, which stimulated him to stimulate new vitality and ideas.
"I have an idea, because there are more famous calligraphers and painters in Shangluo, I want to combine the development of the cultural and creative industry chain in the whole region, and carve the works of these famous calligraphers, especially the famous calligraphers, into plaques by means of yin carving, yang carving, and yin and yang carving, and plan to carve 100 sets, build a Shangyu Ancient Road Ancient Plaque Exhibition Hall in Banqiao Town for display, inherit the wood carving process with practical actions, and also make their due contributions to the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside." Zhang Junfeng already has a specific plan for the future.
"I have Shang Shan Jun I have not seen, and Qingquan Baishi is in the chest." Rural revitalization and great development, craftsman spirit of the good name." This is Zhang Junfeng's perception and the goal of the inheritance of wood carving skills. (Text: Jiang Tan, Wang Yue)