There is a cool jade carving technique, which is called live ring carving by jianghu people, also known as chain work.
Because of its high difficulty, it is regarded by some jade carvers as "housekeeping skills". Its difficulty level has a sentence summary: waste, waste work, bad, waste people...
In the eyes of ordinary people, it is rare to see. As soon as it appears, it must be a heavyweight work. However, with the change of time, it seems that such exquisite jade carvings are also at risk of being lost.
Living ring carving has a long history, it is derived from the circular carving technique. Ring chain traces were commonly found on some incense burners, towers, and smokers in ancient times.
Originally, the ring technology originated from the drilling technology of jade, and then with the wide application of the technology, the ring process appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Warring States, Suizhou Zeng Marquis Yi tomb excavated
During the Qianlong years of my old acquaintance, the living ring chain carving of jade reached its peak. This avid art lover had the right to money and was an uncompromising Jade Emperor. It can be said that the jade of the Qianlong period is famous for its fine work! In what is now a word, it is "craftsman spirit".
The "Qianlong Workers" of that period had two unique crafts that refused to be passed on - living ring chain carving and filigree inlay. It is mainly used in jade utensils and jade ornaments, and it is said that only apprentices who can inherit the master's mantle are eligible to learn and pass on.
Qianlong Imperial Treasure "Tian Huang Three Chain Chapter"
This means that it is not something you want to learn that someone has to teach, but also depends on qualifications! Therefore, chain carved jade also belonged to the royal special jade carving at that time. After the development of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the chain carving process became more and more perfect.
The requirements of the living ring chain for raw materials are also very high, requiring fine and firm, pure and unqualified. And in order to ensure the integrity of the ring chain, larger raw materials are generally selected.
Its production is divided into fritters, strands, joints, live rings, de-rings, trimming and several steps. First, I will show you a process of carving a living ring chain out of carrots to give you a preliminary idea.
Carrot demonstrates the essentials of the live ring chain
In reality, the whole carving ring is as difficult as the hollow carving. Its biggest difficulty lies in taking its material and not leaving its body.
First determine the length of each ring, as well as the width of the gap between the rings, hollow out the gap part, grind the round edges, and hollow out the middle part. When carving, there is no room for error, it is necessary to achieve interlocking, equal length and shortness, consistent direction, if one circle and one ring are damaged, the previous achievements will be abandoned.
The process of making a ring chain is full of difficulties and risks, and carving jade is not carving radish. Therefore, the requirements of ring chain carving for the carver's overall view and craftsmanship are very high.
Some masters said that this technology is not talented and patient, physical strength is not enough energy, or forget it...
Often the completion of a superb hollow living ring work takes several years of painstaking and meticulous efforts, and the entire creative process is permeated with the painstaking efforts of the jade seekers.
In ancient times, the limitations of carving tools and techniques took about 3-4 months or even half a year to make.
Nowadays, with the development of science and technology, the production process can use power tools, the working hours are reduced, and the accuracy is significantly improved, but it is difficult to find a sound.
On the one hand, such works are still difficult to produce, and the consumption is large, which is a thankless work. On the other hand, there are not many buyers, and only a very small number of collectors pay attention.
If everyone doesn't do it, maybe they'll only be seen in museums in a few decades.