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Shoushan stone is produced in the suburbs of Fuzhou thirty or forty miles, and the stone is named after the mountain. Formed by a volcanic eruption tens of millions of years ago, Fujian Shoushan Stone is only a small part of the earth's many minerals, but it has coincidentally created a brilliant cultural history.
In the history of Shoushan stone carving art, the first person to leave the name of the craftsman on the work was Yang Yuxuan in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Aside from a certain number of works and sporadic artistic evaluations of his contemporaries, there is very little information available about this master, so much so that many experts and scholars have made a lot of mistakes when studying him. Of course, compared with the previous unknown craftsmen in the craft world, it can be said to be fortunate and lucky.
Records of the same generation
The composition of Shoushan stone includes ground stone, kaolinite, pearl pottery stone, pyrophyllite, sericite, quartz, etc., and dozens of mineral components have made this leader in the stone industry. Due to the different combinations of ingredients, the colorful characteristics of Shoushan stone have been created, and the characteristics of Shoushan stone carving craftsmen who are good at using clever colors have also been achieved.
However, collectors often don't care about the chemical composition of their favorite objects, and in addition to discussing the level of carving and seal carving, the topics they talk about often involve a series of terms formed in a series of plays, such as color, lingdu, feel, and pulp.
As the history of carving, the earliest Shoushan stone carving that can be verified is in the Southern Dynasty, the Shoushan stone lying pig unearthed in those tombs, existing in the Fujian Museum, the carving shape is simple and generous, and the knife technique is simple and concise. This shows that about 1500 years ago, Shoushan stone has become the stone for burial carving, and it has also become the earliest example in the history of Shoushan stone carving.
Probably developed in the Song Dynasty, this early process only used for burial has been expanded to a certain extent, and even officially adopted as a utensil. The Qing Dynasty's "Guanshi Lu" contains: "In the Song Dynasty, there was a pit, the official took the utensils, and the residents suffered, and the huge stones plugged the pit, which was a tribute." ”
As a folk art and widely circulated, it began in the Ming Dynasty. The best documents for the study of Yang Yuxuan's life and art are the records of people of the same era, including the Min Xiaoji and the Biography of the Indians by Zhou Lianggong (1612-1672) in the early Qing Dynasty, the Guanshi Lu by Gao Zhao (around 1615-after 1699), and the Shoushan Stone Song by Zhu Yizun (1629-1709).
"Min Xiaoji" is contained in "Fujian Middle School Stunt Five": "Zhangpu Yang Yuxuan is an inch and three points, and the statue is exquisite. Yang Yuxuan's carving is listed as one of the "five stunts in Fujian", and the "quasi-statue" mentioned is a bas-relief or thin carving made by Yang Yuxuan.
According to the 37th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1698), Chen Ruxian rebuilt the "Zhangpu County Chronicles": "Yang Yuxuan, good at carving Shoushan stone, all people, birds, beasts, utensils, are extremely exquisite. It can also be used as an inch of amber to make a delicate quasi-mention, and it is not exposed. It can be seen that the material of the so-called "thin and delicate quasi-portrait" may be amber or Shoushan stone.
"The Biography of the Indians" in the third volume of "In front of the book Zhang He Thousand Chapters" cloud: "Zhang He in a thousand days, the people of Biling, the old family, failed to learn books, abandoned and practiced art, and learned to carve buttons of birds, beasts, turtles and fish from Jiang Lieqing...... As far as you can see, the people who work this skill in the sea, but Zhanghai Yang Yuxuanji is white-eyed, which is called a stunt in "Min Xiaoji", and how can he make Yuxuanzai...... Yuxuan is more than 70 years old, and this skill is afraid that it will eventually belong to the crane thousand ears. ”
The article commented on the artistic height and character of Zhang Heqian's seal carving buttons, although Yang only mentioned it as a foil, but inadvertently revealed important information, including "to see, the domestic workers of this skill, but Zhanghai Yang Yuxuan" and "Yuxuan is more than seventy years old, this skill should probably belong to the crane thousand ears", the former with the author's vision, that the domestic workers in this skill, Yang Yuxuan said the most, but Yang Yuxuan is old, more than seventy, the future of the peak, or after all, will fall on Zhang Heqian's body.
"Guanshi Lu" contains clouds: "Wang Junzhong: eighteen pieces; Han jade color, Yang Xuan (Yang Yuxuan) as a fox button, slightly purple on the neck - a divine product." "Yang Yan (should be Yang Yuxuan) as the button of eight or nine, Han Ma, Dai Niu, Bao Hu, out of the box Sen Sen to people, majestic to the fullest, excellent painting. ”
The Guanshi Lu was written in the year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1668) and was rewritten by the author himself in the year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1679). This is regarded as the first book of Shoushan stone in the industry, the article records more than 140 Shoushan stones collected by 11 friends of Gao Zhao, which involves many historical materials and descriptions of the current situation, but the carver mentioned is only Yang Yuxuan, which shows the influence of his craft at that time.
"Shoushan Stone Song" cloud: "It is when Yang Lao is good at carving, and the button presses the sheep and horses." The "Yang Lao" mentioned in the poem refers to Yang Yuxuan, and he is also the only character mentioned in the poem.
Born in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty
Although the above literature does not contain detailed personal information such as Yang Yuxuan's exact date of birth, many of these materials can be compared with each other to make inferences.
Examination of Zhou Lianggong and his "Biography of the Indians", Zhou began to compile the "Biography of the Indians" in 1670 and died at the age of 61 in May 1672 (the eleventh year of Kangxi), at this time Yang Yuxuan was more than 70 years old, it can be seen that Yang Yuxuan's birth should be around 1600 or a few years ago. This kind of research is not too far away. Undoubtedly, this famous and well-known craftsman was roughly born in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and was mainly active in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, so that Gao Zhao and Zhu Yizun, who were slightly younger in the same era, were highly regarded.
It is a pity that the family tree does not have a suitable place for this dazzling star in the Shoushan stone craft world. In his hometown of Fotan Town, Zhangpu County, the people of his hometown are like a kite that flies out and breaks the string, and there is no too much news, only in the memory of word of mouth, if there is no relevant subtle information.
The reason for this is that a major historical event came out of nowhere, laying the groundwork for the interruption of this information link, that is, the relocation policy during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. In the Yang family tree of Fotan Town, the records of several generations of ancestors before and after the relocation have long been lost. Some experts even speculated that Yang Yuxuan's livelihood had been affected under the relocation policy and that she had to flee the provincial capital.
Returning to the era when the master lived, we can pay attention to the artistic ecology of his hometown during that period, such as the local stone carving and other crafts. Antou Village is the archway of Wanshi Qiuqing erected by Yang Shouren in the Ming Dynasty, and a pair of granite Jialu Jinjue stone statues unearthed from the tomb of Yang Shouren in Xiakeng Village, from which we can roughly see the artistic level of local or surrounding stone carvings in this era.
The former is dilapidated because of the years of peeling, but the words such as "Wanshi" and "Qiuqing" are still clearly visible, and the banner of the archway is engraved: "For the prefect of Jiangxi Jianchang Prefecture, the prefect of Zhejiang Yanzhou Prefecture, the prefect of Zhili Taiping, and the prefect of Huguang Huangzhou Prefecture Yang Shouren Li." "The main structure of the torii is granite, and the carved components are bluestone, both of which are abundant local mineral resources. The upper side of the archway now remains a unicorn openwork component, the image is peculiar and vivid, the details are highlighted, and the open long mouth highlights the skill of the carver. The four sides are covered with vine-like moire, which seems to be different from the carving style in the Central Plains at that time.
The latter is unearthed from the tomb, basically preserved completely, two rectangular stone slabs of more than 1 meter high are carved with a high relief portrait each, the image is graceful and generous, the age is in the middle and old age, one hand is a deer, the other hand is a lord, the action is soothing and calm, the clothes are fluttering and condensed. The bottom of the wide sleeves and the bottom of the robe layered on the boots are thick and smart, which is really ingenious.
In addition to the large stone carvings, the carving crafts recorded in the local literature are mainly amber carvings. Zhangpu is rich in amber resources, and there are amber veins in the history of Fotan Town, and the county chronicles of the Kangxi period contain information about Yang Yuxuan's amber carving, which probably can also explain that before Yang Yuxuan left Zhangzhou, the level of local carving technology and its commonly used materials.
The first person can be tested
In the late Ming Dynasty, Zhangzhou Yuegang rose. The small-scale Yuegang refers to today's ports in Haicheng and Shima, and the large-scale Yuegang is actually the entire Jiulongjiang estuary, and even includes the port chain of Xiamen Port and many small ports in Zhangzhou, including Fotan Port.
There are many records of the relevant historical records of Zhangzhou, which recorded the grand occasion of private overseas transportation and trade at that time. Ming Chongzhen's "Haicheng County Chronicles" contains: "The owner of the ship goes down, and there are not many people who are rich and good. There are those who rely on their children's money to borrow a few dollars and attach themselves to the people who travel far away; there are also those who do not hold a piece of money and apply for the worth of the trip empty-handed, and the age is not less than tens of thousands. "There is only one Haicheng County, and there are no less than tens of thousands of people who go to the sea to do business and recruit every year, not to mention the entire Dayue Port District.
The Pinghe kiln Clark porcelain that can be tested for export has been exported from the middle of the Ming Dynasty from the old town port of Zhangpu into the sea, and it is sold to the east and west. At that time, Pinghe County gathered many local and foreign porcelain making and painting masters, including many craftsmen from Jingdezhen, who moved here because of their careers and livelihoods. Numerous museum and private collections attest to the fact that porcelain painting at that time was even influenced by foreign styles by accepting a considerable number of overseas orders. The germ of national capitalism and international cultural exchange arose together in this era and penetrated the ordinary people on one side.
The maritime trade made the entire southeast coast, especially the Zhangzhou area, quickly feel the rapid economic development and cultural freedom, and the craftsmanship of Zhangzhou has made great progress during this period. Unfortunately, in the change of dynasties, especially the relocation order in the early Qing Dynasty, the local cultural and economic development took a sharp turn and quickly became closed.
Yang Yuxuan left his hometown that year, went to the provincial capital, and settled in Fuzhou, and some experts even claimed that he had worked as a palace worker. What is certain is that the works of Yang Yuxuan that have been handed down are basically related to the court, and there should be no objection to the fact that most of his works are used as tributes to the court, but there is no evidence to be examined whether his person is used by the court. The existing literature tends to show that Yang Yuxuan was a popular folk craftsman whose works were in high demand during his lifetime.
Recombing this old story is to determine a source of artistic context for Shoushan stone carving, this Shoushan stone carving craftsman whose works were collected by the court in large quantities, became the first master to be examined because of the inscription. For some time, the author has been committed to studying the question of why Shoushan stone carving to Yang Yuxuan began to have a payment, although there is no precise answer so far, but many craftsmen of the same era can probably be used as a reference -
During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, the pot master offered the spring for the purple clay pot to make the earliest style. During the period from Jiajing to Wanli in Jingdezhen, the porcelain master Hao 19 often took the "old man in the pot" as his style. During the period from Jiajing to Wanli in Dehua, the porcelain master He Chaozong often used the "He Chaozong Seal" to create a statue of his ceramic figures, creating the He School of Dehua ceramic technology.
Obviously, these craftsmen from different regions have become the leading figures in their respective fields because they have left behind the first person to know each other. In the same era, they invariably awakened the creative consciousness of craftsmanship, which is obviously not just accidental.
In the middle and late Ming dynasties, with the rise of psychology, literati and merchants, craftsmen and so on produced an unprecedented blend and confluence, and the tendency of folk craftsmen to become literati reached an unprecedented height, which is a kind of cultural conscious pursuit, craftsmen consciously moved closer to art, and created an era of the emergence of craft masters.
Later on Yang Yuxuan's two Zhangzhou carvers, Zhou Shangjun and Wang Yusheng, are generally considered to be Yang Yuxuan's disciples. Many Qing Dynasty connoisseurs believe that Zhou Shangjun's artistic achievements are not inferior to Yang Yuxuan's, and some even think that they have surpassed them. For example, Xu Kang in the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty said in his "Former Dream Record": "The seal button is made by Shangjun first, followed by Yang Yuxuan, and all are famous hands at the beginning of the country." And "Zhangpu County Chronicles" contains: "Wang Yusheng, good at carving Shoushan stone figures, and can carve a small boat with peach kernel for the east slope of the red cliff tour, and the sail rudder is complete. ”
Yang Yuxuan, Zhou Shangjun and Wang Yusheng are regarded as the representatives of Zhangzhou Gong of Shoushan stone carving in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and as the pioneering figures of Shoushan stone carving art. Among them, Yang Yuxuan is known as the originator.
(The author is deputy director and associate researcher of the Strait Culture Research Center, Fujian Academy of Social Sciences)