The highest realm of jade carving, so beautiful!

The raw stone is rigid, cold and lifeless, but in the eyes of artists, especially jade carving masters, the raw stone is transparent and vivid. They see life, themselves and the great wisdom of Chinese culture in the stone. They feel the vastness of the universe between the mountains and rivers and experience the cultural essence that has been passed down in China for thousands of years. If we look into the cause and effect, jade is the most beautiful stone, and how beauty is reflected requires artistic conception, which leads to the discussion of the artistic conception in jade carvings.

The artistic conception of Chinese jade carvings is briefly explained from the following eight aspects: both form and spirit, agility, implicit tolerance, seeing the big in the small, great ingenuity in simplicity, combination of virtuality and reality, harmonious beauty, and conveying the truth through art.

The first level of heaven has both form and spirit

Jade carving art is one of the categories of Chinese art, and its expression seeks for spirit that goes beyond the resemblance in form. Jade carving art is inseparable from Chinese calligraphy and painting. During the creative process, the draft almost determines the final form of the work. No matter it is people, animals, rocks, flowers or plants, in the process of description, the paintings are so vivid that they "imply endless meanings beyond the words" like poems, with "unexpected charm", which is expressed in jade carvings as "not likeness or resemblance", neither concrete nor abstract, hovering between existence and non-existence, and weighing the juncture of form and spirit. To govern form with spirit, to blend form with intention, to combine form with spirit, and even to make spirit transcend form. This is what contemporary jade carvers should do in their artistic creation.

Only a jade carving with both form and spirit can have great penetrating power and the power to move people. The art of jade carving should pay attention to the charm beyond the form. This is not only a matter of carving skills. More importantly, it is inseparable from the inner spiritual realm of the jade carver. In the creative process, it is not a simple use of the characteristics of the raw materials or exquisite craftsmanship, but to express a state of life, a conception with both form and spirit.

The fun of the second heaven

In the development of Chinese art, the interest of agility penetrates the lonely world of art, makes life agile and moves, and becomes the strong sound of heaven and earth. The artist's spiritual vitality is expressed through works with a flying soul. In jade carving art, there is a tendency to emphasize lines, and the interest of agility lies in the rhythm of lines.

In the creation of jade carving, the interest of agility is displayed, and meaningful lines are carved on the original stone. The jade carving art transforms this into a specific form of artistic creation, seeking movement in tranquility, overflowing from the norm, dancing wildly, and pursuing a pure stream of life. In short, being still is the beginning of movement, and being in movement is the beginning of contemplation. The alternation of movement and stillness achieves the most unrestrained presentation of life.

Jade carvings are static. If they are too static, they will be dull. If they are dull, they will be lifeless. If they are lifeless, they will have no charm. Stasis is not the goal of art. Artistic forms need to have dynamic charm. In jade carving creation, one pursues lively rhythm in tranquility, with constant changes and movement. Jade carvers activate their dormant minds and activate their creative tools, thereby achieving transcendence in form and spirit.

The Three Heavens are implicit and forbearing

We, the Eastern people, attach importance to the aesthetic concept of implicitness and forbearance. Our nation has such characteristics. We speak euphemistically, attach importance to connotation, emphasize self-cultivation, and pay attention to the meaning beyond the words. Beyond the image and beyond the taste are the goals that people pursue. It is like seeing flowers in the fog and experiencing a lingering aftertaste. The expression of beauty should be a creation that is not ostentatious on the surface. Looking at the beauty of my country's jade carving art, there is always a sense of winding paths leading to secluded places, which is implicit and restrained.

The Chinese jade carving art, through subtle communication, produces an elegant beauty, arouses a tension within the work, creates a reverberating space, and displays rich artistic content. The implicit and forbearing connotation surges out from the inner part of the work, surpassing external force. Beauty is found in the winding paths, surpassing the straightforward beauty, forming a unique beauty in the implicit and forbearing.

The Four Heavens: A Small View of the Big

The Chinese have this view: one world in one flower, one heaven in one blade of grass. This shows the Chinese people's wisdom of seeing the big picture from the small, and embodies a viewpoint of oriental aesthetics.

Chinese gardens are the best example of this view, and this is especially true of jade carvings, which have traditionally been referred to as "inches of mountains and inches of water." From mountains as large as several meters high to jade plaques as small as a few centimeters, they all reflect this view.

In jade carving creation, the principle of seeing the big from the small is generally followed. In the narrow design space, the vastness of the world can be accommodated. Especially the jade carvings of mountains, through their unique design, enable the connoisseur to feel a vibrant world under the guidance of their scenery, thus expressing the soul of the mountain.

A jade-carved mountain can be said to be a miniature version of the universe. It is a small world that follows nature and expresses scenes. Without the expression of such scenes, there would be no transformation mechanism from small to large. This exquisitely carved scene acts on the mind of the connoisseur, making people have far-reaching thoughts and feelings beyond the picture of the mountain itself. The reason why the connoisseur can complete this transformation in his mind lies in the creation of the special scene of the jade carving mountain, and more importantly, in the fact that the creator and the connoisseur have a common cultural psychology. This is a feature of Chinese jade carving and also a characteristic of our traditional culture.

The Fifth Heaven: Great Skill and Simple Appearance

The design of jade carvings has borrowed elements from Chinese calligraphy and painting in many aspects, and is therefore influenced by the cultural connotations of calligraphy and painting. In terms of some subject matter, the design pursues the principle of "dry on the outside but rich on the inside, seemingly light but actually thick". Some decayed images, such as dead trees and strange rocks, are used to demonstrate profound truths. Seek beauty in ugliness, seek reason in weirdness, seek common sense in absurdity, and pursue the meaning of life.

The image of decay does not have a beautiful form, nor a beautiful shape, but it is full, substantial and lively inside. Through its own decay, it implies vitality; through its own weirdness, it implies a kind of vitality; through its own ugliness, it implies boundless beauty, so as to arouse people's yearning for the vitality of life and start a new life journey. There is a profound philosophical truth implied here: naivety is cleverness, cleverness turns into naivety, simplicity is truth, and the low point of life breeds hope.

In the eyes of jade carving artists, absorbing the essence of traditional culture, seeing spring in dead trees, beauty in strange rocks, and smelling fragrance in confusion, pursuing ingenuity with ingenuity does not lead to ingenuity. Finding ingenuity in clumsiness is the real ingenuity.

Sixth Heaven Combination of Reality and Virtuality

When appreciating an excellent jade carving artwork, we often describe it as a combination of the real and the virtual, which is an important category in Chinese aesthetics. A combination of the real and the virtual, with the real within the virtual and the virtual within the real. Between the real and the imaginary, Chinese art pays more attention to the imaginary, because the real comes from the imaginary. Imagination is ethereal and inherently real, and only when it is ethereal and clear can there be the beauty of reality.

When appreciating Chinese jade carvings, don’t look at what is carved, but look at what is not on the picture. Through the limited form of the picture, imagine the invisible space. This is what Chinese jade carving pursues. The ethereal quality of jade carvings does not lie in simple design or empty pictures, but in the ethereal feeling of spiritual energy. The key issue does not lie in the number of carved pictures, but in the unique inspiration of the artist.

If the design and carving are good, you can see the ethereality even in the densest places. If the design and carving are poor, it will be difficult to achieve high attainments even if the place is empty. It is better to seek movement in stillness than to seek movement in movement; it is better to seek scenery in the air than to seek scenery in reality. At the combination of the real and the virtual, an imaginative space is constructed so that there are scenery within scenery and images outside images. Appreciating excellent jade carvings is like being there in person. Slowly integrating into this wonderful world of combination of the real and the virtual, you will find that there is a kind of enchanting beauty in it.

In Chinese jade carvings, the ethereal world always exists in the hearts of creators and connoisseurs. Between design and appreciation, it increases the space for people to ponder, appearing and disappearing, light and thick, making people linger.

If the design and carving are good, you can see the ethereality even in the densest places. If the design and carving are poor, it will be difficult to achieve high attainments even if the place is empty. It is better to seek movement in stillness than to seek movement in movement; it is better to seek scenery in the air than to seek scenery in reality. At the combination of the real and the virtual, an imaginative space is constructed so that there are scenery within scenery and images outside images. Appreciating excellent jade carvings is like being there in person. Slowly integrating into this wonderful world of combination of the real and the virtual, you will find that there is a kind of enchanting beauty in it.

In Chinese jade carvings, the ethereal world always exists in the hearts of creators and connoisseurs. Between design and appreciation, it increases the space for people to ponder, appearing and disappearing, light and thick, making people linger.

Chinese art emphasizes the harmony between man and the universe, and finds infinite happiness in being in harmony with nature. In the creation of jade carving, we should achieve the affinity between man and nature, utilize all available elements in nature and display them in jade carving works, forget knowledge, forget interests, break free from constraints, bring ourselves into a whole new world, produce a strong soul shock, feel unprecedented experience, and experience a deep joy. Only in such a state can we produce excellent works, rather than blindly imitating and repeating. Only calm creation can show the beauty of harmony.

Appreciating China's traditional jade carving art is like drinking a cup of tea, which is long-lasting in its plainness and elegant in its tranquility.

Eight Heavens: Using Art to Express the Way

In ancient China, there was a saying that art can convey the truth. Skills are only a medium, a means, and a tool to achieve the "truth". All art forms must transcend "skills" and move towards the "truth". The art of jade carving has been passed down for thousands of years because it has inner meanings and special aspirations, embodies the souls of its creators, and contains the essence of thousands of years of Chinese traditional culture. That is why it has a long history and continues uninterrupted.

The jade carving artist expresses his feelings in clouds and water, mountains and forests, and art, and uses art to convey his ideas, thus completing the journey of the soul. He reflects the unique orientation of Chinese art and its emphasis on human character. The influence of this culture on art, which regards art as the external manifestation of human character, ultimately develops into human moral pursuit. Express your aspirations through objects, enjoy art, and gain a sense of moral satisfaction from it. This view, in jade culture, caters to the ancient saying "A modest gentleman is like jade". The art of jade carving is the embodiment of virtue.

After analyzing the artistic conception and connotation of Chinese jade carving art, it was found that these connotations are the essence of Chinese art and the unique temperament of oriental art. Only when these characteristics appear and blend together can a perfect artistic conception be formed, bringing people aesthetic enjoyment. All this can be attributed to China's traditional culture. China's traditional culture is profound and has a wide-ranging influence. While we are experiencing it, it often brings us more surprises.

fcgc66

fcpf18