My opinion on jade carving: How to grade jade carving?

After seeing some critical comments from friends about how some hollow carvings they were just practicing dared to pass off as high-level jade carvings, and the speechless "high-level carvings", I thought about it for a long time and decided that I wanted to talk more about the topic of carving. I would like to invite friends who are interested to chat with me.

Before talking about carving grading, I would like to tell my friends why jade needs to be carved?

In fact, this is a very simple question. Because it is not perfect, the carving master needs to make the jade perfect through carving. It's like giving a woman beauty treatment, makeup, or even plastic surgery, the two are very similar.

There is a saying that women dress up to please themselves, and jade is carved for those who understand it. Jade has inevitable flaws, so it is necessary to remove those flaws and retain the beauty, and it needs to be carefully carved to bring out its beautiful side.

Don’t say that good jade does not need to be carved. How many perfect jades like that can we see in reality? Just like in real life, what are the chances that we can see beauties like Joey Wong and Brigitte Lin who have astounded the world for generations?

A beautiful woman is hard to find again, and beautiful jade is not easy to obtain. In fact, all the jadeite we see needs to be carved, even if it is just a few strokes, there must be a reason!

So, when you look at jade again, don’t listen to what the merchants say about how perfect this piece of jade is. If it is really perfect, then there is no need to do any work, just wear the raw stone directly!

Of course, I am not saying that such jade does not exist. On the contrary, I believe that natural flawless jade must exist, but I just don’t have the luck to encounter it. If friends are lucky enough to meet it, it is a blessing.

Having said that, my friends should understand what I mean. It means that jade needs to be carved to remove the dross and retain the essence, so that it can bloom with beauty and meet its mentor.

For jade to complete this journey, it is inevitably dependent on the carving skills of the master carver. But everyone is different, so naturally the carving skills vary. That is the focus of today's talk with friends:

How is carving graded?

Level 1: Mind follows form

It is based on the characteristics of the jade raw materials and combined with the meaning of blessing and luck, it is carved into finished products of various themes, such as landscape signs, beans, leaves, and so on. In other words, all kinds of floral pieces, ornaments, and themes with meaningful meanings that we usually see are classified here. In other words, at this level, whatever you carve is what you get.

Level 2: The icing on the cake

To put it bluntly, carving increases the value of jade. The characteristics of jade raw materials, such as floating flowers and colors, are well utilized and become a highlight in the finished product! Just like what we often call clever carving and colorful carving, I classify them into this category.

Level 3: Turn decay into magic

It is the kind of material that everyone thinks can only be discarded, but in the hands of the sculptor it is transformed into a stunning and perfect counterattack. Or maybe the originally flawed part was carved into the finishing touch by the sculptor's skillful hands! These are carvings that are far superior to the raw materials, truly turning decay into magic and waste into treasure. This level of carving is often seen in master-level works. Of course, there are also many masters among the people who possess such unparalleled skills.

Some friends may say that instead of dividing it in this way, it would be better to just say general carving, advanced carving, and master level. Actually, in my own experience, carving is not that fancy. When it comes down to it, there are only two types: good or bad. Even a master can make stupid mistakes sometimes and make poor carvings.

So, I don’t use junior, advanced, or master levels to rank the carving workers. Instead, they are graded according to the standard that good is good and bad is bad. Those professional standards and some judging bases, such as lines and color usage, only allow us to better understand and appreciate the carving, and thus better understand the beauty of jade.

Finally, I would like to emphasize again that every time I mention carving, I always hope that my friends can look at it with respect, regardless of whether it is good or bad, because there are high and low levels of craftsmanship, but there is no good or bad heart.

Therefore, I say seriously that I never think that jade needs to be carved badly. What I think is bad is the behavior of those merchants who use carving skills indiscriminately to cheat friends who don’t understand! Therefore, I hope that friends will read my article carefully before criticizing it.

Of course, I am very grateful for every message from my friends. The good ones are encouragement to me, while the bad ones are spurs. I am always on the road of learning and have many shortcomings that need my friends to correct and spur me on. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my friends for their continued support.

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