Taishan Zhang's jade carving inheritor shows off skills in Tai'an

(chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2023-03-14

A Tai'an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) experience activity featuring Taishan Zhang's jade carving was held at Tai'an Cultural Museum, which is also known as the Tai'an ICH Protection Center, in Tai'an, Shandong province on March 9.

Zhang Yuewen, a fifth-generation inheritor of Taishan Zhang's jade carving, explained relevant knowledge to more than 30 tourists.

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A close-up look at Zhang performing jade carving. [Photo/WeChat account: SDTXTA]

The skill, which originated in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), boasts a history of more than 150 years, and is mainly inherited by families. Now it has been passed down for six generations.

Zhang has practiced the traditional carving skills for 40 years and continues to innovate.

During the activity, he showcased his carving skills and explained a semi-finished jade carving work of peony blossoms, which had taken more than 15 days to make.

Stable Country and Peaceful People, one of Zhang's famous works, was also on display at the event. As the chief planner and designer of the work, he spent nearly three years designing and carving the jade with another five carvers.

"It is the first time for me to work on a 10 ton piece of Taishan jade for a scaled down panorama of Mount Tai. According to the combination of the original appearance of jade and the real scene of Mount Tai, we made full use of the color difference to highlight the landscapes," said Zhang.

In order to better restore the original scenery of Mount Tai, they climbed the mountain six times. Finally, he got an inspiration from a night reading.