Xu Hongyang is a representative inheritor of Jingxing wood carving provincial intangible cultural heritage. Under the guidance and edification of his father's generation, he began to learn wood carving skills at the age of 13, and initially mastered wood carving skills at the age of 20. After years of training, thin relief was sublimated to 2mm to 4mm. The work Mermaid won the Liu Kaiqu Prize, an important award in sculpture in 2014. Xu Hongyang has won the May 4th Youth Medal of Hebei Province, the "Star of Hebei Youth" of Hebei Province, and the May 1st Labor Medal of Shijiazhuang City.

If jade is uncut, it will not become useful. If wood is not carved, it is difficult to make a finished product.

On the bustling Zhongshan Road in the downtown area of Shijiazhuang, knocking and chiseling sounds came from a three storey building with white walls and grey tiles, Some are lifelike, some are magnificent, some are small and exquisite, which is amazing.

A young man was concentrating on carving wood carvings.

The small building is called Xu Hongyang Wood Sculpture Museum. The busy young people are the museum Hall owner — Xu Hongyang, the representative inheritor of Jingxing wood carving provincial intangible cultural heritage.

Although Xu Hongyang is a post-90s generation, he is mature and stable. He held the carving knife in his hand and chiseled the wood block in his hand according to the previously described lines. When the carving knife arrives, the wood chips are flying. In a moment of chiseling, the original shape of the strange wood gradually shows the shape of an eagle Sample.

The exquisite wood carving skill is due to the gradual consolidation of the skill through hard research.

"I was influenced by my father Xu Jinkao when I was young. Every day I saw axe chisels and knives, and smelled the fragrance of wood chips. I was influenced by them, and I gradually liked and fell in love with sculpture." Xu Hongyang said that he followed his father to collect carved wood deep in the mountains when he was seven or eight years old He found that he had talent in this field and began to guide and cultivate him constantly.

A thousand times a day of carving, holding dozens of kilograms of wood for five or six hours, It is common for a carving knife to break his hands... After graduation, Xu Hongyang still adhered to his carving ideal and devoted himself to the study of carving. "My father's waste materials, jujube trees in the mountains, branches on elm trees, as long as they are accessible logs, are all materials for me to practice." Xu Hongyang said that too hard materials are hard to carve, too soft materials are too fleshy to carve, and not easy to form. A series of problems troubled the young man. Refusing to lose, Xu Hongyang gritted his teeth and insisted. In dog days, the room was as hot as a steamer. He beat the embryo with a chisel, sweating like rain, soaked his clothes, and didn't bother to change them. The knife cut his hand, found a cloth bag, and then engraved. After his father's careful guidance and Xu Hongyang's long-term exploration, he gradually mastered

At that time, he was less than 20 years old.

There is no end to technology. After years of training, Xu Hongyang forged the thin relief technique to a higher level, and the thin relief has been upgraded from the original thickness of 2mm to 5mm to 2mm to 4mm. "A minute difference can make the wood carving work more vivid." Xu Hongyang said that when carving, we should grasp the force of each knife, so as not to cause breakage, and each carving knife needs to be "fast, accurate and ruthless", even if only one knife If something goes wrong, the whole work will be invalidated, and no one can miss it.

Xu Hongyang's carving tools are also different from modern ones. "Modern tools all use electricity, and the blade can carve more than two lines at a time, which can not be seen by laymen, but can be distinguished by laymen at a glance." Xu Hongyang said that his carving knives are tools left by ancestors, and such tools can only be customized in the village's old blacksmith shop, which has some original tools that they can't make, so he made tools himself, such Only the carved works can have natural, smooth and exquisite works of art.

It often takes more than a month or even a year to complete a work.

Xu Hongyang summarized his wood carving work and said that to create a wood carving work, first of all, it is the idea, then the composition. The composition first makes clay embryos for reference, then selects materials. After entering the carving stage, from coarse to fine, eliminate unnecessary gaps, and then carve out the rough outline, and then fine process the details. After forming, use fine sandpaper and grinding wheel to polish... A wood carving work is basically completed. Finally, in order to increase the brightness and smoothness, you can also paint. It takes half a month to carve small works, and several months or even a year to carve large works. Although it is mainly sculpture, it needs to know everything, such as looking at materials, painting, carving, and even lacquering Understand everything.

One of his masterpieces is the Belt and Road, a wood carving that took more than a year to complete. In 2013, he carved a two meter long, 500 kilogram cliff cypress root. Using the natural shape of the log, he carved a total of 11 camels, which are plump and vigorous, implying the "Belt and Road", and carved five figures, implying the "Wutong Avenue". In addition, he also used the natural holes in the raw materials of the cliff cypress as the city gate, and carved towers and towering ancient trees nearby, It looks like the precipitous Yumen Pass. This cliff cypress work, blended with Xu Hongyang's deep national feelings and ingenuity, was sent to the "First Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo" for exhibition and won unanimous praise from experts and scholars at home and abroad. Now, this work is placed in the Xu Hongyang Wood Carving Museum. Even though it is separated by thick glass, it can make people feel the silkiness of cliff cypresses, the charm of landscape characters, and the wood The carving technique is superb.

In his eyes, all works are unique.

"This work is called" Pine and Crane Prolonging the Years ". It is carved with cliff cypress, implying longevity and auspiciousness It is "The Painting of Eight Horses", which is carved with golden nanmu, implying success and bright future You see, although they are ordinary wood, they can show thousands of worlds after being carefully carved. " Xu Hongyang said. His large cliff cypress wood carving Mermaid, which combines the elegant charm of traditional Chinese ladies with the modern form of western stories, has a beautiful appearance However, she was quiet and elegant, and won the Liu Kaiqu Prize, an important award of sculpture in 2014.

From a flower and a bird to the vast rivers and mountains, from the stone bridge embankment to the green willow pavilion, Xu Hongyang's works in the Wood Carving Museum have concentrated the essence of his more than ten years of art It can be seen that he deepens the tradition and constantly innovates.

"To establish a wood carving museum is to innovate and inherit wood carving skills through this platform," said Xu Hongyang. Today, on the basis of inheriting and inheriting ancient art, he has also designed a series of modern art household derivatives and decorations, such as tea sets, lamps, bedding, etc. So that the primitive and thick sculpture works of art can radiate the flavor of a new era and enter the People live. (Contributed by Hebei Federation of Trade Unions)