scmp.com
This article is part of a weekly series that dives deep into the
small things that add character to our city, enrich our culture and
make our lives beautiful.
The Chaozhou art form is one of the oldest surviving and most
reputable forms of woodcarving in China, and is famous for its
precision, sophistication and lifelike sculptures.
1 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
Carol Lau, assistant curator, urban and oral history, Hong Kong
Museum of History
2 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
“In the early years of the dynasty, a Ming loyalist called Zheng
Chenggong tried to topple the regime,” Wu says.
From the middle to late Qing dynasty, those who did well began
sending money back to those family and friends who had
remained in China.
3 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
4 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
Carol Lau, assistant curator of urban and oral history, at the Hong
Kong Museum of History, which is now staging an exhibition,
“Gilded Glory: Chaozhou Woodcarving”, says the woodcarvings
are also known as “gilt wood” because of the way in which
lacquer and gold foil are often applied to pieces to give them a
resplendent gold finish.
5 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
6 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
Anven Wu
7 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
“You give the most precious food to deities, and the container
also needs to be of the highest quality, which is why we decorate
it with gold,” Wu says.
“Everyone wants the deities to protect them and their family, and
we all want our temples and ancestor houses to be the most
spectacular,” Wu says.
It’s a far cry from Hong Kong, where high labour costs are
contributing to the speedy decline of the art of woodcarving.
8 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17
China’s Chaozhou woodcarvers created an art form that still thrives about:reader?url=https://www.scmp.com/native/lifestyle/arts-culture/to...
9 of 9 23/11/2018 15:17