Eucalyptus travels to Zhoushan, Suzhou, where the nuclear carving village is a nationally famous distribution center for nuclear carving art. There are more than 500 households in this village, all of which are engaged in the processing and production of nuclear carving artworks, and the annual income of the whole village is about 300 million yuan.

Song Shuiguan, the national representative inheritor of the village's Chinese intangible cultural heritage project, nuclear carving (Guangfu nuclear carving), is the third generation leader of this skill.

Song Shuiguanyue was born in Zhoushan Village, Guangfu Township, Wu County (now Zhoushan Village, Xiangshan Street, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City), and in 1967 entered the Zhoushan Craft Carving Factory founded by the older generation of carving artist Xu Yinsheng and others to learn mahogany and olive core carving.

It was also from then on that Song Shuiguan began to learn nuclear carving with a group of young people in the village and other old artists such as Su Yinsheng. Because of his studious and flexible mind, he quickly stood out among the young people.

"But at that time, the scale was not large, there were only 50 or 60 people in the village engaged in nuclear carving production, and nuclear carving products were mainly sold to Southeast Asia, and at that time, my monthly salary was very good to support my family."

Song Shuiguan recalled the scene at that time. In 1973, as a technical expert, Song Shuiguan was transferred to the Wu County Engraving Factory by the Wu County Government to be responsible for carving production, although the management work took up a lot of his time, but his study of the art of nuclear carving has never relaxed, and the carved Arhat has won the praise of connoisseurs.

In the past, traditional genres such as the Eighteen Arhats were also regarded as feudal cultivation and could not be reflected in nuclear carving, which prompted Song Shuiguan, who was originally known for carving Arhats, to find a new way to turn to the creation of genres such as flora, fauna and landscapes.

During this period, his works in the genres of lions, lotuses, peanuts and other genres were highly sought after by the market, and his turn greatly expanded the artistic creation space of nuclear carving, and also improved his own nuclear carving creation skills.

Later, the traditional genre returned to the market, and Song Shuiguan played the traditional genre to a new height while creating new products. "Riding the Wind and Waves", which he spent more than a month creating, is based on the traditional theme of "nuclear boat". But the level of delicacy is stunning.

There are eight sesame-sized windows on the boat, which can be opened and closed with toothpicks, and four people are sitting in each window, one of whom is still looking out. Counting carefully, there are 23 characters on a small boat, which is amazing.

You must know that the characters engraved in Wei Xueyun's "Nuclear Boat Story" of the Ming Dynasty that we see in middle school textbooks are only seven or eight people! Song Shuiguan also gave this work a name with the characteristics of the times, "Riding the Wind and Waves".

He said: "After the reform and opening up, our great motherland has entered a new period of development, and is also facing new development opportunities, and the name I give it also means that in the new period, the Communist Party of China will lead the people of the whole country to overcome many difficulties, brave the wind and waves to create new brilliance, and strive for greater victories!" ”

In January, this work won the highest award "Shanhua Award" at the 9th China Folk Literature and Art Highest Award. Speaking of this award, there is another vignette. Since the length of this work is only 4.5 cm, it is 'insignificant' compared to large works such as stone carvings and root carvings.

"How can such a small thing participate in the award selection if it is not elegant?" One of the judges questioned this during the preliminary review. "In ancient times, princes, nobles, literati and writers all regarded nuclear carving as a treasure and loved it, how can it be said that it is not elegant?"

Song Shuiguan, who has always been eloquent, argued with the history and technical characteristics of nuclear carving, and finally made this work pass the preliminary evaluation and won the Shanhua Award in one fell swoop. Of course, the key to winning the award for "Riding the Wind and Waves" is its superb carving skills.

Following this award, "Riding the Wind and Waves" also won the "Spring Flower Award" at the first Oriental Arts and Crafts Capital Expo, and the "Wonder Award" at the first Chinese Peasant Art Exhibition to welcome the Olympic Games.

A small nuclear sculpture actually won the highest award of folk art, the "Shanhua Award", and Song Shuiguan's work caused a sensation immediately after winning the award. You must know that once every two years, only 35 Shanhua Award works can be selected each time.

No wonder a judge immediately congratulated Song Shuiguan and said: "Mr. Song, your nuclear carving work won the Shanhua Award, which is unprecedented and unprecedented." Actually, the judge was only half right. Since Song Shuiguan opened the nuclear carving mountain flower award, two nuclear carving artists later won the "mountain flower award".

Song Shuiguan, who has been in the nuclear carving industry for more than 50 years, is now a leading figure in Zhoushan Nuclear Carving Village. This is not only because he has a dedication to the cause of nuclear carving, but also because of his skills in the art of nuclear carving.

His nuclear carving works are lively, with clear lines and delicate style, which well reflects the characteristics of "fine, fine and elegant" of Suzhou craft carving. Song Shuiguan is good at carving traditional auspicious patterns such as Arhats, Maitreya, and Eight Immortals, especially various Arhat statues, which are delicate and delicate and lifelike, and make people love it.

He said: "The job of nuclear carving is not that the more characters the better, in fact, the fewer the characters, the more difficult it is to carve." The most people are carved is to carve a group of heads, while the few figures need to carve the body, limbs, clothing and ornaments, which is more difficult and more demanding.

Therefore, if purely in terms of skills, the level of many artists today has reached or surpassed Chen Zuzhang, but the ingenious conception, artistic conception, chapter method, layout, etc. highlighted by Chen Zuzhang's works are ingenious, showing everyone's demeanor, and have irreplaceable artistic value and historical value in the history of olive core carving. ”

In addition to creating traditional genres, Song Shuiguan also paid attention to genre innovation. In any major event, he has to make a little "action". During the Beijing Olympics, he created the nuclear sculpture "Fuwa", and during the Universiade, he created the nuclear sculpture souvenir mascot "UU".

In addition, he also created a series of timely works such as the nuclear sculpture "Suzhou Garden". He said: "Most of the traditional nuclear carving themes are based on the beautiful scenery of strange mountains and Taoyuan world, showing the pursuit and yearning of the literati for seclusion and wild fun, but this is only one aspect of our creative content, we should also keep pace with the times, create some works that reflect real life and are popular with the people, only in this way, nuclear carving art can radiate new vitality and brilliance!" ”

Superb creative skills have made Song Shuiguan's nuclear carving works frequently win awards in major competitions. "Eighteen Arhats", "Nuclear Boat" and "Dragon Olympics" won the "Gold Award" of the Chinese Art Collection Expo and the 4th China Folk Arts and Crafts Expo respectively; He and his daughter Song Meiying's "Successor" won the "Gold Award" of the first China Jimei Folk Craft Boutique Expo and was shortlisted for the "Shanhua Award"; "Suzhou Garden" won the "Gold Award" of the 10th China Arts and Crafts Masters Boutique Fair.

In 2008, it was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In 2009, Song Shuiguan was named by the Ministry of Culture as the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project "Guangfu Nuclear Carving", and before that, he has been rated as the inheritor of intangible cultural heritage nuclear carving in Suzhou City and Jiangsu Province.

Most people who have been to Zhoushan Nuclear Sculpture Village will be impressed by the dazzling array of nuclear carving studio signboards and tourists coming and going. But few people know that the reason why Zhoushan Nuclear Sculpture Village is today is because Song Shuiguan can be said to have contributed a lot.

In 2011, according to the Jiangsu Provincial Planning Bureau, Zhoushan Village was to be relocated to a new location along with other natural villages. Song Shuiguan was anxious when he learned of the news. In his capacity as a member of the Democratic League, he reported the matter to the Wuzhong branch of the Democratic League, and the organization of the Democratic League submitted a report on the preservation of Zhoushan Village to the relevant departments at a higher level.

He also found the consequences of the city's leadership demolition of Zhoushan Village: "Nuclear carving skills and natural villages are interdependent, if blindly demolished, the traditional nuclear carving industry will lose the foundation and environment of inheritance, which will greatly hurt its vitality, and Suzhou will also lose a business card of characteristic tourism."

It is hoped that Zhoushan Village will be preserved to create a nuclear carving village in China. Yan Li, then mayor of Suzhou, made a special trip to Song Shuiguan's home and held a forum at his home to study the issue of staying in Zhoushan Village.

After this on-site office, the municipal government finally adopted the proposal of the Democratic League and Song Shuiguan's suggestion, and submitted a report to the Jiangsu Provincial Planning Bureau to retain Zhoushan Village. After learning the news that Zhoushan Village was exempted from demolition, Song Shuiguan also let out a long breath: "We will not leave regrets for future generations!" ”

After saving Zhoushan Nuclear Carving Village, in order to develop the nuclear carving industry, Song Shuiguan and his companions began to plan the development of the nuclear carving village. He wrote in a report: "The promotion and inheritance of a folk craft cannot be carried out by a few people, but must be built into a scale and create a brand."

To this end, we organize and lead the villagers of Zhoushan to engage in the nuclear carving industry on the one hand, and boldly innovate on the other hand. At the same time, through the strategy of "going out", we actively participate in and use the stage of publicity activities and exhibitions and exhibitions in various provinces and cities across the country to promote nuclear carving skills and improve the visibility in the industry; In addition, we also actively participate in the activities of national well-known art groups such as the China Folk Literature and Art Association and the China Arts and Crafts Society to enhance the brand value of nuclear carving and achieve a double harvest of scale and efficiency. ”

Through the above measures and the efforts of many parties, Zhoushan Nuclear Eagle Village has undergone earth-shaking changes, and its cohesion has been continuously enhanced. It turned out that some people who went out to engage in stone carving, wood carving, jade carving, and even masonry also returned to the village to engage in nuclear carving. Today, Zhoushan Nuclear Sculpture Village has developed from a small village of 200 people to a large nuclear carving market of 4,000 people.

Nuclear carving has formed a complete industrial chain from production and sales. More than 4,000 people are engaged in nuclear carving, more than 60 arts and crafts artists at all levels, forming three generations of old, middle and young nuclear carving artists to go into battle and seek a new atmosphere of development, with annual sales of more than 100 million yuan and per capita income of more than 80,000 yuan. In the past, the small skills of carving insects have become a pillar industry in the local area.

In order to maintain the sustainable development of the nuclear carving village, Song Shuiguan also actively worked hard to cultivate nuclear carving talents. Since he brought his first apprentice Xu Peijin in 1973, there have been no less than 100 disciples under Song Shuiguan.

In 2015, Song Shuiguan led 43 disciples to participate in the Beijing Aijia International Collectibles Exchange Market to hold the "Nuclear World - Song Shuiguan Master and Apprentice Nuclear Sculpture Exhibition", the exhibition of different forms of nuclear carving attracted a large number of customers, and so many disciples collectively appeared in the nuclear carving exhibition has also become a beautiful scenery on the exhibition.

In order to make more young people understand nuclear carving and pay attention to nuclear carving, in 2015, Song Shuiguan also set up the "Song Shuiguan Nuclear Carving Class" in Suzhou Vocational and Technical College of Arts and Crafts, personally explained the history and creative skills of nuclear carving to students, and also asked students to design nuclear carving works, and invited experts to evaluate the students' design works, and the bonus was also paid by Song Shuiguan out of his own pocket.

These activities greatly stimulated the students' interest in the creation of nuclear carving. He said: "Today's young people, especially college students who study art, have a good cultural foundation, their brains are active, and their works are more contemporary, and I hope that more and more young people will join our nuclear carving team to make this ancient folk art flower more and more beautiful!" ”

In addition, Song Shuiguan also actively went abroad to promote the culture of nuclear carving, and during his visit to the United States with the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association, his nuclear carving works aroused praise and amazement from foreign audiences in the exhibition! Another of his nuclear boat works is in the permanent collection of the Juvenile Museum of America.

On February 24, 2017, Mr. Song held the inaugural meeting of the "Nuclear Sculpture Professional Committee of the China Folk Literature and Art Association" in Beijing. and served as director. So that Suzhou nuclear carving can do a good job in the inheritance and promotion of intangible cultural heritage on a larger platform.

On August 23, 2017, Ding You was in the summer solar term, and Mr. Song led the Suzhou nuclear carving artists to hold the "Mustard Seed Na Sumeru Nuclear Carving Collection" Suzhou Nuclear Carving Exhibition in the National First-class Museum of Prince Gong's Mansion of the Ministry of Culture, which made the Suzhou Nuclear Carving Exhibition display and publicity on the platform organized by the Ministry of Culture for the first time.

Today, as a national-level nuclear carving artist, Song Shuiguan, who is over seventy years old, no matter how busy he is, picks up a carving knife in that remote studio every day to create.

He said: "Others are in the downtown area to set up a studio, I like to create in a quiet environment, the core of the carving must first be quiet, can not be impetuous, the proportion of nuclear carving design and carving methods need to be highly concentrated, without a quiet environment is not good." Nuclear carving is my life's work, and if I don't take a carving knife that day, I always feel like something is missing. ”

Olive core carving, also known as olive carving, is a Chinese folk miniature carving process, inherited for more than 300 years, nuclear carving with its unique artistic charm and crystal clear jade beauty after playing, sought after by collectors!

Nuclear carving is a traditional Chinese folk miniature carving craft. Peach pits, apricot pits, olive pits and other fruit pits and walnuts carved into handicrafts, has been included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Suzhou and Yangzhou in Jiangsu, Weifang in Shandong, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Beijing, Shijiazhuang in Hebei, Liaoning and other places have nuclear carvings, which are more distinctive.

Folk mostly use peach pit carving, perforated to hang on the body as a "evil spirit" use. There are made of wear, fan pendant, beads, etc. for the literati to play. Its artistic characteristics are the expression of complex subjects on smaller kernels, and the carving techniques are also nuanced. It is engraved with poems or fishermen's music, flower baskets, arhats and other themes. Suzhou and Yangzhou in Jiangsu, Weifang in Shandong, Guangdong and other places have nuclear carvings, which are more distinctive.

The earliest nuclear carving works that can be seen in the writings are from the Ming Dynasty. "Qing Secret Collection" records that there was a man named Xia Baiyan during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, "can carve sixteen dolls on the olive core, and the eyebrows are full of joy and anger." Or engrave nine cocktails, nine lotus flowers, and its pan bends and flies away in a state of contract, becoming a small nucleus in square inches".

Ming Wei Xuehuan made "The Nuclear Boat Record", describing the "Dongpo Red Cliff Tour" made by Wang Yi (the word Shuyuan), a nuclear carving artist in Yushan (now Changshu, Suzhou) during the Apocalypse of the Ming Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, Wang Shuyuan carved the peach pit, Xing Xian's carved walnut, and Xia Baiyan's olive core can be described as the three unique core carvings, and his works have been handed down very rarely.

In the Qing Dynasty, Qiu Shan nuclear carving skills were exquisite, and few works were handed down. The walnut carving of Yang Zhishan, a nuclear carving artist in the late Qing Dynasty, "West Garden Elegant Collection Illustrated" is its masterpiece, the forest is sparse, the strange stones are uneven, and there are 19 people in three groups of characters carved, and its subtlety is surprising.

The nuclear carving artist Du Langui was born in the Guangxu period, and the prime minister visited in 1955 and gave a gift to foreign heads of state for his nuclear carving works.

In 1957, when the former Soviet leader Voroshilov visited China, Du Langui was 75 years old at the time, and at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he still presented the carved nuclear sculpture. There are descendants of nuclear carving, and Chen Suying, a native of Suzhou, Jiangsu, is another famous nuclear carving artist after Dulan Gui.