楊艷

Adding Brilliance to Pottery with Masterly Carving Technique

At Taoyutang， the studio of Master Wu Huasheng located in Antao Town， Rongchang， an impressive collection of pottery in various shapes is displayed alongside certificates of honor. Despite its modest size of only 20 square meters， the studio is home to hundreds of pottery works adorned with multifarious patterns， such as tiny landscapes， flowers， birds， insects， bamboo， and even full-length calligraphy introducing Rongchang pottery， one of Chinas most renowned ceramic styles. The vivid and vibrant patterns imbue pottery works with traditional Chinese cultural aesthetics.

The Rongchang Pottery Series， produced by Taoyutang， was selected as the 2021 Chongqing Gifts for Foreign Affairs.

Working at his workbench， Wu was engrossed in carving intricate patterns onto a pottery cup. With deft and skillful maneuvers of his graver， he quickly completed a line of poetry and a picture of green bamboo.

As he carved the pottery， Wu introduced， “Pottery carving requires a sharp eye， a diligent mind， and skilled handicraft. It is important to conceive an overall design before beginning to carve.” “When carving calligraphy and painting works， Wu prefers not to make a rough draft， relying instead on his mastery of carving skills to create intricate and precise designs. With over 40 years of experience studying calligraphy， painting， seal carving， and pottery art， Wu has honed his skills to the point where he can easily carve patterns such as landscapes， flowers， birds， and figures， as well as calligraphy works in various styles including regular script， cursive script， clerical script， and seal script.

Pottery carving is a kind of unique workmanship characterized by using gravers to depict calligraphy and painting works on pottery in a way that enables the perfect fusion of pottery-making craft and traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting art. Wu believed that carving patterns derived from Chinese calligraphy and painting works onto simple and elegant Rongchang pottery can add cultural traits to these artifacts. “Such works can show cultural vitality and aesthetics， reflecting the essence of inheritance.”

Using a Graver to Speak His Mind

“Becoming a sophisticated and confident carver requires first conceiving of artistic arrangements and then executing precise， appropriate， and neat carving，” Wu said. Creating a good pottery carving work demands a high level of artistic quality， a solid foundation in pottery carving， and considerable expertise in using gravers.

Wu has also applied his carving skills to jade， bamboo， stones， and other materials， always seeking out new and interesting objects to work with.

In 2019， Wus exquisite pottery carving， a tea set featuring micro scriptures carved both inside and outside， was acquired by the National Art Museum of China （NAMOC） for its collection. This carving represents the application of centuries-old character carving art to pottery.

Micro carving has become an exclusive of Wu， allowing him to apply traditional Chinese carving art to small utensils and highlight Chinese culture in intricate detail.

Wu showed a palm-sized teacup with inner walls carved with calligraphy characters， each of which is only 1 millimeter in size. “When it comes to micro-carving， it can be difficult to see the details of what has been carved， but I am confident that I can carve exactly what I have envisioned. Incorporating painting and calligraphy works into pottery works can renew their spirit，” Wu said.

To improve his carving technique， he has visited ceramic production areas nationwide many times in addition to self-study. In terms of making greenware， he is independent-minded in designing， and his works are favored by pottery enthusiasts.

Wu said a Taiwanese compatriot working in Chongqing visited Antao and discovered a favorite gift in his studio after exploring the town. Later， they established regular business contact.

Using Carvings to Introduce the Story of Rongchang Pottery

Rongchang pottery dates back to the Han Dynasty and became flourishing in Tang and Song dynasties. It has been acknowledged as one of the four most noted ceramic crafts in China， and has been listed among the countrys national-level intangible cultural heritage. Some of the pottery works look as red as dates， some are thin as paper， some have a bright， mirror-like finish， and some produce a chime-like sound.

“The history of Rongchang pottery runs deep， and I am eager to utilize my strengths to revitalize its cultural significance and increase its popularity.” To make Rongchang pottery visible to the world， Wu wrote the history of Rongchang pottery and carved it on the pottery.

“For example， this teacup features texts introducing the history of Rongchang pottery. As people savor their tea， they can learn about the rich history of Rongchang pottery from the very cups they hold. This is an excellent way to leave a favorable impression on people and promote the art form，” said Wu.

Sipping tea from a finely crafted Rongchang pottery cup， adorned with unique calligraphy and painting， can create a delightful and poetic experience.

Wus works have won the silver award at the Chinese Representative （4+N） Pottery Craft Competition， the silver award at the 54th National Crafts Trade Fair and 2019 “Golden Phoenix” Innovative Products Design Competition， the gold award at the 2021 “Chongqing Gifts” Cultural Creative Product Design Competition， and the gold award at the 10th China Ceramic Product Design Competition.

With honor comes the responsibility of cultural inheritance. For many years， Wu has generously passed his skills to anyone interested in learning the craft. “I hope that through the inheritance of techniques， pottery carving can serve as a bridge for Chongqing to contact with the wider world，” said Wu.

用刀如筆 ?陶刻添神韻

走進位于榮昌安陶小鎮(zhèn)的陶語堂吳華生大師工作室，一排排各形陶器和榮譽證書映入眼簾。這間約20平方米的工作室內，陳列著的數百件陶器，上面刻著各種各樣的圖案，有的是微型山水花鳥蟲竹，有的是介紹“中國名陶榮昌陶”的長文書法，畫面生動傳神，形態(tài)自由馳騁，獨具中國傳統(tǒng)文化韻致。

其中，陶語堂出品的“榮昌陶器系列之作”入選2021“重慶好禮·外事禮品”。

工作臺前，吳華生全神貫注，刻刀在他的手上飛快移動，刀起泥落，不一會兒功夫，一行小詩和一幅翠竹圖就鐫刻在了杯盞之上。

吳華生一邊雕刻一邊介紹說，“陶刻講究眼到、心到、手到，用刀如筆，意在刀先?！彼鎏湛虝嬕话愣疾淮虻赘?，全靠對陶刻技藝的掌握。40多年來，他對書法、繪畫、篆刻、陶藝等均有學習和研究，刻畫山水、花鳥、人物，以及楷、草、隸、篆等各種書法，也是信手拈來。

陶刻是一種獨特的工藝技法，其特點是以刀代筆，把書法、繪畫以各種刀法技藝栩栩如生地傳神于陶器上，使制陶工藝與中國傳統(tǒng)書畫藝術融為一體。吳華生認為，榮昌陶的陶壺、陶杯造型簡約、古樸典雅，陶刻上的中國書畫更為其增添了文化內涵，“這樣的作品才得以彰顯生機和韻味，才是真正意義上的傳承?！?/p>

刀鋒所及 ?是心中所想

“陶刻要達到較高的境界，雕刻者必須胸有成竹，未落刀時構思布局已成。下刀準確而熟練，一刀起落就是筆畫的起勢收勢，既要放得開，又要收得住，干凈利落，一氣呵成?！眳侨A生說，好的陶刻作品，制作者必須有較高的文化藝術素養(yǎng)、熟練的陶刻基礎，以及扎實的運刀技巧。

吳華生不僅限于在陶器上雕刻，還在玉石、竹子、石頭等各種載體上雕刻。用他的話來說，只要能夠用來雕刻的東西，他都嘗試過。

2019年，吳華生的“微刻心經”茶具，因雕刻手法采用微刻內外“刀書”的方式，把中國古老的刻字藝術運用在陶上，作品被中國美術館收藏。

微刻，算是他的又一項絕活，將微小精細見長的傳統(tǒng)雕刻藝術，與微型器皿融為一體，方寸之間彰顯中國文化。

吳華生展示了一盞手掌大的茶杯，其內壁雕刻書法，每個字只有1毫米大小?！霸诩毼⒌牡窨讨?，肉眼看不到自己刻了什么，刀鋒所及之處便是心中所想。這種在陶器表面刻上書畫，賦予了陶器新的生命?！眳侨A生說。

為了提升自己的陶刻技藝，他除了自己鉆研實踐，還多次前往全國各產陶區(qū)參觀學習，提升陶刻技術。在制坯方面，他也加入自己的設計想法，其作品深得陶藝愛好者青睞。

吳華生稱，曾經有一位在重慶工作的臺灣同胞到安陶旅游，逛遍了整個小鎮(zhèn)，最終在他的工作室選到了鐘意的禮物。后來常來常往，便成了熟客。

以刀代筆 ?寫榮昌陶故事

紅如棗、薄如紙、亮如鏡、聲如磬的榮昌陶，興起于漢代，繁榮于唐宋，是“中國四大名陶”之一，國家級非物質文化遺產。

“榮昌陶歷史底蘊深厚，我希望發(fā)揮自己的優(yōu)勢，賦予它更多的文化色彩，提升榮昌陶的知名度。”為了讓世界都能看到榮昌陶、了解榮昌陶，吳華生把榮昌陶的歷史自撰成文，并刻在陶器上。

“比如這盞茶杯，上面就刻了一段榮昌陶的歷史簡介。當人們在品茶，手捧著茶杯，就可以了解榮昌陶的歷史，讓更多人喜歡榮昌陶?！眳侨A生說。

做工精良、料好形正的榮昌陶壺，配上獨具神韻的陶刻書畫，于歲月悠悠之時，詩意盎然之處，品茗賞壺，可謂人生愜意享受。

吳華生的作品曾獲中國名陶技藝大賽銀獎，第五十四屆全國工藝品交易會暨2019“金鳳凰”創(chuàng)新產品設計大賽銀獎，2021“重慶好禮”文創(chuàng)產品大賽金獎，第十一屆中國陶瓷產品設計大賽金獎……

榮譽的背后是文化傳承的責任與擔當。多年來，只要有人來學習，吳華生都慷慨傳授，“希望通過陶刻技藝的傳承，讓榮昌陶成為重慶對外交流的窗口、連接外部的紐帶、通往世界的橋梁。”吳華生說。