Special relationship between ancient merchants and craftspeople has left a stunning legacy of art, report Wang Ru in Huangshan, Anhui, and Zhu Lixin in Hefei.

Editor's note: Traditional arts and crafts are supreme examples of Chinese cultural heritage. China Daily is publishing this series to show how master artisans are using dedication and innovation to inject new life into heritage. In this installment, we explore wood, stone and brick carving in architecture in the Huizhou area.

For Kuai Zhenghua, a 62-year-old national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Huizhou wood carving, who is based in Huangshan in Anhui province, restoring ancient wood carvings is initially a game of detective work, and requires experience, intuition and imagination.

For example, when he was restoring one piece on which there were traces of an elephant farming, he knew it was a depiction of story of the legendary ruler Shun, who is believed to have lived over 4,000 years ago.

"It's a famous story about the cultural importance of filial piety. I have seen so many carvings about it, and can recognize it at a glance. In the story, Shun's display of filial obedience touched heaven and led to elephants farming for him. The legendary ruler Yao, who is said to be the predecessor of Shun, heard the story and visited Shun to ascertain whether his character qualified him to take over his throne, before passing the mantle of leadership to Shun," says Kuai.

"Although there are often many missing parts, clues remain. For example, even if the heads of some figures are gone, you can still see their feet and clothing. Men often have bigger feet than women. Farmers don't wear long robes, but officials do. Women's costumes often have ribbons. Since these carvings usually depict legends, with clues like these, you can figure out which stories they are about," Kuai continues.

Once he understands a carving's content, he can restore it. The pieces he has worked on over the last four decades once decorated the buildings of Huizhou, a historical prefecture, which straddled the border between southern Anhui and northern Jiangxi provinces and covered the area of modern-day Huangshan.

Stone carvings, brick carvings and wood carvings, collectively referred to as the "three carvings" in Huizhou, have been integral components of Huizhou's architecture since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Different types of carving work in coordination and are used in different parts of buildings, giving rise to the elegant, exquisite decor for which Huizhou architecture is known, says Chen Zheng, deputy secretary-general of Huangshan Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Association.

The historical buildings are often found nestled in mountainous areas. Residential buildings, one of the most important typologies, are enclosed by walls and look simple from the outside, but inside, they are open, spacious and intricately decorated.

Chen says that the popularity of the "three carvings" is closely related to the rise of Huizhou's merchants, a class reputed for their honesty and morality during the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Since Huizhou is a mountainous area with few flat areas for farming, its people often left the region to do business at a young age. When they achieved success and wanted to build homes for their twilight years, lack of land meant they could not build bigger buildings and so instead, they resorted to luxurious decoration to display their hard-earned prosperity.

Wood carving is widely believed to be the most important among the "three carvings". "People often say, 'even if the walls collapse, Huizhou houses will not', because their wooden structures make use of sunmao (mortise-and-tenon) joints. That's why for interior decoration, the wooden beams and window lattices are the primary choices, and that's where wood carving comes into play," says Chen.

He further explains that brick carvings typically adorn the entrances of ancient residences to signify the owners' status, while stone carvings are commonly found on pillar bases and are more prevalent in ancestral temples and on paifang, memorial arches.

Lasting influence

Chengzhi Hall in Huangshan's Yixian county is a classic example of Huizhou architecture. The former residence of Qing Dynasty salt merchant Wang Dinggui, it is known for its outstanding wood carvings. Visitors often feel their eyes can barely take in all the beautiful examples around the complex.

One beam in the main hall is decorated with a carving depicting a Tang Dynasty (618-907) prince's party, which many officials are attending. The carving is intricate, and all the figures are painstakingly carved, including the servant in the right corner brewing tea, and another in the left corner cleaning the ears of an official.

The carving symbolizes the owner's wish to become an official, says Huang Jie, vice-president of the Yixian Huihuang Tourism Development Group, which is responsible for promoting scenic spots in the area.

She explains that the carvings embody Wang's aspirations. Beyond conveying his ambition to attain an official position, they also symbolize his drive for prosperity in business, his wishes for the longevity of elderly relatives, and his desire for the flourishing of his descendants.

"In the past, people could grasp the homeowner's mindset by examining these carvings, as they encapsulated the owner's aspirations and wishes. Consequently, buildings served not only as residential spaces but also as spiritual sanctuaries for their inhabitants," she adds.

Chen says that the stone carvings at the Wu family ancestral temple in Shexian county depict 10 famous views of Hangzhou's West Lake in Zhejiang province. Legend has it that a family member who grew prosperous doing business in Hangzhou sought to fulfill his elderly mother's desire to witness his success, and recruited skilled artisans to replicate Hangzhou's scenic beauty on the blue-stone boards of their ancestral temple, thus allowing his mother to experience the city's splendor without undertaking a tiring journey.

"This embodies filial piety and devotion to family bonds through an enduring display of love and respect," he says. The exquisite carvings were the work of Huizhou craftsmen, a group known during the Ming and Qing dynasties for their skill at various art forms including carving and woodblock printing.

Their success was tied to the support of Huizhou merchants, who devoted a great deal of wealth to the best materials. Artisans were given plenty of time to build the splendid homes in which the merchants sought to retire. As a result, craftspeople had both the money and the time to work meticulously, and satisfy their patrons, Chen says.

He makes particular mention of the wood carvings in a residence in Yixian county's Lucun village, which are said to have been worked on by two artisans for nearly 20 years, a demonstration of the determination and devotion of Huizhou merchants to have the perfect dwelling, no matter the cost.

Although Huizhou's craftspeople were highly skilled, apart from being known for their accomplishment, most failed to leave their names in history. But their legacy continues to shine.

"The artisans behind the 'three carvings' are nameless today. They were known only during their times, and didn't enjoy high social status, but it was precisely these ordinary people who made such breathtaking work," says Chen.

Refined skills

According to Kuai, Huizhou wood carving emphasizes simplicity, with smooth, simple lines and intricate yet modest carving techniques that render beauty in an elegant and poetic way, in harmony with the cultural atmosphere of the area.

He says that since wood is softer than brick and stone, and is easier to carve, it can be more richly detailed and express a more delicate sentiment than the latter.

According to tradition, when carving a representation of a 3-year-old child, the eyes should dominate nearly half of the face, while the jawline ought to be rounded. For a depiction of a 10-year-old, the eyes should be positioned higher on the face, occupying a smaller area. In the portrayal of adults, the eyes should occupy a smaller proportion of the face, often set in a more angular facial structure.

"From 3-year-olds to adults, the carving of different age groups varies based on observations of the maturing process. This is the basic principle of our wood carving tradition," says Kuai.

According to Wu Zhenghui, a 58-year-old national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Huizhou brick carving, the tradition is known for its multiple layers, which can result in an almost three-dimensional effect that makes them look more dynamic.

"By making recourse to multilayered carving, Huizhou brick carving transcends flat, two-dimensional presentation, and introduces techniques of perspective that advance toward three-dimensional art," says Wu.

A native of Shexian's Bei'an village, the birthplace of Huizhou brick carving, Wu was immersed in the art form from a young age, fostering a passion for this time-honored craft since childhood. He learned from local artisans, and opened his own studio to restore old brick carvings in 1989.

Years of involvement in the craft and continual improvement have made Wu a leading figure in the field, and he demonstrated his skill by spending six months re-creating the ancient technique of nine-layered carvings, which had been lost to history.

"Working from the front, you can carve at most seven layers before being unable to go any deeper. As a result, I was confused as to how I could add the other two layers," says Wu.

He read widely and examined carvings on historical buildings, thinking about how to add those two extra layers.

One day, as he was looking at some old brick carvings he collected, he noticed openings on the sides of the bricks. At first, he thought they were to help install the carvings, but after close observation, he realized that he could insert a knife through these openings, and carve two more layers. This was when he was able to successfully re-create the technique.

One of Kuai's students, 29-year-old Tang Shuhui, who is a city-level inheritor of Huizhou wood carving, has been engaged in the craft for 11 years. From a young apprentice, whose hands hurt every day from sharpening knives, to a mature craftsman with many award-winning pieces, Tang wants to continue to follow the path walked by his predecessors.

He says that people often compare Huizhou merchants to camels, noting their pioneering, enterprising spirit, and endurance. He believes this comparison can be applied to Huizhou craftspeople as well.

"I want to learn the skills and spirit they passed down, advance the techniques with modern tools, and try my best to add new vigor to this traditional craft," he says.