A recommended selection of the best books to read for those wanting to learn more and/or research about Chinese wood carvings, screens and architectural elements
wood carvings
Traditional Chinese houses – from the countryside into the city (with million dollar profits too)
Very interesting article in the China daily talking about the resale market for Ming and Qing dynasty Chinese traditional homes which are disassembled, transported, repaired and then resold to restaurants, clubs or wealthy collectors. Now this is an interesting topic which I could easily get lost in as it just touches on so many interesting elements from Hui Zhou […]
Red star over China – These temple carvings from the cultural revolution era sport politically correct themes
Stowe Sprague was kind enough to send me these interesting photos on her blog from her visit to the Tulou region of Nanjing county, Fujian province. During her visit to a temple in the town of Taxialou, she noticed the temple’s architectural wood carvings had been replaced with “politically correct themes” rather then the traditional Chinese motifs. Apparently […]
Carved wooden architectural elements salvaged from traditional Chinese homes gain a new lease on life…
I have had this photo of a “Pai Lou” (牌楼) which has been sitting on my hard drive for ages. I snapped the image of this particular one, a few years back while buying salvaged wooden architectural elements, which we would then restore and create matching stands for providing them with a second life. This […]
A to Z: Restoring Chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.
Lets step into the workshop and see first-hand the complete process of restoring antique chinese window screens, wood carvings and wood panels.
CNC Woodcarving Machines: Hand carved vs. machines
Last week we went to an exhibition of new classic Chinese furniture. There were not only factories of furniture, but also those selling frightening robot-like CNC machines… It made me wonder if hand made is even in threat of becoming less-abundant even here, even in this workmanship, even in art …