Lingnan Potted Plants

Lingnan potted plants are mostly made with locally sourced plants and rocks which, when they are subject to artistic treatment and carefully cultivated, reflect the natural landscapes in Lingnan. Lingnan potted plants represent one of china’s top five schools and they are popular in The Pearl River Delta and the central and southern regions of Guangxi Province, but the most typical ones can be found in GuangZhou.

Lingnan potted plants are mostly subtropical or tropical evergreen, small-leaved plants sourced from the wilderness including such varieties as murraya jasminorage, Fujian tea plants, cape jasmine, hackberry, elm, and zanthoxylum nitidum.

Lingnan potted plants enjoy immense popularity with local people, decorating the living rooms and balconies of many local residences and lining park corridors and roads. They are also a major presence in potted plant markets. Guangzhou Xi Yuan (also called Western Garden) by Liuhua Lake is dubbed the “Home of Potted Plants”, containing many masterly Lingnan potted plants which visitors can enjoy, feasting their eyes on fine examples and purchasing fine examples to take home.

Lingnan Painting

The Lingnan school of painting, initially known as “The Middle of the Road” school of painting, is a major part of China’s painting history. Working with the slogan of “revolutionizing the arts”, the school advocates a “middle of the road” position between traditional forms of chinese expression and foreign painting and pushes for an integration of traditional and modern paintings. It places a high value on realistic representation of real life and on the reflection of the spirits of the era of Chinese painting, and strives to inject fresh energy into the genre. Highly prized Lingnan paintings include “Desolation at Jiangguan” by Gao Jiangfu, founder of the Lingnan school of painting; “Spring Rains over the Willow Pond” and “White Horses” by Gao Qifeng, and “Spring Over Lingnan” by Chen Shuren, all of which combine the exaggeration technique of the Japanese School and the gouache techniques of the Ju School of painting.

Ivory Carving

The origin of ivory carving can be traced back more than 2,000 years ago to the Jin Dynasty. Guangzhou’s ivory carving techniques feature motifs depicting people, birds, beasts and flowers and carved ivory ornaments are common in the study of the literati.

Traditional ivory products include ivory balls, slabs and vases with ivory balls being the most sought-after in the genre. By technique Guangzhou ivory carving falls into two categories: round carving and hollowed carving. Round ivory carvings are mostly solid handiworks featuring patterns of people, animals and natural landscapes whereas hollow ivory carvings are primarily ivory vases, miniature floral towers, crab cages and ivory balls.

Guangzhou Ivory Carving Factory on Daxin Road is a leading professional ivory carver with a fine reputation at home and abroad.

Shiwan Brick Carving

Shiwan brick carving, popular in Panyu District, Guangzhou, falls into three categories: shallow relief carving, high relief carving and hollowed carving. Bricks used for carving are grey clay bricks of good quality chosen because such bricks are sturdy, not prone to crack yet easy to carve. Folk artists use chisels, wooden hammers, saws and drills to carve grey bricks into various shapes, including people, flowers, birds, and beasts, for ornamental purposes at entrances and on roof ridges, corners, walls, screens, upturned eaves, balusters, shrines and skylights in ancestral halls, temples and residences.

Olive Kernel Carving

Olive kernel carving, an intricate artistic form, has been around for more than 300 years. Olive kernels used for this purpose are mostly black olive kernels from Guangdong, especially those from Xintang township, Zengcheng county. These kernels are of the right size for carving into miniature boats and other forms. Xintang Township is also the cradle of the olive kernel carving technique. In the Qing Dynasty, carved olive kernels were articles of tribute.

The most famous olive kernel carving in history is a carved miniature boat featuring “So Dongpo’s night visit to Chibi” (Su Dongbo is a renown Chinese poet in ancient times) by Zhan Gusheng, a veteran carver from Xintang of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) who was dubbed the “King of Carving”. He even carved a 537-character poem by Su Dongpo on the bottom of the boat. Carved figures on the boat are characterized by realistic expressions and lively gestures. This priceless carving masterpiece now sits in Zengcheng Museum.

The varieties of modern olive kernel carving products have increased from three at the outset, to total of more that 50 in modern times. Current forms including multi-level floral boats, hollowed crab cages, fishing boats casting nets, imperial palace lanterns, floral tower, ancient furnace, and chess pieces attract buyers from all over the world.

Shiwan Figurines

Guangdong Shiwan artistic pottery sculpting has a long history. Archeological findings suggest that this was a sizable industry in the Tang Dynasty. Early Shiwan pottery sculptures were mostly used on clan ancestral halls and temples and, since the mid-Qing Dynasty, they have primarily depicted people and the Goddess of Mercy and other figurines, enjoying immense popularity among local people.

The origin of Shiwan figurines can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty when pottery workers casually kneaded clay into various shapes after work as a form of amusement. Shiwan figurines generally feature historic, literary, dramatic and bureaucratic motifs and depict birds, animals and fish. They are a vivid representation of Lingnan folklore, exquisite, realistic and highly interesting.

Great efforts are being made to catalog these treasures, preserve prime examples and to continue these treasured arts in our city.