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Bamboo Carving, a traditional Chinese art form, emerged in the Ming dynasty. This article takes a look at this industry in Ming and Qing dynasties.

Bamboo carving originated in the south China's Huizhou City, which is famous for its 'four carvings' - brick, stone, wood and bamboo carving. The bamboo carvings in particular embody local characteristics. However, all the articles have their distinctive character. The bamboo strips used to write on during the Warring States period were the forerunner of bamboo carving, which began to flourish after the middle of the Ming dynasty. Jiading and Jinling areas became the two centers of the bamboo carving arts in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Jiading faction is represented by the Zhu Family. Starting from Zhuhe, his son Zhuying and his grandson Zhu Zhuizheng were all masters at the techniques of painting, embossment and round carving: the embossment consists of both low and high embossment. They demonstrated high culture and exceptional skills in their painting, calligraphy and seal cutting techniques. All the characters on their bamboo works were carved vividly. With the efforts of the Zhu Family, the Jiading faction became the biggest branch of bamboo carving in that period, coexisting with other outstanding bamboo carvers, such as Hou Xiaozeng, Shen Dasheng, Wang Yongfang, Wang Zhiyu, Wang Zhi, Wu Zhifan, Shi Tianzhang, Zhou Po and Gu Zhangyu. The Jinling faction also emerged in the middle of the Ming dynasty. It features another style, which pays no attention to exquisite carvings, but pursues a natural taste with little cutting and polishing. The main technique used in this faction is the concave carving in the bamboo, which is sentimentally embodied with not only the line, but also the side inlay on the carving of the landscape. Pu Zongqian, the founder of the Jinling faction, had no relatives to continue his art after he passed away.