Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page A9

November 11, 2013

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Talented egg-carving craftsman only 21 years old

By Wu Huixin | November 11, 2013, Monday | Print Edition

Traditionally, top craftsmen are middle-aged or older because the years they have dedicated to their work have enabled to them to reach a top level of expertise.

So when people see 21-year-old Ye Tangting making sophisticated egg carvings, they are quite surprised.

The egg-carving works made by Ye feature varied patterns and portraits, from exquisite Chinese ink paintings and dragons to the simplest cartoon figures and Chinese characters.

Today, Ye is an artisan making egg carvings in the Workmanship Demonstration Pavilion of Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum, where there is a space carved out as his studio, and places to display and sell his works.

The young Ye first came in contact with egg carving when he studied in a vocational arts school at the age of 18 in Jiande County, which listed egg carving as a local intangible cultural heritage.

The teacher who led him into the world of egg carving was master Shao Gaoquan, who gained fame for the work “Five Fuwa” (the mascots of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games), which were made of quail eggs.

“I basically mastered the skills of engraving eggs after a month of learning. Teacher Gao said that I was gifted in this craft,” says Ye.

Last year, in an exhibition of Hangzhou intangible cultural heritage, Ye was discovered by the Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum, and then was recruited as a workman showcasing his craft there.

“When I was carving eggs in the pavilion on site, visitors always whispered about whether I used the real eggshell or not. In order to make them believe,” Ye says. “I put some cracked eggshells and intact eggs in the glass cases.”

The eggs suitable for carving include ordinary chicken eggs, quail eggs, emu eggs and ostrich eggs.

The ostrich eggs are more expensive than the former three, usually 100 yuan (US$16.40) for each. 

Ye takes advantage of different spots, tones and characteristics of different eggs. For instance, Ye makes use of the dark grey color of emu eggs, carving rough patterns on them, creating a style similar to primitive fresco.

“I forgot how many eggs have been cracked during the process. Sometimes they just fragment near their completion. These are the most frustrating moments I’ve ever experienced. But I have no choice but to pick up another egg and to continued to incise,” Ye says.

Ye sticks to the original Jiande-style egg-carving method — using knives but not polishing tools. It is no wonder that cuts appear on his hands now and then. 

“In Hangzhou, there are a couple of folk egg-carving craftsmen whose eggs are rubbed and ground by polishing tools. However, the polished works are less delicate than those engraved by knives,” Ye says. 

Ye’s carving is done on raw eggs. He makes a tiny hole on the bottom of the egg and injects air into the egg using a syringe, which pushes the yolk and white out through the hole.

Then, he injects formalin and ethanol into the egg over and over again, ensuring the inside is totally clear. This step is vital to keep the egg from mildewing.

Third, he uses a pencil to draw pictures on the eggs. Next is the most significant, carving the eggshell according to the patterns. Last, he waxes the eggs to prevent tones fading and attach the egg to a base.

Ye’s works are characterized by three techniques: one where the shell is engraved as in relief style; second in which the surface is scraped off to create different tones; the last, where parts of the shell are removed.

The first technique is only fit for ostrich eggs, which are bigger and thicker than others. He first carves an image with a shallow depth, chiseling away parts of the egg, leaving the untouched parts seemingly raised, just like on coins, on which all images are in low relief.

Sometimes, Ye uses fine copper lines to create paintings on the surface of eggs, and then he applies colorful sand, which gives the eggs many colors.

His cheapest works are sold at 40 to 50 yuan, while the most valuable carved eggs are 2,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan.

Ye welcomes people to learn egg carving.

“I would teach them without any reservation. Hopefully, more and more people will study our Jiande egg carving, and spread it widely,” Ye says, smiling.

 

Hangzhou


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend