The Tao of Turquoise Carving

Photos by Zou Bin

With its pine-cone shape and distinctive blue-green colour,the history of turquoise can be traced back to the legend of Empress Nüwa,who melted stones to mend the sky at the beginning of time.As a symbol of warmth and vitality since thousands of years ago,turquoise has been prized as one of the four most famous jades in China owing to its unique hue.

A local resident of Caojiawan Village,Baofeng Town,Zhushan County in the upper reaches of the Han River,Cao Hongxing as a child heard of the story of the Tibetans who came back home with gems from thousands of miles away,which were then hidden in the mountains around their village.

Childhood seemingly flew by in an instant,like a soaring bird that disappears behind a mountain ridge before anyone could catch a glimpse of it.As he grew up,Cao traveled extensively,always thirsting for the next adventure,and doing a host of part-time jobs,such as selling vegetables and doing odd jobs to eke out a living.

In his 20s,Cao heard that a relative was running a crystal processing factory in Huidong County of Guangdong Province.He decided to have a go at it and learn the tricks of the trade.Starting from small tasks like washing stones,over ten years of dedicated work,he eventually became the best carver of the factory.

Sculpting and polishing a turquoise trinket燈下精雕細琢

從“女媧煉石補天”的傳說，到躋身中國“四大名玉”之列，“形似松球，色如松綠”的綠松石，那或湛藍或青綠或菜黃的顏色，幾千年來帶給人們以溫潤和生機的期待。

家住中國漢江上游的竹山縣寶豐鎮曹家灣村的曹紅星，小時候就聽老人說過，藏民千里迢迢而來，把寶石帶回西藏的故事，那些被采集的寶石，就藏在他們村口的大山之中。

童年如山頭的一只飛鳥，轉瞬即逝。年輕時的曹紅星，走南闖北，心性不定，賣過菜，搬過磚，四處打零工，沒有固定工作。

聽說有親戚在廣東惠東縣，經營一家水晶加工廠，20 多歲的曹紅星決定南下學藝。從洗石頭做起，10年時間他煉成廠里手藝最好的雕工。

當時，綠松石在國內玉石市場逐漸受寵，一次曹紅星回老家過年，順便低價收購了一批綠松石，到廣東以10 倍的價格賣出。

2009年，曹紅星回到寶豐鎮時，綠松石原礦無人加工，都是直接低價發往外地。而曹紅星的雕刻作坊里，各種精美綠松石雕件，吸引了外地貨商們來高價競拍。

玉不琢，不成器。綠松石雕刻，要經過選料、去皮、畫圖、精雕、拋光等一系列流程。而選料如賭石，10年前曹紅星貸款38000 元，從礦區買下的一袋籽料精品，如今暴漲了100 倍。

醉心綠松石雕刻十多年，曹紅星多次獲得國內玉雕大獎，2016年還獲評“湖北省青年玉石雕藝術家”。驅車到幾公里外的女媧山上尋覓創作靈感，下到幾十米深的礦井拍一段科普視頻，在家和兒子聊聊雕刻技巧，成為他工作之余的樂趣。

名利之外，他也捫心自問：綠松石雕刻如何獨樹一幟？“男戴觀音女戴佛，貔貅金蟾招財獸”，這些傳統玉石消費文化的強勁力量，緊緊摁住了綠松石雕刻藝術創新的咽喉。女媧之石的傳說、尊鳳尚赤的荊楚元素，如何交融進這塊綠色的湖北寶玉里，留給后人更多文化遺產？

曹紅星陷入了沉思。

Looking for inspiration for creation in an ancient building在古建筑中尋找創作靈感

Selecting raw turquoises with his wife和妻子一起挑選原石

At that time turquoise was gradually gaining popularity in the domestic jade market.Once,Cao went back home to spend the Spring Festival holiday and came across a batch of turquoise ore.He purchased it at a low price and sold it in Guangdong at 10 times the price.

Cao returned to Baofeng Town permanently in 2009.Back then,unprocessed turquoise ore was usually sold directly to other provinces at low prices.Naturally,the fine and exquisite turquoise carvings displayed in Cao’s workshop attracted merchants from all over the country,who bid against each other and raised their prices.

Only by cutting and carving can jade carvings be fashioned out of raw ore.Turquoise carving requires a series of processes such as ore selection,slabbing,designing,carving,and polishing.The selection of the ore itself is somewhat of a gamble.Ten years ago,Cao borrowed 38,000 yuan to buy a bag of fine ore,the price of which has now skyrocketed 100 times.

Having engaged in turquoise carving for more than a decade,Cao has won many domestic awards for his jade carvings.In 2016,he won the honorary title of “Best Young Jade Sculptor in Hubei Province.” In his spare time,he enjoys driving to Nüwa Mountain a few kilometers away to search for inspiration,going deep down a mine to film a science video,and chatting with his son about carving skills.

Examining turquoise ore in a mine pit下井研究礦脈

Despite fame and fortune,he always comes back to the same old question:What can he do to make his turquoise work unique? Traditional jade culture advocates ideas like,“Men should wear a Kwanyin pendant,while women should wear a Buddha one.The mythical winged lion,Pixiu and golden toads attract fortune,” which in some sense retards innovations on turquoise carving art.So,how can he build the legend of Nüwa’s Stone and local features of worshiping the phoenix and the redness into this green gemstone of Hubei Province,and leave worthy cultural heritage behind?

Cao never stops thinking and exploring.(Translation:Lu Qiongyao)

Meticulous Polishing and Refining細細雕琢

Cao Hongxing enjoying his works對自己的作品愛不釋手