Carving a Incredible World on the Miniature Fruit Pit

Mo Tingting

Most of us dont give a fruit pit a second thought. However， in the eyes of fruit pit carving artists， it can be a piece of exquisite artwork. The miniature folk art of fruit pit carving has been practiced in China for centuries， and is still praised for turning useless fruit pits into valuable works of art. Look at the incredible detail in these fruit pit carvings， and you will be amazed at how beautiful and intricate it is. Fruit pit carving can be done in different ways， and includes a variety of subjects. Suzhou is a 2，500-year-old city where many traditional art forms have always been thriving， and its artisans seemingly never met a fruit pit they didnt yearn to carve.

Chinas uncanny work of art

Fruit pit carving is a Chinese folk handicraft in which the pits of peach， apricot， olive， myrica rubra kernels， walnuts and others are used to create miniature patterns of the Buddha， nature， or the Chinese zodiac. People usually carve with peach pits in the north， and use olive pits in the south. The olive pits are from olives， mostly grown in Guangdong Province in south China. Peach pit is most commonly seen. A pendant carved from a peach stone is worn in Chinese culture to ward off evil spirits. It may have begun from Chinese belief that the peach symbolized life and longevity， or maybe because the Chinese words for “peach” and “escape” are homophones. The carvings could be used as curios， pendants hung from belts or fans， or strung together as bracelets or prayer beads.

The history of fruit pit carving began in the Spring and Autumn Period （770 BC-476 BC）， and the earliest example of the art dates from the Song Dynasty （960-1279）， roughly 1，000 years ago. However， it did not become popular until the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644）. At that time， even the emperor owned masterpieces as aristocratic decoration. Fruit pit carving became even more popular in the Qing Dynasty （1636-1912）.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties， fruit pit carving became popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. At that time， all men of letters would hold folding fans in their hands. Fruit pit carvings were usually attached to the fans as pendants. Not far from Shanghai is the Zhoushan Village that has been a cradle for craftsmen since ancient times. According to the records， six out of ten carpenters here were skilled craftsmen. In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China， famous fruit carving masters like Yang Zhishan and Du Guilan emerged. The works of Du Guilan were even given to foreign state heads as gifts when Premier Zhou Enlai visited the foreign countries. From 1935 to 1938， olive pit carving master Yin Genfu and his families created a series of distinctive olive pit carvings and enriched the content and form of olive pit carving. Since then， Yins olive pit carving has won worldwide reputation， making Zhoushan a famous “homeland of engraving”， where the carving art is handed down from generation to generation. Even today， intricate nut sculptures like those made in Zhoushan are famous for their level of detail and unique characteristics.

The most famous olive pit carving of all was recorded in the Ming Dynasty. Inspired by Ode to The Red Cliff by an ancient literary magnate Su Shi， where he describes his memorable boat ride， the masterpiece is a little over an inch long and a half-inch high： a boat with eight human figures （three sitting inside a cabin， five standing outside）， with windows and doors that can open and shut， masts and other equipment， plus， incredibly， lines of text from that poem， over 300 Chinese characters in all.

Amazing handicraft in miniature carvings

Fruit pit carving， dubbed as a national intangible cultural heritage， developed a school of its own. The use of fruit pits distinguishes this carving art from jade carving， stone carving and root carving， since fruit fit carving is greatly restricted by the shape and veins of the fruit pits. Boat is a very popular theme in carving fruit-pits due to their curved shapes. Flowers， animals， human figures， themes from folklore， religion and poetry and written words are also common subjects in the peculiar craft.

Often referred to as “an uncanny work of art”， fruit pit carving requires a series of tools and skills. Carving tools mainly include chisel， rasper and drill. The chisels are usually self-made and have various types like round chisel， line chisel and flat chisel， etc. The round ones have arc blades and can be big and small. The big ones are used for engraving the outline while the small ones are used to cut deeply. The line chisel is for carving lines such as hair， pleats and other tiny details that a small round chisel could not do. The flat chisel is for engraving a surface and making the outline. It can also be used to remove the surface of fruit pits and make a stereoscopic impression. The rasper is for modifying the shape of the fruit pits and the drill is for drilling holes.

Skills involved in fruit pit carving are basically the same as other carving arts. The procedures are as follows： Firstly， big， plump and thick fruit pits with the color of dark red are selected. Apart from exceptional three-dimensional carving skills and a great deal of patience， most importantly， one has to be familiar with the irregular texture of a fruit pit. A seasoned fruit pit artist can immediately tell if a pit is right for the artwork. Secondly， images are designed and drawn on the surface of the fruit pits according to their shape and veins. Similar to our palms， each peach pit has a different pattern. Thirdly， the outline of the image is carved roughly. If you dont have the entire picture in your mind， you cannot do microscopic carvings well. Fourthly， the details of the image are carefully engraved. Fifthly， the most important parts like the face and hands are perfected to make the image more vivid. Sixthly， the finished works are polished to make it bright and smooth.

The whole process requires a lot of creativity and reconsideration as there is never an established path to follow. If you want to get this craft， there are no shortcuts to success. You have to practice year after year. Using fine carving knives， seasoned carvers can depict complex subject matters like poems and historical scenes or characters on fruit pits ranging from 1 cm to 2 cm in size. Small as it is， fruit pit carvings are well-designed and of great value. Nowadays， as the market for fruit pit carvings emerges quietly， this traditional craft is inherited and exuding strong vitality.