The most famous kernel sculptor in Ming Dynasty was Wang Yi, who lived during the reign of Tianqi. His masterpiece was “The boat of Chibi” (Red Cliff). Carved on a fruit nut, the boat was 3 cm in length and 0.5 cm in height, the middle part of the nut was engraved as cabin and at the left and right sides respectively decorated four windows, which were able to open and close, and the balustrade was carved along the windows. The bow of the boat was sculpted with poet Su Dongpo and his friends Huang Luzhi and monk Foyin. The buttock was engraved with two boatmen, with two oars beside them. This excellent artwork has become an example for handicraftsmen of later generations to imitate.
In the middle Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), kernel carvings evolved into articles appreciated in the hands for leisure time. It equally had a lot of masters in the Qing Dynasty; some of them can carve kernels into prayer beads, each bead as small as a cherry sculpted with four or six arhats with different postures. Another skilled craftsman could engrave kernels into the figure of double-deck gaily painted pleasure boat with more than 58 carved people in it. Numerous artists specialized in kernel carving have emerged from this era, but after the Opium War (1840-1842), the Qing Empire declined day by day, and so did the kernel carving .
A unique micro-sculpture
Kernel carving occupies a unique place in Chinese folk art because of the material. Since most kernel carvings are made from peach nuts, the grains of which are often different from each other, it can greatly limit their shape. With the themes of animals or flowers and trees, the kernel carvings are mainly in the figures of a vase, floral basket, boat and monkey, close to the original shapes of the nuts.
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