QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

Liuqing, literally meaning 'retaining the green', refers to the technique in which the green outer skin of the bamboo is retained during carving to portray a range of depths and tones. The landscape scene depicted in liuqing on the present screen is reminiscent of the signature work of master carver Zhang Xihuang, who was active in the late Ming to early Qing period. He refined the skill of liuqing to show different gradation tones similar to ink painting, by scraping the bamboo skin to reveal base tones in different degrees. Examples of his work were included in the China Institute of America, Bamboo Carving of China, Catalogue, p.25, figs.10 and 11, from the Freer Gallery of Art; and p.77, no.16, formerly in the Percival David Collection, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and no.17, from The Avery Brundage Collection.
Bamboo veneer, also known as zhuhuang or tiehuang, involves stripping the inner skin lining of the hollow core of bamboo, soaking it and pressing it flat, and then applying it as a veneer to the base material of the object. This was a time-consuming technique that required extraordinary technical skill.