Taishan Peach-Wood Carving Technique

Taishan peach-wood carving is a traditional craft practised around Tai'an. Peach wood has long been held to ward off evil, and Tai'an, rich in peach trees from its mountain setting, gave its craftsmen a living in carving peach wood, handed down through generations into a distinct Taishan tradition. The craft is now a Shandong provincial intangible heritage item.

Carvers shape each piece to its timber, working in shallow relief, deep relief, raised modelling and openwork to fashion ruyi sceptres, ornaments, fans and pendants, with motifs drawn from dragons and phoenixes, pixiu, fortune and longevity and the eight treasures, prizing fine knife-work and design fitted to the wood.

Taishan peach-wood carving unites the folk belief in peach wood's protective power with the carver's fine skill, an important bearer of Mount Tai folk culture that has also spurred the local peach-wood craft industry.