会议名称：2013世界木材日研讨会(2013 World Wood Day Symposium)
会议时间：2013年3月19-20日
会议地点：Karimjee Hall, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
报 告 人：Jingrong Yang
　　　　　Director, Jiangsu Gongmei Hongmu Culture & Art Insititute
　　　　　
Abstract
In China, an important principle is consistently followed by people in the creation of Hongmu art. That is “go with the wood”.  Then what does it mean? In short, it is a special workmanship, mostly done with handicraft, to make wood products at their most ideal profiles and appeals, in accordance with the materials’ natural shapes and characteristics. That is just contrary to the industrialized method generally used in the world, which is to find suitable materials for given designs. The Chinese workmanship is based on respect to wood – a product of the nature. With unique wisdom and technology, the former make wood materials, according to their different natural characteristics, into artistic products for people to use and admire for long. But the latter, on the contrary, often use wood as ordinary materials in mass production for some disposable products. Different aims naturally lead to different principles about how to use the wood. Hongmu art is the most typical outcome contributed by Chinese craftsmen, by sticking to the principle of “making articles with the nature of wood”.
The term “Hongmu” as used by Chinese people is the generic name for a great number of hardwoods from different origins and under various categories, rather than a single species of wood. Characterized by great weight, tiny pores, warm colours and beautiful grains, those hardwoods have been called “hongmu” by Chinese people. That was a unique creation originated from China’s traditional culture. Speaking objectively, although all the hardwood have their own names or titles from their tropical native lands, it seems they have never been used that much by the peoples living there. As most of those hardwoods can not grow into regular shapes, and hollows and wormholes in their trunks often detracted from their values, they are not very good for mass production. However, the defects of those hardwoods don’t become barriers for Hongmu art craftsmen to use them. In fact, just because their low volume rates do not meet the requirements of large scale mechanized production of modern industry, they become the most suitable materials for the creation of Hongmu art. A lot of Hongmu artistic articles which don’t need big lumps of wood but must be produced with very delicate handicrafts are actually made of those materials that look useless. The craft of turning waste into treasure is titled “fine carpentry craft” in China, which has been listed in China’s state-level protection projects for intangible cultural heritages. Its key knack can be summarized into four words – “go with the wood”

Speaker Profile
Mr. Yang Jinrong, national senior master of art and craft, director and senior researcher of Gongmei Institute of Hongmu Culture and Arts, Professor of the national training project- senior class of Classical Chinese Hongmu Furniture, National intangible cultural heritage representative successors of fine carpentry craft.