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The online solo exhibition Compassion & Nature — The Fountainhead of Shanshui by jade artist Cheng Lifang, organized by DoBe Italy and the Sino-Italian Design Exchange Center, with the support of the Municipality of Florence, the Shanghai Promotion Center for City of Design, and the Shanghai International Culture Association, officially launched online on October 17, 2025, at 12:00 (Italian time).

 

 

Compassion & Nature — The Fountainhead of Shanshui

——The Zen Spirit and Reinvention in Cheng Lifang’s “ New Cloud Mountain” Jade Carvings

 

Cheng Lifang’s jade art is a profound dialogue between Eastern aesthetics and the contemporary spirit. Born at the foot of Mount Jiuhua in Anhui, he grew up among mist-veiled peaks, nourished by the atmosphere of sacred mountains and his grandfather’s Hui carving craft. Rooted in tradition yet transcending it, his works reimagine the language of jade under the name New Cloud Mountain. This series is at once a distilled homage to the landscapes of Song and Yuan paintings and a material embodiment of the Diamond Sutra’s wisdom — “Neither coming nor going.”

The “Newness” of New Cloud Mountain lies in both dismantling and re-establishing:

Departing from the formulaic: Cheng abandons the linear conventions of traditional carving, embracing an ink-wash sensibility of void and presence. Clouds and mountains breathe beyond carved borders with unbounded flow. The natural veining and incidental flaws of jade are transfigured into radiance and spirit, embodying the belief that “the uncarved surpasses the carved.”

Establishing philosophy: The Cloud Mountain is not a depiction of nature but a landscape of the mind. In 2020, while gazing upon the shifting mists of Jiuhua, Cheng experienced a moment of sudden clarity, infusing the jade with the wisdom of “Neither coming nor going.” Under his chisel, mountains and vapors emerge as metaphors for time and space.

This exhibition, titled Compassion & Nature — The Fountainhead of Shanshui, traces the three stages of Cheng Lifang’s creative journey: Cohesion → Contraction → Release. On view are representative works including A Heart Untroubled and Unbound, White Cloud Shrouded Mount, Misty Vision, and Lifecycle.

 

 

 

 

Release【2012-2016】

• Liberate the freedom and equality of jade material.
• Break through the prevailing "hierarchy theory" of jade in contemporary carving ideologies-jade, like people, knows no high or low.
• Every piece of material is equal; every piece carries its own charm. To accept jade as it naturally is reflects the inherent equality bestowed upon all things by nature.

 

Germinate and Emerge

Hetian Jade

160x15x15mm, 2012

 

 

Breeze under Pines Follows Tranquility Mind

Hetian Jade

220x90x15mm, 120x110x38mm, 2012

 

 

Bittersweet Loneliness

Dushan Jade

120x110x38mm, 2013

 

In the art of jade carving, I have spent years pursuing the concept of "natural force," believing all wisdom originates from the essence of nature. The creative process itself is a journey of returning to the fundamental truth of things. Natural force nurtures all existence-it transcends cultural, geographical, and religious boundaries, speaking directly to the soul of life.

My philosophy of jade carving cannot be fully encapsulated by the phrase "Carving Through Material Wisdom" as the word "carving" implies an external imposition. Artistic creation arises from the subtle dialogue between the subjective world of the artist and the objective world. The fruit of this delicate exchange is the artwork itself.

 

 

 

The Path of Wisdom Starts with the Sightseeing

Hetian Jade

90x100x25mm, 2014

 

 

Wind Fans out in Two Directions

Hetian Jade

118x50x12mm, 2014

 

 

A Heart Untroubled and Unbound

Hetian Jade

230x220x160mm, 2014

 

In this jade carving, I sought to harmonize with the elemental essence of water, crafting an illusion of a tranquil, crystalline lake-its surface still as a mirror, reflecting all yet retaining nothing...

 

 

 

 

Cohesion【2015 - 2019】

• A fusion of Song Dynasty aesthetics and Zen philosophy, igniting a new paradigm of creative thought.
• The "New Cloud Mountain" series distills the ethereal mistscapes of Jiuhua Mountain into jade - where nature's imperfections become the artwork's essence.
• Here, the stone's natural ink stains transform into drifting cloud-veils, its fractures evolve into mountain contours. By yielding to the material's truth, we discover that sacred unity where object and observer become one - a meditation rendered in jade.

 

三家意｜Unity of All thoughts

和田玉 Hetian Jade

140x120x40mm, 2016

 

 

A Magnificent and Changeful Prospect

Hetian Jade

470x150x42mm, 2018

 

Won the highest award in Chinese arts and crafts, "China Jade Sculpture Hundred Flowers Awards"

 

 

Time Flows

Hetian Jade

100x98x45mm, 2019

 

 

Finding Hermits

Hetian Jade

100x90x58mm, 2019

 

 

The Story of Noble Hermits

Hetian Jade

90x80x65mm, 2012

 

 

Twinkling Villages Behind the Mistyclouds

Hetian Jade

160x70×10mm, 2018

 

 

Mountains seen from without remain just mountains -

But the peaks and streams within one's heart

Become an entire universe of valleys and horizons.

 

 

 

White Cloud Shrouded Mount

和田玉 Hetian Jade

128x95x50mm, 2018

 

 

Free As the Pine Tree

Hetian Jade

200x115x15mm, 2019

 

In 2019, while carving the 'Cloud Mountain' series at my Beijing studio, I meditated on the evershifting mists of Jiuhua Mountain. Suddenly, the Diamond Sutra's words flashed through me-'Neither coming nor going' - and in that electric moment of clarity, the New Cloud Mountain was born. Thus emerged these jade manifestations, pulsating with nature's primordial energy…

 

 

 

 

Contraction 【2020 - 】

• Compressing the cosmos into the confines of jade—where a fingertip's span holds distant horizons, and a square inch reveals vertiginous peaks.
• This series is defined by its deliberate "frames": architectural constraints that tame the stone's chaos. Within these bounded planes, raw material transcends its limits, while infinite imagination submits to disciplined form - a paradox carved in jade.

 

Endless Wonders Await on the Peak

Hetian Jade

250x100x15mm, 2022

 

 

Misty Vision

Hetian Jade

228x150x15mm, 2023

 

 

Crystal Sky After Raining

Hetian Jade

220x115x15mm, 2022

 

 

Leisurely Travel

Hetian Jade

300x100x10mm, 2023

 

 

"Emptied Limits, Infinite Horizons; Defined Edges,Measured Freedom"

How does jade reveal its essential virtue in this dance between boundlessness and restraint?

To empty limits is to achieve that sacred unity where artisan and stone become one-like carving windows into jade, through which viewers may ride celestial steeds across star-strewn skies, gazing upon the Milky Way's splendor.

To assume limits honors the raw stone's divine providence: a reverence for nature's alchemy, a discipline imposed on imagination's tempest. Though creativity knows no bounds, true creation demands the wisdom of restraint-the Dao within the craft.

 

 

 

The Wind Blows Everthing New

Hetian Jade

300x100x10mm, 2023

 

 

Lifecycle

Hetian Jade

180x100×100mm, 2023

 

 

I am a jade carver, born in a small town in southern Anhui. I have lived in the vicinity of Jiuhua Mountain since I was a child. Jiuhua cloud mountain contains the heaven and earth, and the natural world changes withering and flourishing. The ubiquitous Hui carvings have also influenced me subtly. Some things grow in my heart from the beginning, as if destined...

 

 

 

Cheng Lifang

 

A contemporary jade carving artist and the Artistic Director of Dongcheng District Jade Culture (or: Curator of Jade Culture for Dongcheng District), Cheng Lifang is acclaimed as an innovator of traditional jade carving. He pioneered the "New Cloud Mountain" (Xin Yun Shan) expression technique and is a co-founder of the "Hands & Stars" initiative, a China Intangible Cultural Heritage craftsmanship aid program supporting teens with Down Syndrome in Ethiopia.

Born near Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui and now based in Beijing, Cheng was immersed from childhood in the mountain mists and the Hui-style carving artistry of his family. His works synthesize the poetic essence of Song and Yuan dynasty landscape painting with contemporary freehand spirit. Breaking away from traditional outlining techniques, he employs ink-wash-like gradations of solid and void, imbuing jade with a breath-like fluidity. Advocating that "No Jade is Waste Material," he reveres the inherent nature of the stone, skillfully transforming flaws into artistic highlights. For instance, his "White Clouds Over the Ridge" series utilizes the natural skin tones of blue-and-white seed jade to depict radiant clouds, embodying the Eastern philosophy of "less is more" . His creations transcend mere technical carving, serving as interpretations of the wisdom in the Diamond Sutra's concept of "neither coming nor going" . His works have repeatedly won the top-tier China Crafts "Hundred Flowers Award" Gold Prize. His New Cloud Mountain series has been featured in multiple solo exhibitions at the Guardian Art Center in Beijing.