果核，在大多数人眼里，是品尝鲜果后的弃物，但这小小的果核到了微雕师的手中，却会化腐朽为神奇。

In most people's eyes, the pit of a fruit is a waste after tasting the fresh flesh, but in the hands of a miniaturist, this tiny nut can be turned from waste into wonder.

核雕是一门古老而又新兴的艺术，2008年入选国家级非遗名录。

Nut carving is both a time-honored and young art, and was selected as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

说核雕古老，是因为宋代就有关于它的文字记载，明朝的《核舟记》也是大家都熟知的古文。

It's time-honored because there were written records about the craft in as early as the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and the “On Nut Boat” in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is a well-known ancient exposition.

核雕的过程宛如在果核上跳起“刀尖芭蕾”，主要工具为锉、凿、钻。先用毛锉、光锉将果核进行初步加工，并设计构思、画样；之后用圆锉进行粗加工；再用凿刀雕刻细部，刻画人物的眉毛、眼睛、嘴部等；最后经过磨光、上蜡、打眼，串连成念珠，或配以底座，就成了欣赏品。

The sophisticated process of nut carving is like playing ballet on blade on the fruit pit, with the main tools being file, chisel and drill.

First, the pit has to go through preliminary processing with a rough file and a smooth file, and based on the initial shape, a design sample will be developed. Then the artisan will further process the pit with a round file, and use a chisel to carve details, creating the eyebrows, eyes, mouth, etc. Finally, after polishing, waxing, drilling, it can be linked into a string of beads or matched with a base, thus becoming an art craft.

小小的核雕，也有着不同的风格流派，在中国南北两个地区艺术特色各不相同。

The nut carving, small as it is, also has different styles and schools. The craft's artistic characteristics differ in the north and south regions of China.

“北工”核雕主要集中在河北的廊坊和山东的潍坊。早在1915年，在美国旧金山举办的巴拿马-太平洋万国博览会上，获得金奖的核雕作品《马拉轿车》就出自山东潍坊的手艺人都兰桂。潍坊核雕常以桃核为主，并兼用核桃和其它原料。桃核表层有丰富的褶皱肌理，且有较大的凹凸起伏，巧妙利用桃核上纵横无序、深浅不定的纹理,雕刻出栩栩如生的山水、人物等立体造型,以及刻画历史和神话故事等，方寸之间，万千世界。每一个核雕作品都是一个故事,都具有生命力。1955年，时任总理周恩来出访，潍坊核雕还被作为国礼赠送给外国友人。

The northern China style of nut carving is mainly practiced in Langfang City, Hebei Province and Weifang City, Shandong Province. In 1915, at the Panama Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco, the nut carving work depicting a horse-pulled cart won the gold medal. It was a masterpiece from Weifang nut carving artisan Du Langui. Weifang nut carving is often practiced on peach pit, and sometimes uses walnut and other raw materials. The surface layer of peach pit is rich in fold texture, featuring obvious concave and convex variations. The peach pit's texture is skillfully leveraged to carve vivid three-dimensional shapes such as landscapes and figures, and depict history and fairy stories, among others. A wide variety of scenarios could be presented in the tiny space. Every nut carving work is a lively story. In 1955, during Premier Zhou Enlai's overseas visit, Weifang nut carving was presented to foreign friends as a national gift.

“南工”核雕主要分布于江浙、广东，多以橄榄核为载体。以苏州核雕为例，选用的是一种外壁厚实、表面光滑的橄榄核，既能随意运用，又能精细雕刻。与苏州这座城市给人的印象一样，“精致”也是苏州核雕的特征，在手串、颈链上雕刻罗汉、弥勒、观音等，小巧的妆饰、把玩之物，成为不少文玩爱好者的首选。

The southern China style of nut carving is mainly popular in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, and mostly use olive pits for carving. Taking Suzhou nut carving as an example, olive pits with thick outer walls and smooth surfaces would be selected, as they can be used at will and finely carved.

Like the impression given by Suzhou, exquisiteness is also the feature of the city's nut carving. Carved pits in the shape of Arhat, Maitreya, Goddess of Mercy and others could be featured on bracelets and necklaces. These exquisite accessories and playthings are quite popular among many traditional handicraft lovers.

说核雕新兴，则是因为当代兴起核雕把玩之风只有不到二十年，从手工艺品变成了时尚宠儿。同时在信息全球化的今天，地理位置也不再是限制，现代核雕中经常会有“南地北工”“北地南工”的互动。更多新生力量的加入也带来了更多创新，现代审美、现代故事，结合科技手段，使核雕作品更具时代感，将核雕艺术推向新的高度。

Nut carving is also a young tradition as it has only been trendy for less than 20 years, featuring a shift from handicrafts to fashionable items. At the same time, in today's globalized information age, geographical location is no longer a limitation, and there are often interactions between the two styles and two regions of nut carving in contemporary practice. The addition of new forces has also led to more innovations. Modern aesthetics and present-day stories, combined with scientific and technological means, make nut carving works more up-to-date and push the craft to a new height.

来源：中国网中国范儿