Ice Carving

Over the past 20 years, ice carving, a novel and delicate art form, has reached a level of perfection in Taiwan, especially in the capital city of Taipei. Works such as ice horses, ice swans, ice carp and ice dragons, as shown in the accompanying pictures, are common decorations at big dinner parties and such celebrations as wedding receptions in Taipei's restaurants. Raw materials for the carvings are blocks of ice produced by local companies while tools to work it are mainly saws and files of various sizes. The sculptor has to wear special protective clothing against the cold, including gloves and rubber shoes, since the work must be done in a refrigerated room. Before starting work, the artist must have a plan in mind. One false step may completely ruin the piece of ice and he may have to start all over again. Compared with other forms of sculpture, however, ice carving is relatively fast with even large and complicated works taking 40 minutes, and simple ones 15 minutes. The most common images found in Chinese restaurants are dragons, tigers, phoenix (above left), deer (center) and horse (right), rabbit, swan, candle (far right), Chinese Character, and human figures such as the god of long life (opposite page), and Buddha. One of the most famous exponents of ice carving in Taiwan is Ling Hsin-long (bottom), who has worked for more than 10 years in a Taipei restaurant since he retired from the army. Mr. Ling's favorite work is an ice dragon decorated with curved radiant lines, which took up three blocks of ice and weighed 300 pounds. He recalled one time how he was praised by a group of golfers after he had presented them with six ice statues of golf players in various poses and with different facial expressions. For a wedding party he made two ice birds engaged in a tender embrace above an ice heart, while other favorites are carved ice containers to hold fruit and wine. Mr. Ling considers that an expert ice sculptor should be an accomplished artist, and be familiar with human and animal anatomy. He should continuously improve his artistic ability so as to avoid triteness. Ice carving, Mr. Ling pointed out, calls for great physical strength and ability to withstand the cold. Asked if he felt pangs of regret when his masterpieces melt, Mr. Ling replied: "I don't mind in the least, since it gives me a chance to do even better next time. And during my work's brief moment of glory, it is reward enough to receive the admiration of my guests."