Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng City, Shandong Province is located in the hinterland of the Luxi Plain in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Historically, it was famous for its high-quality gourds. The locals took local conditions into consideration and developed the Dongchang gourd carving art with gourds as raw materials. There are many local legends about the origin of Dongchang gourd carving technology. The most popular one is that it was first created by Monk Wang in the Song Dynasty. It is said that Monk Wang, a court artist who was good at painting and carving, retired and returned to the current Dongchangfu District. Because gourds are abundant in the local area, Monk Wang used local materials to carve exquisite patterns on gourds to raise his favorite katydids. The gourd carving content is mainly based on the drama content familiar to the people, mostly emperors, generals, talented men and beautiful women. Another version is that when Zhang Qian returned from his mission to the Western Regions, he passed by Tangyi Town and gave gourd seeds to the local people for planting. Some people expressed reproductive culture and sexual culture on gourds as dowry items. Later, local people followed suit and carved characters from operas, folk legends and other contents on them, and the gourd carving technique spread. According to historical records, Dongchang carved gourds were already very popular in the Song Dynasty; during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Dongchang Prefecture on the banks of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was an economic and cultural hub, and carved gourds at that time were once an important commodity produced by farmers on both sides of the canal. In the 1930s and 1940s, Dongchang carved gourds were also sold all over the country. The current production area of Dongchang carved gourds is mainly centered on Tangyi Town, Dongchang Prefecture District, and radiates to Liangshui Town, Yansi Office and other places in the surrounding areas. In 2008, Dongchang gourd carving was selected into the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection list in my country. The materials used for Dongchang gourd carving are mainly "big gourd", "yalf gourd" and "flat round gourd". There are three main production processes: one is to ferment and peel after cooking; the second is to carve on the gourd; the third is to color. Commonly used tools include 20 to 30 kinds of fixed compasses, bevel knives, etc. The most successful technique is to draw on the carving technique of carving technology, hollow out all the blank parts outside the composition, and carve various patterns such as folded line patterns, Ruyi patterns, and ancient coin patterns, which not only improves the breathability and sound transmission performance of the gourd, but also enhances the overall aesthetic effect of the gourd. The carving themes of Dongchang gourd are very rich, mostly realistic flowers, birds, insects, fish, animals, figures, and landscapes. Among them, the material of figure carving is particularly rich. Some are conceived and painted based on the story plots in the four famous classics, such as the Three Brothers of Peach Garden, the Twelve Beauties of Jinling, the Three Beatings of the White Bone Demon, and Wu Song Fighting the Tiger; some are excavated from drama characters, such as Mu Guiying Takes Command, Sanniang Teach Her Son, The Story of the Wall, Fan Lihua's Expedition to the West, and Silang Visits His Mother; there are Han folk stories, myths and legends such as "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea". There are countless of them, full of rich life interest, which can not only cultivate sentiment, but also have collection value. In terms of composition, it has a rough and simple northern style, focusing on drawing on the useful expression techniques from folk New Year paintings, arts and crafts, and paper-cutting, and constantly broadening the space of expression. The composition strives to be moderate, complex and simple in order, complex but not chaotic, simple but not empty, complex and simple, adapted to local conditions, and infinitely varied. Information source: Dongchangfu District People's Government Information source: Dongchangfu District People's Government