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With his long hair and full beard, Zhou Xinxing, a carving artist from central China's Jiangxi Province, was conspicuous among the tens of winners at the eighth annual Shanhua award ceremony in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
His work, an ivory brush pen with the 2008 Olympiad patterns carved microscopically on it, has won the Shanhua prize, the most prestigious award for folk literature and art in China. The pen is 20 cm long and 1 cm in diameter, and holds the Beijing Olympics logo, a greeting poem, the mascots of 38 Olympic events, and the events in both Chinese and English on its 5 cm×1 cm surface.
"On the one hand, the Beijing Olympics theme is hot among artists in China," Zhou told Beijing Review. "On the other, my hometown Wengang is widely regarded as the center for Chinese brush pens, with a history of making brush pens for more than 1,600 years. My work combines the two."
It took him almost two months -- starting from May this year -- to finish the work.
Zhou told Beijing Review that he used to serve at Wengang Hospital as a surgical doctor since the 1970s, and did some microscopic carving work in his spare time. In the early 1990s, he left the hospital and took along the carving knife instead of the surgical one, hoping to become a carving professional. His skill level improved gradually with study, frequent visits to exhibitions, and meetings with fellow artists, etc. His creations, namely miniature engraving on bamboo and wood slips, came to be recognized by the Guinness World Record and granted design patent by the State Intellectual Property Office.
A more open mind
Zhou said that he is now teaching three students besides creating his own work; and the teaching is totally free of charge. The reason for this is simple: the art needs continuity, or it will vanish with the passing of the artists.
Zhou's work won the 8th Shanhua Prize
"Microscopic carving is a kind of comprehensive art that combines creation, calligraphy and carving," said Zhou. "It requires a high level of sight, but the sense and feelings of the artist are more important.
"As far as I know, there are less than 300 micro-carving artists nationwide, while the masters only number eight. In the past, artists tended to be conservative; they were unwilling to teach students and were cautious about fellow artists as well. But now, things have changed. We are friends rather than enemies; we can learn from each other and share information. I believe that only with a more open mind can microscopic carving improve, as with other folk arts."
He continued, "I'm now 58 and my students are 30 years younger than me. The education level of artists in my generation is relatively low, and the study or exploration of our art was done by and large independently. Given their educational advantage I'm sure that my students will surpass me in the near future as long as they study hard."
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