PR98461

JINING, China, Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

A report from Global Times Online:

Many traditional crafts in Jining city, east China's Shandong province,

fascinate people around the world and brim with renewed vigor, thanks to the

craftspeople who dedicate themselves to inheriting and carrying forward local

intangible cultural heritage.  

Chinese pistache woodcarving

Chinese pistache woodcarving, national-level intangible cultural heritage in

Qufu, a county-level city administered by Jining, has a history of more than

2,400 years. The craft requires wood from Chinese pistache, a rare tree species

that symbolizes respect for teachers in China. The best wood for making Chinese

pistache woodcarvings are believed to be from trees that grow in the cemetery

of Confucius, a well-known ancient Chinese philosopher and educator born in

Qufu.

Yan Jingxin, the fifth-generation inheritor of the traditional craft, began to

learn the technique of making Chinese pistache woodcarvings when he was about

seven or eight years old, and has worked in the field for 80 years.

The making of Chinese pistache woodcarvings is never a quick process, according

to Yan, who stressed that superb craftsmanship is the result of devotion and

hard work.

Nishan ink slab

Nishan ink slab, ink slabs made of stones from Nishan Mountain in Qufu, enjoys

great popularity by virtue of its simplicity and special design that is based

on the original grain of the stone used to make it.

The technique of making Nishan ink slab is a provincial-level intangible

cultural heritage item that dates back more than 500 years.

"Our ink slabs are neither square nor round, as they are made according to the

original shapes of the stones. We believe the natural beauty is more precious

than hand-carved design," said Ding Hui, a veteran craftsman who makes Nishan

ink slabs.

Ding, who came into contact with Nishan ink slab for the first time in 1978,

tries to preserve the pristine and natural beauty of stones and create a sense

of artistic conception when making ink slabs. He often inscribes lines of

poetry on his work and seldom adds decorations to it.  

Glazed tiles

Glazed tiles, a traditional building material in China, represent a

national-level intangible cultural heritage item in Qufu. The production of

glazed tiles in Qufu involves more than 20 procedures.  

Wang Deqiang, an inheritor of the Qufu glazed tile producing technique as well

as the person in charge of a time-honored glazed tile factory in Qufu, adheres

to traditional methods and carries forward the centuries-old technique.

Owing to the efforts of craftspeople like Wang, glazed tiles produced in Qufu

not only enjoy great popularity with ancient building-related projects at home,

but are sold to countries including France, Germany, Canada, Japan, and Chile.

SOURCE: GLOBAL TIMES ONLINE

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=432254

   Caption: A craftsman makes woodcarving using wood from Chinese pistache tree.

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=432256

   Caption: Nishan ink slab

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=432257

   Caption: Glazed tile