Woodcarving master: Telling Chinese stories through art
Lu Guangzheng, a woodcarving master in Dongyang, Zhejiang province, carves a piece of wood. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]
Lu Guangzheng, an art master from Dongyang, Zhejiang province, has been dedicated to telling stories of China's history, culture and development using an assortment of woodcarving handicrafts for the past six decades.
The fine craftsmanship of woodcarving in Dongyang is regarded as one of China's most distinct and remarkable folk arts.
The most prestigious inheritor of the art, Lu started his woodcarving career as early as 1958, when he was 13.
Delving into the selection of materials, the use of different tools, the lines and the patterns, Lu presents the nature, culture, economy and modernization of China through his artworks.
A woodcarving artwork created by Lu depicts the busy Gwadar Port in Pakistan. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]
In 2017, inspired by the country's Belt and Road Initiative, Lu opened an exhibition of traditional woodcarving techniques unique to Dongyang at the National Museum of China in Beijing.
"Dongyang's woodcarving crafts were once exported to Europe and nowadays, as China is promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, there might be new opportunities to enhance the art's international profile," said Lu, explaining his inspiration for organizing the exhibition.
The collection of historical materials took Lu and his team nearly half a year. They chose the most classic scenes along the Silk Road under the guidance of national historians and created woodcarvings based on these materials.