Chen Jianqing (second from left) introduces his cocoon paintings to foreign guests. [Photo/Jiaxing Daily]

Zhejiang artist Chen Jianqing has stumbled across a new way of bringing silkworm cocoon paintings to life and has already earned a good reputation for the art form he innovated.

Chen, who is a member of China National Arts and Crafts Society, won a national patent after he created painting on silkworm cocoons in 2006.

The artist made hundreds of painterly explorations after the idea emerged in 1999 when Wuzhen, a famous water town in Tongxiang began developing tourism. He eventually worked out techniques to keep the cocoons antiseptic and able to maintain various colors, making an art form unique to Jiangnan (regions south of the Yangtze River). The paintings also feature a mixture of traditional cultural elements such as facial makeup from Beijing Opera, Wukong (the Monkey King), and 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs.

Jiangnan silkworm cocoon painting appeared at the World Internet Conference in 2016. A series of artistic creations by Chen Jianqing's team were presented as official cultural gifts to guests, giving an insight to China's long history of silk making.

China invented sericulture, silk reeling, printing and dyeing, and silk embroidery, and therefore is recognized by the world as a "silk country". Jiangnan has a pleasant climate and four distinct seasons, perfect conditions for growing silkworms.

Chen has opened a workshop and set up courses to pass on his skills. The Silk Museum of Zhejiang Sci-tech University has also opened a special exhibition area for silkworm cocoon paintings as a permanent collection.

Staffers from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research who are experiencing a Chinese learning program at Tongxiang Maodun High School were impressed by these creations, hailing them as "interesting artworks".