Wang Zuwei

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wang Zuwei, Male, Han, from She, Anhui, is a fourth-batch national representative bearer of She Inkstone Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-74). The tradition is documented in She, Anhui. Within the regional tradition and school record of She Inkstone Making Craftsmanship in She, Anhui: She inkstones are one of the four famous inkstones of China; their principal place of production and the place where they gained their fame is She County in ancient Huizhou, hence the name She inkstone. After the Kaiyuan era, Longwei inkstone stone was discovered, and She inkstones came to be treasured even more by the world; Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang, regarded She inkstones as "the finest under heaven" and established an inkstone office in Shezhou, promoting the inkstone craftsman Li Shaowei to serve as its director, and the standing of She inkstones rose sharply from then on. The She County Craft Factory of Anhui Province is the project protection unit. She inkstones appeared as early as the Han and Jin periods, and their fame grew steadily from the Tang dynasty onward. In the Song dynasty She inkstones developed rapidly: varieties increased and fine stones emerged continually, and their range of names, fineness of texture, and excellence of carving were unsurpassed among all inkstones. After the mid-1980s, She inkstones entered the forefront of China's inkstone industry and, for their excellent quality, received the National Quality Product award, a gold award for export earnings, and a "National Treasure" certificate from the relevant authorities.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Born in November 1964 in She County, Anhui Province, he is of Han ethnicity. He is a national representative bearer of She Inkstone Making Craftsmanship, a fourth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is director of the Huangshan She Inkstone Research Institute, a Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress, and an expert receiving the special government allowance of the State Council. Between 1986 and 1992 he studied inkstone carving theory and technique successively under Hu Zhenlong, Hu Hechun and Wu Qingmei. His works have accurate forms and fluent lines, and the carved subjects are integrated with the texture of the stone; he excels at ingenious composition that follows the shape of the stone and at making skilful use of its colour, applying colour according to category and representing forms in accord with the subject. His openwork carving has a continuous spiritual resonance, a distant and profound conception, and a fullness of spirit. Lanting Yaji (Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion), Xuzhong Jiewai (Pure Within, Clean Without) and Fengqiao Yebo (A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge) have been permanently collected by the National Museum of China, the China National Arts and Crafts Museum and the China Arts and Crafts Treasures Museum respectively. He is also skilled in calligraphy and painting and has well-rounded artistic cultivation. He was editor-in-chief of She Yan Gujin (She Inkstones Past and Present). He is committed to transmitting the craft, has taken on several dozen apprentices, and serves as an adviser to the Hui carving art programme of Anhui Xingzhi Middle School, where he teaches arts and crafts classes. Within the documented technical tradition of She Inkstone Making Craftsmanship in She, Anhui: She inkstones are one of the four famous inkstones of China; their principal place of production and the place where they gained their fame is She County in ancient Huizhou, hence the name She inkstone. Wuyuan County in Jiangxi Province was formerly part of Huizhou, and its products are also called She inkstones. After the Kaiyuan era, Longwei inkstone stone was discovered, and She inkstones came to be treasured even more by the world. Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang, regarded She inkstones as "the finest under heaven" and established an inkstone office (yanwu) in Shezhou, promoting the inkstone craftsman Li Shaowei to serve as its director; the standing of She inkstones rose sharply from then on. From the late Yuan to the early Qing there are no records of official quarrying of She stone, and She inkstone making was merely maintained in a diminished state. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, She inkstone production developed for a time, and gold-star (Jinxing) She inkstones reappeared. After the reform and opening-up, She County and Wuyuan County successively established She inkstone factories, craft factories, and Four Treasures of the Study companies, with a full range of operations from quarrying inkstone stone and making products to decoration, and developed new varieties such as "douban" (bean speckle), "green brushed silk", "She red", and "purple cloud". The She inkstone making technique centers on carving and consists of many process steps, including stone selection, conception, finalizing the form, pattern design, carving, polishing, and fitting the inkstone case; according to the stone's veining, She inkstones are divided into five major categories - rib (luo) pattern, eyebrow (mei) pattern, gold star, gold halo, and fish roe - with more than one hundred varieties. The stone has a fine, dense texture, combining hardness with moistness; it is slightly abrasive without holding back the brush, and smooth without repelling the ink. She inkstones are praised as "the crown of all mountains' stones" and "a famed pearl of the inkstone realm". At present, raw She inkstone stone is extremely scarce and the traditional craft lacks successors; protection efforts urgently need to be increased. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival record of process steps": The She inkstone making technique centers on carving and consists of many process steps, including stone selection, conception, finalizing the form, pattern design, carving, polishing, and fitting the inkstone case; according to the stone's veining, She inkstones are divided into five major categories - rib (luo) pattern, eyebrow (mei) pattern, gold star, gold halo, and fish roe - with more than one hundred varieties.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

His works Epanggong Fu (Rhapsody on the Epang Palace) and Ri Po Yuntao Wanli Hong (The Sun Breaks Through Cloud Waves, Ten Thousand Li of Red) won gold medals at the 14th and 15th China Four Treasures of the Study Art Expositions respectively, and Xin'an Lansheng (A Panorama of Xin'an) won the gold medal of the China Arts and Crafts Hundred Flowers Award.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Wang Zuwei · National Representative Bearer Archive