Cao Jieming
Lineage & School of Heritage
Cao Jieming developed a fondness for calligraphy and painting in childhood. In 1973 he began working in She inkstone carving at the Shexian Arts and Crafts Factory in Anhui Province, studying under Wang Luesen and Fang Jiancheng, both from families of inkstone-carving masters.
Mastery, Signature Works & Repertoire
Male, of Han ethnicity, born in 1954, a native of Shexian, Anhui. He is a national representative bearer of the She Inkstone Making Craftsmanship, a first-batch national intangible cultural heritage project, and is a Huizhou folk craft artisan. Inkstone carving relies primarily on manual strength: the knife must be held steadily, each cut must be made accurately, and pushing strokes must be applied forcefully; the knife work should vary in weight, tempo, and speed, combining firmness with softness. Patterns should be arranged with fitting variation, alternating density with openness, so that they are vivid in spirit and unified in their diversity. His works have formed a distinctive artistic style: the designs and layouts are well proportioned, the forms are elegant and refined, the carving is vigorous, and the lines are fluent; whether landscapes, figures, dragons and phoenixes, flowers and birds, or insects and fish, each subject is rendered with its own character. Cao Jieming has practiced his art for more than thirty years and has trained dozens of promising young inkstone carvers; today he also serves as a part-time teacher of She inkstone theory and production at Xingzhi Middle School in Anhui Province. Representative works include Dongpo Chibi You (Su Shi's Excursion to the Red Cliff), Tangmo Xiao Xihu Yan (Little West Lake Inkstone of Tangmo), and Shezhou Zhu Yan (Shezhou Bamboo Inkstone).
References & Archival Sources
Representative Items of This Bearer
Profile
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