Lusuozhong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Lusuozhong, Male, Tibetan, from Zhuoni, Gansu, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Inkstone Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-133). The tradition is documented in Zhuoni, Gansu. Within the regional tradition and school record of Inkstone Making Craftsmanship in Zhuoni, Gansu: The Tao River green stone is produced in the canyon area of Lama Cliff at the junction of Zhuoni County, Lintan County, and Min County along the middle reaches of the Tao River in southern Gansu. The Tao inkstone has rich cultural connotations and a strong local character, with very high artistic and collector's value. Taoyan (Tao inkstone) making was founded in the Tang dynasty, flourished in the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and has a history of more than 1,300 years.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in September 1968 in Zhuoni County, Gansu Province. Representative bearer of inkstone making craftsmanship (Tao inkstone making craftsmanship), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. A master of arts and crafts of Gansu Province. From 1984 he studied the carving of Tao inkstones under his maternal uncle Qiao Guorong. In 1996 he entered the Liu Aijun Tao Inkstone Art Research Institute for further study, where he systematically mastered the painting and carving techniques of Tao inkstones. The Tao inkstones he carves take a wide and original range of subjects, and he excels at high-grade floral, figure and archaic-object themes. In 2006 his "Happiness" (Xingfu) inkstone, "Harvest" (Fengshou) inkstone and "Qin Gao Riding the Carp" (Qin Gao Cheng Li) inkstone won three gold awards at the Chinese Four Treasures of the Study Master Teachers and Famous Inkstones Fine Works Competition held by the China Four Treasures of the Study Association. In 2008 his "Man Jiang Hong" inkstone and "Pipa Xing" inkstone won gold awards at the Tenth China Arts and Crafts Masters Fine Works Exhibition held by the China Arts and Crafts Association. Within the documented technical tradition of Inkstone Making Craftsmanship in Zhuoni, Gansu: The Gansu Tao inkstone, i.e. the Tao River green-stone inkstone, is one of China's famous inkstones. The Tao inkstone is elegant in green form, hard yet fine in quality, lustrous as jade; it produces ink quickly without harming the brush, and stores ink long without drying—long renowned at home and abroad, it is a treasure among the Four Treasures of the Study. The Tao ore belt is surrounded by water on three sides; the inkstone stone is nourished year-round by moist air, so its texture is hard, smooth, and fine, with dark-green streaks within the pale green, forming myriad natural patterns such as flowing water, rosy clouds, clear ripples, and mist. Made into an inkstone, because the stone is moist it can be made to 'bead at a breath'; ink comes down quickly and finely, the ink glows as it is produced, and ink stored in the stone does not dry or spoil for a month. Tao inkstone forms are mainly divided into two types: regular/rectangular inkstones and natural-form inkstones; the inkstone body is composed of three parts—the ink pool, the water pool, and the inkstone cover; by style it is divided into single-slab and double-slab inkstones. The inkstone face is often decorated with patterns and inscriptions; the most representative traditional patterns are dragons and phoenixes and primitive religious vessels. The Tao inkstone is handmade; the production process roughly includes a dozen or so steps such as material selection, blank making, hollowing, fine carving, and polishing. Carving is mainly openwork and relief, supplemented by line carving, round carving, and other techniques; the patterns and forms are antique and elegant, beautiful and graceful. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Documented Process Record": The Tao inkstone is handmade; the production process roughly includes a dozen or so steps such as material selection, blank making, hollowing, fine carving, and polishing.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2005 his Tao inkstone works Night Reading (Ye Du) and The Joyful One Lives Long (Le Zhe Chang Shou) won the second prize and the third prize respectively for innovative design at the Eighth Gansu Province Arts and Crafts Hundred Flowers Awards held by the Gansu Arts and Crafts Association.

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. Lusuozhong · National Representative Bearer Archive