Chen Guoxian
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Chen Guoxian, Male, Han, from Fuzhou, Fujian, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Ruanmuhua (Ⅶ-90). The tradition is documented in Fuzhou, Fujian. Within the regional tradition and school record of Ruanmuhua in Fuzhou, Fujian: Cork painting is centred on Fuzhou; its early workshops were mostly concentrated around Xiyuan Village in the eastern suburbs and the Craft Apprenticeship Institute within the city, and the Fuzhou Xiyuan Cork Painting Association is the protecting unit. The finished products are mostly hanging screens, folding screens and three-dimensional ornaments: mountains and water, trees, pavilions, boats and bridges are carved from thin cork slices and inserted in layers within wooden frames, the depth of the scene being created through the layering front and back; a single complex hanging screen may contain several hundred small components. The subjects are mostly local scenes such as the Wuyi mountains, West Lake in Fuzhou, Gushan and the Min River. It took shape in the early 20th century, its place of origin being Xiyuan Village in the eastern outskirts of Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Cork painting is rooted in nature, and the brush spirit of Song painters is often evident in its pictures; its scenes are vivid and true to life, its conception lofty and profound, and its style fresh and elegant, presenting the artistic realm in which "hundreds of li of mountains are contained within a single frame". It is acclaimed as "silent poetry and painting in three dimensions". Since 1959 the Great Hall of the People in Beijing has four times invited cork-painting artists to Beijing to decorate the Fujian Hall and the Taiwan Hall, publicly displaying a group of fine cork-painting works including "Scenery of the Wuyi Mountains", "West Lake in Fuzhou", "Scenery of Egret Island", "The East and West Pagodas of Quanzhou" and "Wonders of the Earthen Houses".
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Chen Guoxian is anchored in the documented technical standards of Ruanmuhua in Fuzhou, Fujian. Within the documented technical tradition of Ruanmuhua in Fuzhou, Fujian: Cork painting, also known as "wood painting", is a popular name for a cork-carving handicraft current in the Fuzhou area of Fujian Province. At that time certain works similar to "wood painting" flowed into China from Germany; inspired by them, Chen Chunrun, chief instructor of the Fuzhou Craft Apprenticeship Institute and a famed woodcarving master, together with the woodcarving technician Wu Qiqi and the architectural-panel technician Zheng Lixi, fully absorbed the strengths of Western art and combined them with traditional Chinese woodcarving techniques, devoting themselves to research that produced the entirely new art of cork painting. It uses as raw material the cork of the cork layer of the oak, imported from Spain, Portugal, Arabia and other places. In production this light, loose, elastic and finely textured cork is first cut into thin slices; then, using the knife in place of the brush, the artisan applies the various traditional carving techniques and finely carves and engraves by hand to build up complex pictures of delicate texture, embellishing them with pavilions and towers in the national style, and at the same time making use of the limited space within the frame to create a three-dimensional effect for the scenery. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Xiyuan village and the three founding craftsmen": Developed in Xiyuan village after German 'wood pictures' inspired three Fuzhou craftsmen to combine Western art with local carving. "Cork from the cork oak": Its raw material is imported cork oak bark — light, springy and finely grained, cut into slices for the finest foliage and eaves. "Wuyi Scenery, Fuzhou West Lake, Marvel of the Tulou": Since 1959 artists have four times decorated the Fujian and Taiwan halls of the Great Hall of the People with such works. "Wu Xuebao's Song-style cork pictures": In the 1960s the inheritor Wu Xuebao created Song-style pieces using the scattered perspective of Chinese painting.
Xiyuan village and the three founding craftsmen
Developed in Xiyuan village after German 'wood pictures' inspired three Fuzhou craftsmen to combine Western art with local carving.
Cork from the cork oak
Its raw material is imported cork oak bark — light, springy and finely grained, cut into slices for the finest foliage and eaves.
Wuyi Scenery, Fuzhou West Lake, Marvel of the Tulou
Since 1959 artists have four times decorated the Fujian and Taiwan halls of the Great Hall of the People with such works.
Wu Xuebao's Song-style cork pictures
In the 1960s the inheritor Wu Xuebao created Song-style pieces using the scattered perspective of Chinese painting.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Chen Guoxian was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Ruanmuhua, with Fuzhou, Fujian as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Ruanmuhua in Fuzhou, Fujian: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Fuzhou, Fujian as its declared area, and Fuzhou Xi YuanRuanMuHua Association as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
It took shape in the early 20th century, its place of origin being Xiyuan Village in the eastern outskirts of Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Cork painting is rooted in nature, and the brush spirit of Song painters is often evident in its pictures; its scenes are vivid and true to life, its conception lofty and profound, and its style fresh and elegant, presenting the artistic realm in which "hundreds of li of mountains are contained within a single frame". It is acclaimed as "silent poetry and painting in three dimensions".
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wu Xuebao | Fuzhou, Fujian | 04-1814 | Same declared area |
| Chen Guoxian | Fuzhou, Fujian | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。