Gong Zhentao
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Gong Zhentao, Male, Han, from Fushun, Liaoning, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Hupo Carving (Ⅶ-116). The tradition is documented in Fushun, Liaoning. Within the regional tradition and school record of Hupo Carving in Fushun, Liaoning: Amber carving is practiced in the Wanghua, Xinfu, Shuncheng, and Dongzhou districts of Fushun City, Liaoning Province. The Jet and Amber Museum and the Guchengzi Amber Street in Wanghua District, together with the Fushun Fine Amber Art Gallery, the Fushun Amber Research Institute, and the China Amber City in Xinfu District, form the core area of Fushun amber carving production. The jet and amber produced by the Fushun coalfield have since ancient times been regarded as two products of the same seam, and jet carving and amber carving have accordingly developed in parallel in the hands of the same group of artisans. According to the 'Fushun County Gazetteer of the Republican Era,' in 1930 Fushun had twenty households of workshops making 'jet (shitan) and amber (meihuang) vessels,' which had already reached a considerable scale.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Gong Zhentao is anchored in the documented technical standards of Hupo Carving in Fushun, Liaoning. Within the documented technical tradition of Hupo Carving in Fushun, Liaoning: Amber carving is practiced in the Wanghua, Xinfu, Shuncheng, and Dongzhou districts of Fushun City, Liaoning Province. The Jet and Amber Museum and the Guchengzi Amber Street in Wanghua District, together with the Fushun Fine Amber Art Gallery, the Fushun Amber Research Institute, and the China Amber City in Xinfu District, form the core area of Fushun amber carving production. Amber carving is typically characterized by the distinctive nature of its raw materials and techniques, its marked regional identity, the natural quality of its works, and the flexibility of its production. Fushun amber carving relies entirely on the artisan's inspiration and experience: using local materials, letting the material dictate the design, and choosing techniques to suit the material. With designs that 'flash, spread, soar, and shift' and the skill of 'avoiding flaws and concealing cracks,' the artisan carves amber that is filled with fractures. The artisan cuts and carves while clearing away the powder, making the material transparent so as to decide the direction of the next cut and to change the design at any time. Artisans also make their own carving tools. When drilling amber, for example, they make steel drill wire themselves, clamp it between two boards, and rub the boards to turn the drill; to polish amber beads, they insert the drill wire into the pre-drilled hole and rub the boards so that the drill turns the bead; amber grinding is likewise done by hand with self-made 'drills' and sandpaper, and polishing is done with cloth. The Fushun amber carving process includes material selection, removing the outer skin, rough breaking, cutting the blank, chamfering the corners, shaping by grinding, scooping, cutting passes, fine detailing, rubbing holes, painting, polishing, stringing, and conditioning. The carving methods employed include plain carving, round carving, relief carving, and openwork carving. The main carving themes are figures, animals, plants, auspicious motifs, auspicious patterns, and landscapes. Amber products include decorative ornaments, hand-held pieces, pendants, Buddhist prayer beads, jewelry, and practical items (cigarette holders, buttons, and cap finials). Amber carving began in 1903, when amber was mined at the Fushun West Open-Pit Coal Mine. At that time the woodcarvers Zhao Kunsheng and Zhao Jinglin discovered that amber could be carved, and together with Zhang Baixiao founded the first amber workshop, 'Shuanghexing.' Amber carving has now become a calling card for the city of Fushun. Its works mostly take traditional culture as their theme; the styles and varieties are diverse and the craftsmanship exquisite, and they are collected by people of many countries. They occupy an important place in the international family of amber art and have historical, cultural, artistic, and collectible value. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Record of Process Steps": The Fushun amber carving process includes material selection, removing the outer skin, rough breaking, cutting the blank, chamfering the corners, shaping by grinding, scooping, cutting passes, fine detailing, rubbing holes, painting, polishing, stringing, and conditioning. "Twenty workshops recorded in 1930": The 1930 county gazetteer records twenty workshops working jet and amber, a scale that has grown through seven generations of teaching. "Dodging the cracks": Amber is worked entirely from experience, turning the design around its fissures so that hidden cracks never open. "Homemade drill wires": Tools are made on the spot: a steel wire held between two boards and spun by rubbing the boards against each other.
Archival Record of Process Steps
The Fushun amber carving process includes material selection, removing the outer skin, rough breaking, cutting the blank, chamfering the corners, shaping by grinding, scooping, cutting passes, fine detailing, rubbing holes, painting, polishing, stringing, and conditioning.
Twenty workshops recorded in 1930
The 1930 county gazetteer records twenty workshops working jet and amber, a scale that has grown through seven generations of teaching.
Dodging the cracks
Amber is worked entirely from experience, turning the design around its fissures so that hidden cracks never open.
Homemade drill wires
Tools are made on the spot: a steel wire held between two boards and spun by rubbing the boards against each other.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Gong Zhentao was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Hupo Carving, with Fushun, Liaoning as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Hupo Carving in Fushun, Liaoning: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2014 (batch 4), with Fushun, Liaoning as its declared area, and Fushun Hupoquan Art Pin Co., Ltd. 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
According to the 'Fushun County Gazetteer of the Republican Era,' in 1930 Fushun had twenty households of workshops making 'jet (shitan) and amber (meihuang) vessels,' which had already reached a considerable scale.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen Huansheng | Fushun, Liaoning | — | Same declared area |
| Gong Zhentao | Fushun, Liaoning | — | 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。