Zhu Junmin
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Zhu Junmin, Male, Han, from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Copper Carving Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-119). The tradition is documented in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Within the regional tradition and school record of Copper Carving Craftsmanship in Hangzhou, Zhejiang: Hangzhou copper carving gathered its artisans around Datong Lane within the city; the lane name survives to this day and remains an external landmark for identifying the concentration of the copper trade. In terms of transmission, two distinct paths coexist on the same street: one is the architectural copper work of the Zhufu Copper Art lineage, passed down through four generations, focused on the construction of pagodas, halls and gate-houses, on a large scale and with long cycles; the other is the object-oriented copper work of various small workshops, producing mostly display pieces and architectural components such as copper pagodas, copper halls, copper bridges, copper boats, copper gates and copper statues, smaller in size and with shorter delivery times. The Leifeng Pagoda, the copper hall of Lingyin Temple, the Tianning Temple pagoda and the Mahavira Hall of Mount Emei follow the construction-oriented path, while the large copper reliefs "Buddha Subduing Demons" and "Xuanzang Seeking the Dharma" came from the object workshops; the two kinds of work do not communicate with each other. Hangzhou copper carving is a continuation of ancient bronze-casting; it developed substantially during the Wuyue and Southern Song periods and reached its zenith in the Qing dynasty, with a history of over a thousand years to the present day. When the Wuyue and Southern Song dynasties established their capitals in Hangzhou, large numbers of copper artisans moved there with them, and Hangzhou thereby became a major production center of copper handicrafts in the country. After the Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty, the Hangzhou copper-carving craft represented by "Zhufu Copper Art" (Zhufu Tongyi) gradually matured; passed down through four generations to the present, it has a history of about 130 years.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Zhu Junmin is anchored in the documented technical standards of Copper Carving Craftsmanship in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Within the documented technical tradition of Copper Carving Craftsmanship in Hangzhou, Zhejiang: Datong Lane (Datongxiang) was where the copper workshops were concentrated, and the place name has been preserved down to the present. Hangzhou copper carving perfectly combines traditional art with modern social life and has won high praise from all quarters. Its products cover architecture, sculpture, calligraphy, murals, interior decoration and other fields, with an extremely broad scope. By category, Hangzhou copper carving mainly includes copper pagodas, copper halls, copper bridges, copper boats, copper gates, copper statues and the like. In production, Hangzhou copper carving employs traditional techniques such as openwork piercing, layered inlay, annealing, patina-making, lost-wax casting and point engraving, enabling the finished works to achieve a perfect artistic effect. Built with these traditional techniques, the Hangzhou Leifeng Pagoda, the copper hall of Lingyin Temple, the pagoda of Tianning Temple in Changzhou, Jiangsu, the Mahavira Hall of Mount Emei in Sichuan, the Jintan Patriarch Temple in Taichung City, Taiwan, as well as the large copper reliefs "Buddha Subduing Demons" and "Xuanzang Seeking the Dharma," are all representative works of Hangzhou copper carving and possess very high artistic value. As a variant of China's bronze ware, Hangzhou copper carving represents the advanced level of Chinese copper art; this precious historical heritage cannot be replaced by modern technology. At present, because the techniques are difficult to master and apprenticeships take a long time, young people are unwilling to learn the traditional copper-carving craft. With the changes in social life, daily-use items such as copper kettles have gradually been eliminated, and the practice of copper-carving production has fallen into stagnation. Moreover, due to a lack of scientific research on this fine traditional handicraft, only a few of a series of techniques such as gold inlay and layered inlay can continue to survive. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Lost-wax casting": A wax model is encased in clay; the wax is melted out and the cavity filled with bronze. "Inlay and openwork": Layers of differently coloured copper are built up and inlaid; openwork cut into panels forms the latticed windows of towers and halls. "Patination": The surface is chemically aged to a green patina, its depth set by the length and number of applications. "Annealing and pecking": Repeated heating and hammering relieves the metal's brittleness; pecking finishes the fine calligraphic detail.
Lost-wax casting
A wax model is encased in clay; the wax is melted out and the cavity filled with bronze.
Inlay and openwork
Layers of differently coloured copper are built up and inlaid; openwork cut into panels forms the latticed windows of towers and halls.
Patination
The surface is chemically aged to a green patina, its depth set by the length and number of applications.
Annealing and pecking
Repeated heating and hammering relieves the metal's brittleness; pecking finishes the fine calligraphic detail.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Zhu Junmin was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Copper Carving Craftsmanship, with Hangzhou, Zhejiang as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Copper Carving Craftsmanship in Hangzhou, Zhejiang: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Hangzhou, Zhejiang as its declared area, and Hangzhou Jinxingtonggongcheng 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
Hangzhou copper carving is a continuation of ancient bronze-casting; it developed substantially during the Wuyue and Southern Song periods and reached its zenith in the Qing dynasty, with a history of over a thousand years to the present day. When the Wuyue and Southern Song dynasties established their capitals in Hangzhou, large numbers of copper artisans moved there with them, and Hangzhou thereby became a major production center of copper handicrafts in the country.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zhu Bingren | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | 03-1377 | Same declared area |
| Zhu Junmin | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | — | 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。