Craftsman shows charm of porcelain engraving with excellent skills

Li Qiang works on a Yuzhang porcelain engraving artwork in his workshop in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yu)

Yuzhang porcelain engraving is an intangible cultural heritage of China which incorporates calligraphy, painting and engraving.

Li Qiang, 74, from Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, has dedicated himself to the exquisite handicraft for more than 40 years.

Born into a family of carvers, Li, the fifth inheritor of the handicraft, started learning metal engraving when he was 16, and began learning porcelain carving in the 1980s. Porcelain engraving is crafted on the glazed surface of porcelain by utilizing the skills of chiseling and engraving to present various details of a painting or image.

"The most difficult part is about light and shadow, which is realized by applying different strengths to every chiseling and density of dots," Li said. Beginning with a hammer and a nail, the artist now uses more sophisticated tools, which can be operated by one hand.

"To better inherit the traditional craftsmanship, we must integrate innovation with it," Li said. The septuagenarian said that many young people have shown an interest in it, and have become his apprentices. "I will teach them as much as I can and hope to see more young ones inherit it."