The delicacy is in the details
A native of Shexian's Bei'an village, the birthplace of Huizhou brick carving, Wu was immersed in the art form from a young age, fostering a passion for this time-honored craft since childhood. He learned from local artisans, and opened his own studio to restore old brick carvings in 1989.
Years of involvement in the craft and continual improvement have made Wu a leading figure in the field, and he demonstrated his skill by spending six months re-creating the ancient technique of nine-layered carvings, which had been lost to history.
"Working from the front, you can carve at most seven layers before being unable to go any deeper. As a result, I was confused as to how I could add the other two layers," says Wu.
He read widely and examined carvings on historical buildings, thinking about how to add those two extra layers.
One day, as he was looking at some old brick carvings he collected, he noticed openings on the sides of the bricks. At first, he thought they were to help install the carvings, but after close observation, he realized that he could insert a knife through these openings, and carve two more layers. This was when he was able to successfully re-create the technique.
One of Kuai's students, 29-year-old Tang Shuhui, who is a city-level inheritor of Huizhou wood carving, has been engaged in the craft for 11 years. From a young apprentice, whose hands hurt every day from sharpening knives, to a mature craftsman with many award-winning pieces, Tang wants to continue to follow the path walked by his predecessors.
He says that people often compare Huizhou merchants to camels, noting their pioneering, enterprising spirit, and endurance. He believes this comparison can be applied to Huizhou craftspeople as well.
"I want to learn the skills and spirit they passed down, advance the techniques with modern tools, and try my best to add new vigor to this traditional craft," he says.
