Master artisan hands skills to his son

Zhu Qingyuan, a master artisan of carved lacquerware in Nansong village of Gu'an county, Langfang, Hebei province, has given all his energy to the inheritance and preservation of his craft over the past several decades.

The 78-year-old continues to instruct his apprentices at his workshop how to paint, carve and polish.

"The process of making carved lacquerware pieces is very complicated. It needs to go through dozens of procedures," Zhu said, adding that making a piece takes from about half a year to three years.

Because the whole process is done by hand, the production of carved lacquer is time-consuming, he said.

To pass the traditional craft on from generation to generation, Zhu asked his son Zhu Jiang, 47, to follow him and learn the skills.

Under the instruction of his father, the son mastered the craft quickly at a young age. He also studied design and innovation so that his work can adapt to the aesthetic and practical needs of modern times.

The younger Zhu worked his way up to become a provincial-level craft master in Hebei.

"I'm glad that younger generations can inherit the traditional craftsmanship," his father said.