Craftsman's diligent undertaking shows character

Guangzhou resident Liu Hao has completed nearly 6,000 oracle bone inscriptions in the past 10 or so years. (Photo: CHINA DAILY)

In the eyes of a layperson, carving oracle bone inscriptions might seem quite a boring job, as it is slow and meticulous.

But Liu Hao greatly enjoys doing the work.

Liu says drawing the outline and carving on the bones with knives and pens requires advanced learning and also embodies the beauty and culture of Chinese characters.

Oracle bone inscriptions represent the lifestyles of ancient Chinese, as well as the observation methods and aesthetic tastes of ancient China, he says.

When Liu, who is nearly 50 years old, is not going out to study or visit calligraphy and cultural relics exhibitions, he usually spends most of his time drawing and carving in a somewhat stuffy workspace in Huadu district in Guangzhou, Guangdong's provincial capital.

Liu's two-story studio is located in a commercial building in the downtown area of the city. The upper floor is his studio and exhibition space.

Over the course of more than 10 years, the oracle bone inscription enthusiast has created nearly 6,000 oracle bone inscriptions.

Many of them have been donated to schools, museums, libraries, publication archives and cultural institutions in Guangdong, for free, to promote the culture of ancient Chinese characters.

The representative works displayed in Liu's studio include many imitations of unearthed oracle bone inscriptions, as well as famous lines from classics, including The Book of Songs, Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) and the Analects of Confucius.

But Liu also uses modern Chinese characters in his oracle bone inscriptions.

He says he hopes the art of oracle bone inscription will also keep up with the times and integrate modern elements.

"The characters are a symbol of civilization, and oracle bone inscriptions, as the original source of Chinese characters, represent the crystallization of the wisdom of our ancestors," says Liu, who started working with oracle bone inscriptions in 2005.