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03 VOICE | 声音

We will encourage people-centered cultural creation and production of more outstanding works that inspire the people,
and we will nurture a great number of writers and artists of both moral and artistic stature as well as a large contingent of
talented personnel in culture and the arts.
——Chinese President Xi Jinping

坚持以人民为中心的创作导向，推出更多增强人民精神力量的优秀作品，培育造就大批德艺双馨的文学艺术家和规模宏大的文化文艺人才队伍。
——中国国家主席习近平

Wood and blade:

A rural dream etched in time

刻刀下的乡土绘梦人

By our staff correspondents
□ 本刊综合

Pu’er City in Yunnan is celebrated as the home terraced villages, and villagers dressed in ethnic
of Pu’er tea and the starting point of the Ancient attire. These memories from his youth gradually
Tea Horse Road. It is also the birthplace of a glob- take shape in woodcuts of landscapes and ethnic
ally renowned printmaking technique known as life, embedded into every groove and fiber of his
jueban (unique-edition) woodcut printmaking. prints. In his work “Tea Fragrance Through the
Emerging in the late 1980s in Pu’er, this meth- Rice-fields,” golden hues and flowing lines evoke
od evolved from traditional multi-block color the aroma of fresh tea leaves and the joy of harvest.
woodcutting. Its defining process—carving and His series “Impressions of the Borderlands” cap-
printing layer by layer, progressively reducing tures Pu’er’s unique geography: expansive skies,
the same block until the final print is complete vast earth, and the harmonious coexistence between
and the original matrix is destroyed—has made it humanity and nature.
one of China’s four major printmaking schools. For Beyond artistic creation, Yue is committed to
14 years, artisan Yue Song has dedicated himself to preserving and promoting the tradition of jueban
this craft, etching time itself through the dialogue woodcut. He regularly participates in exhibitions to
between blade and wood. introduce this cultural heritage to wider audiences.
In 2011, through a friend’s reference, Yue first “During holidays, some soon-to-be college students
encountered printmaking and began his journey into come to learn jueban woodcut,” he said. “They then
jueban woodcut. “Mastering this craft wasn’t easy,” bring the craft with them to university, sharing its
he recalled. “From the way you hold the knife to cultural significance with peers and helping more
how each line is carved—once the blade meets the people appreciate its unique charm.”
wood, there’s no turning back. It tests not only skill, Looking ahead, Yue has a clear blueprint in mind.
but also patience and concentration.” He added that He plans to deepen his artistic expression and refine his
depending on the complexity and number of colors technique while also broadening the reach of jueban
in a design, a single print may require anywhere woodcut through a dual “online + offline” approach:
from ten to several dozen rounds of carving and by using digital media to increase the visibility of his
inking, taking about a month to complete one work. art, and by organizing exhibitions where viewers can
“I hope my art helps more people discover the engage closely with the texture and depth of woodcut
beauty of Pu’er and feel the warmth of this land,” art in person. “My aim is not merely to sell art,” Yue
said Yue. His inspiration continually returns to one explained, “but to help more people understand jue-
timeless theme: hometown. No matter how far his ban woodcut and truly cherish it.” This vision is not
journey takes him, Pu’er continues to inspire the only his personal commitment but also the very reason
heart of his art—the misty mountain mornings, he continues to walk the path of handcrafted art.