[Explanation] Lan Huiquan, 68, is a seal carving artist in Shanhaiguan District, Qinhuangdao City. He has been engaged in this skill for more than 40 years.
Since 2019, he has used the antique craft blue bricks used to repair the Great Wall as materials, integrating poetry, calligraphy, painting, and printing, and successively created "Thirty-eight Scenic Spots of China", "Eight Scenic Spots of Shanhaiguan" and "Scenic Sites of Famous Passes on the Great Wall" And other series of "Great Wall Bricks" seal cutting works, using a knife as a pen to show China's great rivers and mountains, and to promote the Great Wall culture.
[Concurrent] Seal Carving Artist Lan Huiquan
This is the first seal of the Eighteen Scenic Spots (works) in (Qinhuangdao), which is the first pass in the world. This seal is in full Baiwen, and it took half a day to engrave it, because when it is engraved in full Baiwen, it must be echoed with blank space. There is a strong contrast between dense places and sparse places, which reflects the beauty of Han and Yin.
[Explanation] Lan Huiquan said that he loved the art of calligraphy since he was a child, and taught himself calligraphy and seal cutting through collecting materials and practicing a lot.
Antique craft blue bricks are commonly known locally as "Great Wall bricks". The first time he used this kind of bricks to engrave was in the 1980s.
[Concurrent] Seal Carving Artist Lan Huiquan
The first contact was in the 1980s (last century), when I picked up a brick once (on the way) to work, I (brought this brick) to work, and carved a seal, which is called advancing with the times Since then, I have seen bricks to engrave. Its impact and its appeal are more shocking than small seals.
[Explanation] At Lan Huiquan's home, the reporter saw "Great Wall Bricks" seal carving works of various themes, some of which were 30 meters long.
Lan Huiquan said that these series of works basically took about half a year from creation to completion, and the longest time was 9 months.
In the creative process, it is very important to master the writing of various seal scripts.
[Concurrent] Seal Carving Artist Lan Huiquan
If you want to complete a good "Great Wall brick" seal cutting work, you must first be proficient in Chinese seal script, such as small seal script, big seal script, oracle bone inscriptions, and Han seal script (all of which must be) well understood. Only a kind of charm can reflect a kind of vitality of the characters (on) the bricks. After you have really finished carving, see if the (carving) effect is good or not, and repair it over and over again. It is not possible to carve it once. One side is easy to print.
[Explanation] According to Lan Huiquan, in recent years, he has been invited many times across the country to exhibit "Great Wall Bricks" seal cutting works.
In the future, he will create more seal cutting works related to the Great Wall, so that more people can understand the Great Wall culture.
[Concurrent] Seal Carving Artist Lan Huiquan
I am a native of Shanhaiguan, and I have a unique feeling for the Great Wall. Many works have been exhibited all over the country. I think that through the series of works (exhibition), I should go out of China and let the world understand China’s Great Wall culture and culture. The intangible cultural heritage fully embodies the charm of Chinese seals.
Chen Shiyu reports from Qinhuangdao
Responsible editor: [Luo Pan]