【Commentary】54-year-old Ma Li is a woodworking craftsman in Huai'an County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, who has been engaged in joinery making for more than 30 years. Recently, the reporter met Marley, who was busy at home. According to Marley, to make models of ancient buildings, mortise and tenon skills are the most critical.

[Contemporaneous] woodworking craftsman Marley

To make an ancient building model, it is first necessary to carefully design and calculate the data according to the "Engineering Practice Rules" of the Ministry of Qinggong, such as column diameter, bay, depth (and other data). Each component is successfully made, and finally combined with the traditional Chinese mortise and tenon structure. The difficulties and focus of this ancient building model (production) are mainly the tenon and tenon structure of the large wooden structure.

Marley said that in the 70s of the last century, carpentry was a particularly popular profession, starting from Marley's great-grandfather, there were excellent woodworking craftsmen in several generations, and his father was a famous carpenter in Shiliba Village. Watching the craftsmen grind kilns, build houses, and do carpentry all day, Xiao Marley became interested in Chinese architecture.

[Contemporaneous] woodworking craftsman Marley

I have been fond of woodworking ancient buildings since I was a child, the ancient theater in the countryside, and often look at those things, with the study of ancient buildings (in-depth), I began to use straw to make some models, in 2005, I made the first Qing-style heavy eaves quadrangle tower This ancient building model, mainly made of pine, and our bamboo chopsticks. It took more than 8 months to produce and consisted of more than 5000,<> components.

【Commentary】 Ma Li introduced that Huai'an County is located at the junction of Jin, Hebei and Mongolia provinces, where agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization blend and combine, forming Huai'an's unique folk customs. The ancient Great Wall, ancient castle, observation deck, beacon tower, enemy platform and other historical monuments have witnessed the long border Sai culture of Huai'an.

[Contemporaneous] woodworking craftsman Marley

In order to study the culture of the Great Wall, I specially made this (Zhangjiakou) Dajingmen model behind us, which is our landmark building in Zhangjiakou. I scaled it down at 1:50 (scale) by measuring (measuring) and drawing (making), which is composed of more than 22000,<> components in total, which truly reproduces the production process of our great realm gate.

【Commentary】 Ma Li said that his works have been exhibited and selected many times in other places over the years, and he has won honors such as the finalist award of the China-Finland International Cultural and Art Exchange Biennale. Ma Li said that the Great Wall is the spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation, and in the future, he wants to make more architectural models of the Great Wall to make the Great Wall architecture "live".

[Contemporaneous] woodworking craftsman Marley

Zhangjiakou is also known as the history museum of the Great Wall culture, and we also have the Great Wall ruins of different dynasties in Huai'an, in order to promote the Great Wall culture, I am ready to make a series of Great Wall (theme ancient building models) to inherit the Great Wall culture.

Chen Shiyu reports from Zhangjiakou

Responsible Editor: [Luo Pan]