A gold star for effort

When engraving the patterns on the rod, Caiqian tried to apply a traditional method called zanke, which means to engrave a design into a metal surface by cutting delicate grooves into it. After practicing the skill on a thin copper plate for a month, he found that the real decorative pattern was actually double lines with less than a millimeter between them. A feeling of desperation washed over him that he compared to that of "a climber looking up a mountain that cannot be conquered".

With the metaphorical peak still in his sights, he did not shy away from the challenge. Instead, he changed the method completely. Making himself an ox-bone blade, so that its blunt edge would not pierce the gold leaf, he used a painstaking, repetitive process of tracing the lines onto one side of the sheet to create an indented version of the pattern. Turning the sheet over, he used the blade to accentuate the lines, now in relief, to emulate the intricate detail of the original.

He says that only with such scrupulous attention to detail can such an artifact be made.

"Kouguwenjin is a series focusing on the cultural relics themselves, but I also want to launch a new series connecting young people with our cultural heritage," Caiqian adds.

Contact the writer at wangqian@chinadaily.com.cn