Pingnan artist follows his heart to pursue root carving

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2014-02-26

Ye Shihe was born in Pingnan county in December 1970 and began learning root carving in 1994 under the instruction of Zhang Changqing, a master root carver. Ye opened his own company in 2011. Root carving is a traditional Chinese art form which dates back over 2-thousand years, and it consists of carving and polishing tree roots to create works of art.

In 2013, Ye won several top awards at international events such as the Chinese arts and crafts boutique exposition, the root and stone art expo, the international carving art expo and the Chinese traditional art expo.

Ye also won the title of “Chinese Root-carving Master” for his art works over the years. But his road to success was not easy, and Ye works for over ten hours a day. He agonizes over each piece that he creates, and also regularly consults his former tutor, Master Zhang.

He said that he was inspired to start root carving after reading a story in a magazine which urged young people to follow their heart and pursue careers which interest them. Ye was soon sure that he had made the right choice - and all his hard work has paid off.

By Wang Yifei and edited by Niva Whyman