Dedicated engraver hopes to pass old craft on for future generations to enjoy

In the deep valleys of southwest China's Guizhou province the sounds of drums and gongs signal Nuo performances, which are held about 10 times a month to drive away evil spirits and pray for good.

Nuo, which means to exorcise bad, was a popular type of sorcery that can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty (16th century - 11th century BC) or even earlier.

A vital part of Nuo performances is masks that feature protruding eyes and jutting chins.

At first glance, the exaggerated and deformed facial features on the masks look scary, but for Yang Yunxia, a Tujia engraver from Tongren, Guizhou province, the masks represent an inherited folk craft.

Carving masks for Nuo performances was traditionally seen as a man's job because it involves heavy manual labor.

However, Yang learnt the craft and took over to become her family's seventh generation of engravers.

Yang's father said he picked her from his six children as his successor due to her natural carving talent. "She is a quick learner with perseverance," he said.

Yang carved her first mask and sold it for 120 yuan ($19.5) in 2005 after being trained by her father. It took her four days to complete the mask after her first attempt failed.

To date, the 37-year-old has produced hundreds of masks, which are usually the size of a human's face. She sometimes varies the size to cater to market demands, and can make them between one cubic centimeter to one cubic meter.

"The smaller, the more difficult," Yang said, extending her scarred hands.

She said it was more likely that she would cut herself when making the smallest size mask, which would take half a day to finish.

"It tortured me to see her rough hands with scars, but her progress stopped me saying anything," said Yang's husband, who is an art teacher at a local primary school.

He said Yang gradually came into her own style when carving Nuo masks.

She used to depend on her father and husband to draw out features on the masks so that she could follow the draft marks when carving. But she quickly progressed and was able to do it without the help of even a ruler.

"I neither learnt art as my husband did, nor did I have experience like my father, I just carve, following my heart and feeling," she said.

In 2009, Yang was invited by the local tourism bureau to participate in a local folk craft competition and she won the title of top 10 best craftsmen in Tongren region, Guizhou.

Local villagers know her as a carving artisan and almost all the neighboring Nuo performers buy their masks from her.

"Making Nuo masks is a time-consuming process and earns little," said Yang.

The dedicated craftswoman carves during the night as she has to make a living by doing extra work as bus conductor during the daytime.

"We have fixed customers, but our output was limited," she said.

Yang said she has to turn down orders as she can only produce one mask a day, so her annual income is limited to 50,000 yuan.

Compared to other local residents, Yang's income exceeds the average level nearly 10 times, but she said she was more concerned about developing her craft and passing it on to future generations.

"My father broke the family traditions by passing the craft on me, a female, so why can't I do something more?" she said.

Yang said the craft was the nation's and the world's, not just her family's heritage so she is willing to teach anyone who wants to learn.

Yang's husband said even in Dejiang, the hometown of Nuo, people have started to use carving machines, which help propel daily output to several thousand masks.

"We insist on hand carving although carving machines can be more efficient," he said. "Carving machine products are all in the same key, neither exquisite nor vivid."

Yang said she would only consider using carving machines to make fingertip-sized masks.

She said it would take half a day to finish handmade small masks, which sell for 80 yuan, but more than a thousand masks could be made in a day via mechanized production and they could be sold for 10 yuan each.

"On one hand, we insist on hand carving, on the other hand, we have to think about making a profit," Yang said.

The craftswoman and her husband plan to recruit a batch of trainees to inherit and develop the traditional craft for centuries to come.

She said they were waiting for investors to lay out mechanized production to tap into and expand the tourist commodity market.

"We keep the door open for cooperation," Yang said.

jiatingting@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/06/2014 page11)