A gold star for effort
Content creator becomes an online sensation by painstakingly replicating intricate ancient relics from the Sanxingdui Ruins using precious metals and traditional methods, Wang Qian reports.
[Photo/China Daily]
As such, Caiqian's video series has become a sensation on social media.
On Sina Weibo, his latest video has been viewed over 64 million times. The official Sanxingdui Museum account on the platform has even commented under the video, applauding Caiqian's "great replication skills".
Crafting has been a favorite pastime for Caiqian since he was a primary school student. One of his first forays into metalwork saw him use a knife to cut a steel ruler into a kunai, a weapon used by martial arts experts. With the handmade kunai, Caiqian spent a lot of time practicing his throwing skill in the school's backyard.
He began to explore making other things, such as toys and tools, by hand. Entering junior middle school, he turned to the internet and began learning carpentry. It was in 2017, when he was studying electronic and information engineering at college, that he began to post his crafting videos on Bilibili. The first video he uploaded, on July 21, 2017, shows how to make a wooden comb.
After Caiqian went viral, many users commented under his first Bilibili video that it was "where the dream started".
When he graduated in 2019, Caiqian was faced with a difficult choice－to find a job or become a full-time content creator. He chose the latter. The first half year was tough, so he had to sell a handmade sword to make ends meet. Gradually, though, things got better and, last year, he broke the 1-million-follower mark on Bilibili.
