For Chen Lizhong, an inheritor of Shoushan stone carving, sculptors record an era with their chisels - just like writers with their pens.

Inheritors are especially appointed, leading artists, officially conferred with the responsibility of carrying forward the country's intangible cultural heritage.

The 49-year-old has hewn and shaped his stones for more than 30 years. His only materials come from Shoushan Mountain in his hometown, Fuzhou, in eastern Fujian province.

"The stones on the mountain have diverse colors and textures - some are transparent and some are solid dark, which give much space for creation," he said.

Shoushan stones are limited. That's what makes this art so special, he added.

Chen was enrolled in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage inheritors in 2006. Among the 15 Shoushan stone carving masters in China, Chen is in the top four, together with his teacher, aged in his 80s.

Chen said stone carving is a kind of inheritance of memory, or a recording of history.

One of his works, a large dark piece, was made in shape of a mine. It contains more than 200 small stone workers engaged in various tasks. Some push carts, some dig the soil and some deliver food to the working miners.

"The inspiration came from my talks with several old people," he said.

He said he was deeply moved when they told him "with passion" what the People's Republic of China was like when it was founded. "Then I decided to carve the mining scene, to depict the spirit of perseverance, when Chinese people worked together to construct their country."

Chen also has a preference to carve lotuses in autumn.

In one of his works, a seedpod pops its head out of a withered lotus leaf, while a bronze crab crawls on it. All the subjects were carved on one single stone.

"We can feel the cycle of life through the autumn lotus." Though the leaves perish, he said, the wonder is the seeds sprout beneath.

"I think we should show respect for the natural law and reveal the beauty in it."

According to Chen, his art has more than 1,500 years of history.

Back in the 1920s, many artists didn't have opportunities to show or use their talent, he said.

"My teacher sold fried bread sticks in the mornings to earn his living and learned carving in the afternoon," Chen said. "A peaceful and stable society is the basis to develop art."

Now is the best era, he thinks. Thirty years ago, the number of sculptors in China was less than 1,000, while now they number around 200,000.

Chen founded his own studio and began to enroll students in the early 1990s.

"I hope they can break away from the old thinking as I teach them, and learn to form their own style," he said.

(China Daily 09/04/2017 page5)