Labor of love: granite engraver carries on traditional handicraft

(Voice by Wang Fan, Yao Lan and Qian Ruisha)

Transcript:

One million dots, 100 hours of engraving, over 10 days of laborious work – that's how Zeng Anting, a 42-year-old granite engraving artist, hand carves a large portrait.

His main tool is a diamond tip about 10 inches long that weighs two pounds. Using wrist power, the artist engraves hundreds of thousands of dots into a highly refined dark granite stone, allowing the lighter unpolished parts to show through.

"Portrait engraving is the most difficult. The contour is rendered by numerous dots of different sizes, depth and density. One mistake would ruin the whole work. "

In his workshop on Beijing's Silk Street Market, a renowned shopping mall for traditional Chinese handicrafts, Zeng displays engravings of celebrities such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Barack Obama and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. His works have been given as gifts to the Malaysian King and Queen, and the former President of Singapore.

"The engravings are very impressive. They combine drawing, sketch as well as sculpture and are very artistic. I think few people could match his skills."

Hans-Peter Bichel and Sasha Hamm became attracted to Zeng's works while on a business trip to China from Germany.

"Brilliant technique. You can see how many pixels he put on each and every case. It's really brilliant. "

Although Zeng has gained recognition at home and abroad, he says the skill is on the brink of extinction. Of the 100 apprentices his teacher Chen Lianhe had decades ago, Zeng is the only one who is still engraving entirely by hand.

Also, the business isn't always profitable. An engraving that sells for $200 requires at least 15 hours of work.

"It's hard to learn. One has to be gifted, very patient and detail-oriented, and must endure the boredom of repetitive work."

But Zeng says he won't stop. He's passionate about engraving and wants to try his best to carry on the craft, which creates one-of-a-kind works that can truly stand the test of time.