Bu Wenjun: Inheriting Wei-Family’s Brick-Carving Craftsmanship

Abstract

Countries the world over struggle with balancing modernization while preserving traditional practices and philosophies—and no nation on earth has more to preserve than China. Every inch of this country is steeped in history and heritage. I remember climbing a remote mountain and feeling I was a trailblazer, perhaps the first person ever to ascend that steep cliff. And then I came across granite steps that I learned had been built there 1000 years earlier by monks at a temple on the peak.

Countries the world over struggle with balancing modernization while preserving traditional practices and philosophies—and no nation on earth has more to preserve than China. Every inch of this country is steeped in history and heritage. I remember climbing a remote mountain and feeling I was a trailblazer, perhaps the first person ever to ascend that steep cliff. And then I came across granite steps that I learned had been built there 1000 years earlier by monks at a temple on the peak.

Tan Kah Kee, the founder of Xiamen University (XMU), known as the “Henry Ford of Asia,” was so concerned with preserving Chinese culture that when he built XMU in 1921, he ensured the architecture was a marriage of the East and West to remind future generations that China should embrace modern international education while at the same time preserving traditional Chinese morals and ideals.

Thankfully, now that China is prospering, governments across the nation are investing in preserving their rich past. Many city governments have created textbooks on local culture, and children can learn to make traditional Chinese paper cuts or perform with puppets. But a young puppeteer told me it would take five years to master just the basics of a 19-string marionette and few young people are willing to put such effort into a skill that won’t earn much of a living.

Preserving and perpetuating ancient practices and customs is such a challenge the world over that it requires bottom-up passion, as well as top-down initiatives. Fortunately, across China I have met people like Mr. Bu Wenjun, who has turned his passion for cultural heritage into a profitable profession that helps fight poverty by providing skills and jobs.

“Why are you so passionate about the Wei brick sculpture” I asked Mr. Bu. “I’ve seen similar brick sculpture even in south Fujian, but I know little about it.”

“I married into it!” Mr. Bu said, laughing. “I love culture, and I married a girl in the brick-carving family in my own village — literally right next door.”

Wei Xiaozu, the patriarch of the Wei-Family Brick Carving, learned his craft near the end of the Qing Dynasty, when he helped build Gansu Province’s Luojia Temple. He became a master brick carver by serving as an apprentice to three master brick carvers from Hebei Province. Wei Ziaozu and the second-generation carvers were illiterate, which hindered their advance, but Wei Shixiang, the third generation and Mr. Bu’s father-in-law, had studied in a private school, he appreciated Chinese culture—especially opera—and when he was 13, he began learning the craft from his father. Thanks to his passion, the Wei-Family brick carving became famous in Ningxia and nearby regions for its exquisite detail.

“Wei Shixiang told me he feared the art might be lost,” Mr. Bu said. “I felt it was a wonderful heritage that needed to be protected and perpetuated, even though it seemed difficult to learn.” (Fig. 9.1).

Fig. 9.1

Photo by Zhu Qingfu

Prof. William Brown interviewing Bu Wenjun, the inheritor of the Wei-family Brick Sculpture, in Longde, Ningxia on July 15, 2019.

“So, you told him you’d pass it on?” I asked.

“Actually, I didn’t say much to him because the Wei family would only pass their secrets to a son, so that it stayed in the family. They feared that if they passed the tradition to a daughter, she would marry outside the family and take the Wei-family secrets with her. The problem, though, was that he didn’t have a son — only a daughter! I often told him times had changed and that he needed to change with the times, because it would be a shame to lose a craft that had evolved through three generations.”

“And he agreed?” I asked.

“Well, no. He was actually a very stubborn person. In 1988, I asked Zhang Guoqin, deputy curator of the Longde County Cultural Center, to persuade him. But even with both of us working on him, he refused.”

“I understand his feelings,” I said. “All across China I’ve met old-timers in mountain villages who jealously guard their secrets. Fujian, for example, is home to Southern Shaolin Kung Fu, and it seems that every Fujian village boasts having the most lethal martial arts, and they won’t share them with outsiders. But I’m curious how you eventually persuaded your father-in-law to divulge his secrets to you, an outsider?”

“Well, the day he refused, he could not sleep the entire night. After brooding over it until dawn, he met me and said, ‘I see it clearly now. And since the government is supportive of this, I can’t let the craft die in my hands. I will pass this family’s brick carving craft on to you.” And a signing ceremony was held to officially bequeath the craft to Mr. Bu.

“I had long assisted my father-in-law at the manual work but after he officially designated me as his successor, he taught me every detail of the entire process — how to mix the mud, carve, build a kiln, and fire the final product. And that’s why today I am a master brick carver.”

“But what has driven you to embrace such a difficult craft?”

“First of all, I have loved it since I was a child,” Mr. Bu said. “I visited the craft site many times and saw this was truly a very Chinese craft, and the more I knew about it, the more I felt it could not be lost. In 1989, while I was laboring at another area, a TV station interviewed my father-in-law, but that was when he was still opposed to passing his secrets outside of the family. When I saw that interview, I was more determined than ever to master brick carving, and when I returned, I put all of my energy into it.

“In Hubei Province, I saw a maser clay block craftsman, but I was certain we could do much better than him. But it was not as easy as I had thought.”

“Did you get discouraged?” I asked.

“Yes, at times. I’ve persisted for over 40 years now, but I’ve had so many difficulties. I dug nine earth kilns, but the kilns were destroyed when they built roads and houses. Other villagers tried to master brick carving, but they lacked the knowledge and perseverance, and gave up. Another barrier was the poor economic situation. The government would not loan more than RMB50,000, so I borrowed some money from relatives and friends.”

“I purchased just enough production tools to get started and slowly built up the process. But after some government officials visited my site, they enthusiastically supported our development. As we improved, I actually turned a profit, which I used to refine and expand production. But some of our villagers opposed us. They tried to shatter my confidence by saying we just worked all day with mud and dirt, for a while even my wife was unsure of this! But I believed this brick carving was very meaningful and worth doing, and I persisted.”

“Over time, not just China but other countries began to pay more attention to intangible cultural heritage, and we continued to improve. Now, looking back over 40-odd years of development, I encountered many unimaginable difficulties, but I continued to develop and innovate.”

Mr. Bu’s innovations have helped double productivity. In making the mud, for example, he replaced animal hair with cotton, which helped reduce cracking during the firing process. He has also been creative in meeting the evolving demands of his expanding markets. He now has over 300 types of products that are sold in many nearby provinces.

“As I innovated, I realized that this could not only be an intangible cultural heritage but also a profitable, sustainable cultural industry that could help local farmers prosper and in turn allow us to expand even further.”

The Wei-family brick carving has indeed gained official respect for both preserving ancient culture and helping to fight poverty. In 2011, Mr. Bu invested RMB500,000 to establish the Longde Wei-family Brick Carving Company, Ltd. He employs over 30 workers, including handicapped people. In 2016, Longde County invested in building the Guyuan Brick Carving (Liupan Wei-family Brick Carving) Heritage Protection Base. After its completion in 2017, they invested more than RMB1.8 million for a poverty alleviation project. Yuhe Village’s Wei-family’s Brick Carving Workshop for Poverty Alleviation can produce 600,000 blue bricks and 5000 brick carvings each year.

“But what drove you to persevere for over 40 years when you encountered such difficulties, villagers scoffed at you, and even your wife had her doubts?”

“Well, for one thing, it was also a hobby,” Mr. Bu said. “The other is that I really believed it had promise. The demand for brick carving today is very large, and we are accepting more and more orders.”

“Yes, I was surprised a few days ago to see elegantly carved bricks in a beautiful Bed and Breakfastright beneath the Great Wall. Some of our team members thought they may have come from your factory. So business is doing well now?” I asked.

“Yes, but we have two main problems. One is that there are still few people with talent. And the other is that the economic situation is still not particularly good.”

As Mr. Bu gave us a tour of their facility, which included fascinating dioramas of the process from extracting the raw materials to the final carving and firing, I could see why they have difficulty finding talent. As with the Quanzhou puppeteers, Dehua porcelain craftsman or Hangzhou silk makers, it is hard to find youths willing to invest their years in mastering a craft that will probably never earn them enough profit for a living. But there is hope. Over the past decade I’ve met many Chinese youths who have shown pride in the past, and are willing to sacrifice to master and perpetuate their cultural heritage.

As a child, I loved visiting colonial Williamsburg and other historic areas in the US. The US of course only has 250 years of history versus China’s 5000 years, but many American cities pay people to master traditional crafts such as quilting or blacksmithing or silversmithing. They work in real shops much like those of 300 years ago, and tourists can watch them produce crafts that are sold in the shops or to museums. In many cases, these artisans have helped generate enough tourism revenue to cover the costs.

It does not take that many people to preserve a traditional art—just enough for whom an interest becomes a hobby that turns into a passion—people like Mr. Bu. I hope Chinese schools will continue to expand heritage textbooks, as well as give students opportunities to try their hand at various crafts. This may kindle their passion, and the perseverance needed to ensure that these cultural treasures do not die out. Mr. Bu is working to kindle youths’ interest in this craft. His company has become a practice base for Longde County students from primary and secondary schools upward to learn about their intangible cultural heritage.

Today, the Wei-family Brick Sculpture is not only on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, but—and this really excites me—five of the sixth-generation “inheritors” are foreigners!

Now I know what I can do after I retire from XMU!