Wan Qingjian, the fourth-generation inheritor of the traditional painting and coloring skills of ancient buildings, has devoted himself to the pursuit of craftsmanship excellence for more than 40 years.

Wan, who is nearly 60 years old, has never forgotten the influence of his ancestors and predecessors on him. "Using ancient skills to meet new social needs is inheritance," Wan said.

He has fixed the beams and rafters of buildings in projects such as the Shandong Qilu Garden, the Three Gorges cultural relics relocation in Chongqing municipality and Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet autonomous region.

"A seemingly simple pattern has to go through multiple processes such as measuring, paper matching, sheeting, grinding, watering, powdering and encapsulation. A slight mistake will affect the quality of the design and even the style of the entire building," Wan said, adding that the technique is very complicated and detail matters most.

In 1984, Wan joined Qufu Dazhuang Glazed-Tile Factory, the predecessor of Qufu Yuanlin Archaized Building Construction Corporation.

"I remember the first time when I went out to work with my master. The task was to restore the colored paintings inside and outside the main hall of Puzhao Temple in Qingfeng county, Henan province. It was to last for almost a year," he said.

In 2021, the traditional technique of painting and coloring on ancient buildings in Qufu was designated as intangible cultural heritage of Shandong.

Wan hopes that more young people who love painting will join the career to pass on the skills.

Wan Qingjian sketches the pattern of a building on paper. [Photo/Jining News]