CAO Xiaoli, the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage project in Shanxi Province
Source: Yuncheng Urban and Rural Collective Industrial Association
Updated: December 16, 2020 09:34
CAO Xiaoli, male, born in Jishan in May 1990. He is the general manager and technical director of Shanxi Yitaiyong Wood Carving Co., Ltd.. He is also the sixth generation inheritor of "Yitaiyong", and a master of arts and crafts in Yuncheng City. CAO Xiaoli’s family has a woodcarving tradition that has lasted six generations over a century. His ancestor CAO Jinren engaged in woodcarving as early as the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. After several generations, the woodcarving skills evolved to perfection and the Yitaiyong brand is quite well-known in Jishan, Wanrong, Hejin and even Yuncheng. However, due to the invasion of the Japanese troops, the people had a difficult time surviving. And Yitaiyong had to shut down its business in 1938. Until 1994, the fifth-generation inheritor CAO Xingbo took the opportunity of reform and opening up policy to restore the time-honored "Yitaiyong" brand, and in 2004 Shanxi Yitaiyong Wood Carving Co., Ltd. was established.
Born into such a family of woodcarving during such a great era of reform and opening up, CAO Xiaoli is blessed in the right time. He was influenced by family traditions from his father and grandfather since he was a child, and he has been very fond of traditional techniques with local characteristics, such as paper-cutting, painting, dough figurine, wooden toys, and so on. When he was studying in the village elementary school, he was a popular "Little Painter" and was praised by his classmates as a "Little Painter Prodigy". CAO Xiaoli’s father, CAO Xingbo, saw that quality in him, he therefore deliberately guided him to inherit his ancestral art and sent him to Jishan County Vocational Middle School to learn painting and sculpture. In 2004, his father founded Shanxi Yitaiyong Wood Carving Co., Ltd.. CAO Xiaoli, who just turned 15 years old, witnessed this significantly historical moment and strengthened his determination and confidence in inheriting the ancestral skills and carving business.
"The more one learns, the more he sees his ignorance". The young CAO Xiaoli learned from his father and maters in the company. After endless practice, he succeeded in presenting humanistic charm and traditional style through his works. From 2009 to 2013, he went to the Fine Arts Department of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts for further studies, specializing in craft design.
CAO Xiaoli actively participated in cultural fairs and art exhibitions held in Shenzhen, Beijing, Taiyuan and other parts of the country, and exchanged skills with colleagues from all over the country. He also bought a lot of books and browsed the Internet frequently to draw inspiration for his artistic creation. The most commendable thing is that he carefully studied traditional Chinese culture, Buddhism and other traditional cultures, and worked hard to improve his humanistic accomplishment and artistic quality. Gradually he formed a unique artistic style and a new design concept, that is to integrate tradition into modernity and humanity into craftsmanship so as to increase the enjoyment, aesthetism and practicability. "Yitaiyong" provides wood carving products not only for institutions in Shanxi province, such as Jinci Temple in Taiyuan, Wutai Mountain in Xinzhou, Datong Fahua Temple, Yuncheng Museum, Jiezhou Guandi Temple, Wanrong Li Family Courtyard, Ruicheng Cultural Museum, Yongji Pujiu Temple, but also for those beyond, such as the Forbidden City in Beijing, Beijing Hotel, Shanghai Museum, Tianjin Hotel, and Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui.
The woodcarving works produced by CAO Xiaoli have been awarded many prizes in various art exhibitions or intangible cultural heritage exhibitions at province, city and nation levels. In September 2015, the woodcarving work "Splendid Rivers and Mountains" won the gold medal of the second Shanxi Provincial Cultural Expo. In August 2016, the woodcarving works of "Shenzhou Mountains and Waters" were permanently collected by the Yuncheng Museum. In October 2016, his works won the silver prize in the large exhibition of traditional skills of intangible cultural heritage in Yuncheng. In April 2018, he was awarded the title of "Hedong Craftsman" in Yuncheng City. In May 2018, he was awarded the title of "May 1st Labor Medal" by Yuncheng City. In July 2018, the woodcarving work "Moonlight in the Lotus Pond" won the "Ancient China & Craftsman Cup" Arts and Crafts Excellence Award. In May 2019, he was recognize the master of arts and crafts in Yuncheng City.
