A generational legacy set in stone

The young boy didn't understand much about his father's continuous pursuit of better craftsmanship and lifelong commitment to carrying on the art of making ink stones.

He just saw his father sitting at his workbench for hours on end, etching delicate patterns on a chosen stone. Carving and engraving tools, such as knives, chisels, scoops, mallets and gouges were laid out on the bench.

Hu Bin would select a small knife and take it to his primary school, where he used the tool to engrave seals featuring various patterns, mostly cartoon characters from popular animations, on his erasers.

"Both the knife and eraser were so inconspicuous, my teachers would rarely catch me engraving seals in class," he recalls with a sly grin.

The childhood pastime might have sown the seeds of craftsmanship in Hu Bin's heart.

As he grew up, he left his hometown and went to Shanghai where he completed his university studies and secured a stable job as a customs official.

"Shanghai is good for the high life. You can enjoy a wide variety of cuisines and entertainment activities there. However, I still felt lonely," he says.

"These pastimes failed to bring me lasting happiness."

Hu Bin started to miss the cordial atmosphere among the neighbors in his hometown and the experience of throwing himself into creating something — something his father and aunt, also an ink stone carver, got to do on a daily basis.

In 2015, the then 25-year-old decided to return home and learn the time-honored craft of his family.

"I'm obsessed with the process of turning a design from my mind into a three-dimensional carving on the ink stone. That gets my adrenaline pumping," he says.

He has attended the arts sessions offered by universities including Tsinghua University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, through which he was exposed to varied ideas pertaining to art creation, and he is now taking up a position at his father's business producing ink stones.

Sometimes, however, they might have different opinions about how to run the business and how to develop the traditional craft.

"Fortunately, my father always supports me in trying things and exploring new possibilities," says Hu Bin. "After all, I'm young and have time to learn from my mistakes."