Learn more Duvallon's exploration of colored-stone mosaics in Lucheng district, Wenzhou. [Video/Lucheng district publicity department]
Vincent Peu Duvallon, a French teacher of architecture at Wenzhou-Kean University, was enchanted by Caishi Xiangqian, or colored-stone mosaics, a national intangible cultural heritage item, during his recent visit to a local workshop.
Caishi, which in Chinese means "colored stone", must be pure and natural, while xiangqian refers to two processes used to craft it, with xiang meaning pack or wrap up and qian meaning inlay or implant. The mosaics are mostly seen on Chinese-style furniture.
Miu Yichuan, an inheritor of the time-honored technique, explained the process of making colored-stone mosaics to Duvallon.
Under Miu's direction, Duvallon pasted a pattern-designed drawing on a stone, and then cut the stone into the proper pattern, before finally pasting the stone on some wood.
"It's not just the process of making beautiful objects, but also a rich culture that we must observe," Duvallon said.
