Through ups and downs, Lijiang coppersmith still passes on his craft

“At that time, we lived a traditional life in Lijiang, and apart from farm work we also engaged in certain craft.” After graduating from junior high school in 1986, He Shanjun, then a 16-year-old Naxi teenager, followed his father’s steps to learn his ancestral craft of making copper wares.

The Lijiang copper ware used to be a bulk goods sold to regions along the ancient Tea-Horse Road. Even today, it forms a necessary dowry for Naxi girls, and local families are proud to have copper wares. 

Now, the 48-year-old He Shanjun is the sixth-generation inheritor of the “Jishan” copper craft in Lijiang, and is the only cooper-smith for the time being in the city. 

“Copper wares sold well from 1987 to 1993, but the inrush of modern aluminum, stainless steel wares later posed challenges to the survival of the traditional copper craft,“ He said they could just sold a few wares in late 1990s, earning around 1,000 yuan in a year.

"In those bleak days, my father told me that the Naxi copper making has a history of more than 1,000 years and he couldn’t let it go without trace in years.”Encouraged by his father, He persisted on making copper wares, but had to do more farm work to make up to the loss. “Anyway, I love the craft for it is part of our Naxi culture,” said He. 

"Every vessel I make is like my child, and I feel it is bonded to me in a way." He said it is reassuring to see a copper ware turned into an ideal one by his hammer. Now He turned his home into a copper-ware studio, trying to attract teenagers to learn from him and finding possible successors for his craft.  

Editor: Wang Shixue