Born in 1962

People from Chenghai, Guangdong

State Council Special Allowance Expert

Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts

Senior Craft Artist

Visiting Professor of Shantou University

Distinguished Professor of the National Library of China

Chinese Intellectual Property Cultural Ambassador

United Nations Cultural Envoy

Graduated from Guangdong Shantou Arts and Crafts School,

Later, he studied in the Ceramic Design Department of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University.

Now a member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association,

Member of the Art Committee of the Chinese Academy of Calligraphy,

Senior member of China Arts and Crafts Society. 

▲Wang Zhiwen liked calligraphy when he was a child. In the past, living conditions were not very good and he couldn't afford rice paper, so he used discarded newspapers or homework to write. When there was no paper, he practiced on the red bricks on the ground. When he was in junior high school, he had already started to write Spring Festival couplets for his relatives and friends. Later, he studied fine arts and had the opportunity to study fine arts more systematically. 

      Ceramic Miniature Calligraphy

▲Wang Zhiwen not only writes good characters from lower, but also has a lot of research on ancient classics. Later, I studied fine arts and was assigned to a ceramic factory to be responsible for ceramic design after graduation. 

And why he thought of writing Miniature Calligraphy on ceramics, Wang Zhiwen said that he was inspired by the traditional handicrafts of Chaoshan. As early as the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Miniature Calligraphy technique appeared in the Chaoshan area, which is a type of Chinese calligraphy. Wang Zhiwen thought, cloth and paper are easy to get damp and difficult to preserve, why can't we write Miniature Calligraphy on ceramics? This happens to perfectly integrate the various cultures and arts that he is good at. 

Wang Zhiwen dared to think and dare to try, and soon he wrote on the ceramics, the words became smaller and smaller, so small that others could not see them, so he felt very fulfilled. This is not over yet, in addition to innovation in materials, Wang Zhiwen is also unique in style. "The Miniature Calligraphy of the ancients are all written. I will write the Miniature Calligraphy into paintings, making it both calligraphy and fine art."  

Wang Zhiwen's Miniature Calligraphy of Poetry of Song Dynasty 

Poetry of A Thousand Families by Wang Zhiwen 

Wang Zhiwen's Miniature Calligraphy of Analects of Confucius 

Wang Zhiwen's Miniature Calligraphy of Yuanqu 

Wang Zhiwen's Miniature Calligraphy of “Candle Shadow Shaking Wind” 

Wang Zhiwen's Miniature Calligraphy of “A piece of ice in the jade pot”

Nowadays, when looking at Wang Zhiwen’s ceramic miniature calligraphy works, it is a plastic art from a distance, and a painting at a close distance. When I look at it with a magnifying glass, I find that the painting is composed of countless dense Chinese characters. It can be said that this is a collection of poems. A comprehensive art of calligraphy, painting and porcelain. 

"Choose this path, and I become attached to loneliness."    

▲Although his works have won many awards, the hardships of Wang Zhiwen's creation are rarely known. "Choosing this path, I became associated with loneliness." Wang Zhiwen said that he gave up a lot of hobbies in order to persist in creating, but he also knows that the only way to get something was to lose.   

▲ "Three Kingdoms" won the Guinness World record

Talking about the creation of "Three Kingdoms", Wang Zhiwen is still unforgettable. He said that he originally planned to complete this work in five years, but the content of this work is too much, and the creative process is very boring and single. After more than a year, he felt that he had reached his psychological limit by then. Continue to write down, so I put it aside. "Because the miniature calligraphy is very boring, it is not like music that can give people a sense of pleasure. The miniature calligraphy is written stroke by stroke, closed from the outside world, completely in a state of forgetting things." But one day He suddenly realized that since he chose to create "The Best in the World", he must first defeat himself and go on without hesitation. So he moved it out from under the cabinet, gently dusted off the dust on it, and continued to write, and this writing took seven years. 

It took a full 7 years to write more than 350,000 characters of "Three Kingdoms" in traditional Chinese characters in miniature calligraphy on an 85 cm high ceramic quiver, setting the world's Guinness record in one fell swoop, and won many people in the industry. Praise. Professor Zhang Shouzhi of Tsinghua University commented: "It is rare in Chinese history to complete such a beautiful work, and it is quite difficult!"

"I don't want to be a person's art"   

▲Wang Zhiwen's ceramic miniature calligraphy works exhibition was invited to appear at the United Nations Chinese Day in Vienna on May 8, 2017. 

However, behind the brilliance, the "difficulties of creation, prosperity, and inheritance" of ceramic miniature calligraphy linger in Wang Zhiwen's mind. 

Wang Zhiwen's Five-character Poem  

At the entrance on the first floor of Wang Zhiwen's studio, there is a piece of calligraphy called "One Wonder in Miniature Calligraphy ". This is not only the affirmation of Wang Zhiwen's superb skills by outsiders, but also Wang Zhiwen's concern: "I am really afraid that ceramic miniature calligraphy will become a person's art." 

Wang Zhiwen's worry is unreasonable. The "absoluteness" of ceramic miniature calligraphy lies in the high demands on artists. For 30 years in the arts, Wang Zhiwen believes that in order to make ceramic miniature calligraphy, one of the seven elements is indispensable: one is physical conditions, good vision and physical fitness; second, psychological quality, confidence and perseverance are essential; third, calligraphy skills. The written characters must have flesh and blood and soul; fourth, art foundation, solid color knowledge, flexible composition skills; fifth, ancient prose, only if you love to read ancient poems, you can feel it when you write; sixth, ceramic knowledge, you must be familiar with Raw material formula, kiln firing process, etc.; Seventh, comprehensive factors, preparation work and tool selection are also critical. 

It is precisely this high threshold that makes many apprentices retreat. "It's too difficult for a person to be able to steadfastly settle down and delve into miniature calligraphy." Wang Zhiwen said frankly that there are actually many people who are interested in learning, but few can persist. He is committed to cultivating inheritors, and currently there are only three. Several essentials for mastering ceramic micro-book creation.