Brick-carving

Liu Fengming (1889～1978), nick-named Brick-carving Liu, was a folk artist of Hui nationality in Tianjin. At the age of 15, he began learning brick carving techniques with his grandfather Ma Shunqing who was a renowned brick-engraving artist in Tianjin. During the Daoguang period in Qing dynasty, he developed the brick carving in Tianjin into a folk art independent of the architecture. He also created a stacking method to expand the work's three-dimensional space so as to make it clearly structured. 

Inheriting and carrying forward Ma Shunqing's method, Liu Fengming initiated the unique style of Tianjin brick carving. Known as "Brick-carving Liu", he was mainly an expert in three-dimensional and semi-stereoscopic carvings of hollowing-out. The well-designed and vivid images of landscapes, flowers, figures and fur and feather carved on bricks all possess highly artistic value of appreciation.