In 1986, when Queen Elizabeth II came to visit Kunming, the Yunnan provincial government specially prepared her a “royal bed” and a dressing table. It was only later that people learned that the bed and the table were handmade by the national master craftsman Duan Guoliang.

“One should learn a craft as craftsmen never starve,” Duan Guoliang quotes his grandmother whose words are still echoing in his ears when speaking of the reason why he went in for wood-carving.

Duan Guoliang was born into an ordinary family in Jinhua Town of Jianchuan County in 1948. He dropped out after graduating from primary school. At that time, he was confused. “I didn’t know what to do with my life,” he said. Then his 70-year-old grandmother encouraged him to learn carpentry.

He started from heavy manual labor and learnt whatever skills could be learnt in work. The beam heads and square windows in the ancient buildings of Jianchuan County would often arouse his interest. Because of his diligence, he soon got the hang of his job. A few years later, he went to learn woodcarving and painting design from Jianchuan’s well-known woodcarving artist Duan Huchuan to refine his skills.

In his thirties, Duan Guoliang was already famous in Jinhua Town for the antique furniture he had made. During that time, only two people in Jianchuan had mastered the technology of wood grain paint, and Duan Guoliang was one of them. In October 1986, Queen Elizabeth II visited China.

Duan Guoliang was invited to design and carve the “royal bed” and dressing table for the queen’s bedroom in Zhenzhuang Hotel in Kunming, together with his colleague Yin Dequan from the then National Woodworking Factory.

Source: By Yang Xiujie, Duan Yi and Li Xilin (Daguan Weekly)