Chongqing- Pokerwork, or wood-burning, is referred to as pyrography or pyrogravure academically. It is the free-handed art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a poker.

People used a hot iron stick to bake patterns on bamboo and wood utensils in the past. For example, waist cards and military seals were ironed on the wood chips during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. After thousands of years of development, it has gradually evolved into traditional folk arts and crafts with unique charm.

Pianyan Ancient Town painted by Liu Guanghong (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Before starting the work, the artist for creating pokerwork is required to be accurate and deliberate. When controlling the duration and degree of the fire, the pokerwork creator needs to use the methods of Chinese painting, such as black lines, ink wash, and sharp and dotted brushstrokes. At the same time, the creator also needs to use different sizes of heated metal implements and control the heat of the fire to present three-dimensionality, rich layers, and different tones, achieving the effect of both brown sketches and lithographs.

Hongyadong painted by Liu Guanghong (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Pokerwork can maintain not only the national style of traditional Chinese painting but also present the rigorous, realistic image of Western painting. In 2014, Beibei pokerwork was officially included in the protection list of Chongqing's intangible cultural heritage.

Liu Guanghong, the sixth-generation inheritor of Beibei pokerwork, has devoted himself to researching and creating wood-burning. His artworks pieces show the new look of Chongqing's development, including skyscrapers in the modern Chongqing city, traditional stilted buildings in the corner of Chongqing, old streets with bricks and tiles, and picturesque natural landscapes. These paintings on the wood look simple and quaint with texture. Liu's pokerwork pieces are like recordings, transcribing the city's memories as pyrographies, shaping a unique local feature.

Chongqing People's Liberation Monument (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Raffles City in Chaotianmen painted by Liu Guanghong (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Liziba Station painted by Liu Guanghong (Photo provided to iChongqing)