Forged by fire, sustained by inheritance

Among his donations to the National Museum of China is Wave, which depicts the crest of a huge ocean breaker, reminiscent of Katsushika Hokusai's iconic woodblock print, The Great Wave. The uneven surface of molten copper, together with the color gradation from dark blue to pale white, gives life to the imposing wave.

While Zhu has infused a modern sensibility into his copper art, to open a dialogue between traditional Chinese handicrafts and the world, his son Zhu Junmin, born in 1969, also a national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, has blazed a different trail for copper art.

The son has found inspiration in the unique qinggong (elegant offerings) tradition. The term originally referred to the ritual tributes used in Buddhist practice and the worship of deities.