In the town of Yueyaquan, a folk tourist destination in Dunhuang Municipality, Gansu province in northwest China, Fu Youhong devotes himself in writing on hand-made bamboo slips while reciting a poem named “Joining the Army” written by Wang Changling, a famous poet in Tang Dynasty. This is a practice he has done for dozens of years.
Fu Youhong was born and raised up in a poor family in Dunhuang. Once, when he accompanied his father to gather firewood outside, a “small stick” buried by the yellow sand caught his attention. He plucked it out and discovered words written on it. His father told him, “This is a Han Dynasty bamboo slip.” This pleased Fu Youhong very much.
Since then, Fu Youhong became very interested in studying bamboo slips in Han Dynasty unearthed in Dunhuang. He would often save his money to buy ink and study calligraphy.
As he has gotten older and more experienced, Fu Youhong, who is gradually famous in Dunhuang, established an info space that exhibits bamboo slip relics and offers training.
"Bamboo slips have very rich culture. I hope that this precious art and culture will be understood and passed down to future generations."
