As one of the most valued ornamental stones in China, chicken-blood stones have been used for centuries to create seals and carvings. Found on Yuyan Mountain, near Zhejiang’s Changhua town, the stones were products of volcanic activity some 75 million years ago and are traditionally known as “Changhua chicken-blood stones”.

One of the reasons why chicken-blood stones are highly prized at home and abroad is its unique appearances and rarity. Another is the sophisticated skills needed to make chicken-blood stone carvings.  

Shao Chengxin, a master of the chicken-blood stone carving craft, was influenced at a very young age by his family on stone carving. Plying his trade and honing his skills with masters of previous generations, over the past few decades, Shao has developed several carving techniques of his own and was recognized in 2009 as an inheritor of the chicken-blood stone carving craft, an intangible cultural heritage of Zhejiang province. His carving works include Drunken Zhong Zhui, Hou Yi Shot Down Nine Suns, The Eighteen Arhats and many others.