Artisan carries on craft of building wooden ships

A wooden boat is displayed at a museum on Cen's Shipyard in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, May 17, 2023. (Photo/chinadaily.com.cn)

Cen Guohe is a national-level representative inheritor of intangible cultural heritage and the fourth-generation inheritor of Cen's Shipyard in Zhoushan city, east China's Zhejiang Province. Cen's Shipyard has been making wooden ships since 1900.

In the 1970s, Cen, at only 17 years old, started to learn the techniques of shipbuilding from his father and grandfather. At 21, he started building boats independently. In the 1980s, there were more than 100 shipyards in Zhoushan, gathering nearly 1,000 skilled craftsmen. People seeking to have boats made by Cen came in droves, and he built 20 to 30 boats every year. However, in the early 21st century, with fishermen turning to deep-sea fishing and replacing wooden boats with motorized iron boats, the wooden boat manufacturing industry gradually declined.

Even during the down years, Cen didn't stop honing his shipbuilding skills.

In 1999, a German man was in search of a talented shipbuilder to craft a wooden sailing ship. Impressed by Cen's skills, the man shared a sketch, and Cen created computerized designs based on it. After a year of hard work, he constructed a European-style antique single-masted sailing ship that met global standards. Setting sail from Shenjiamen fishing port in Zhoushan, the ship successfully made its way to Germany.

Cen rose to prominence with this achievement, receiving orders from both international and local clients, including a surge in requests to create antique ships. Nowadays, his company is inundated with nearly 100 orders for crafting wooden vessels.

Leading other craftsmen, Cen started to produce antique wooden ships and ship models. In 2022, he restored a "Green Eyebrow" wooden sailing boat, the main sea transportation tool in ancient Zhejiang.

Wooden boat models are displayed at a museum on Cen's Shipyard in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, May 17, 2023. (Photo/chinadaily.com.cn)

The "Green Eyebrow" model was used for the fleet of Chinese explorer Zheng He during his legendary voyages. It was the first traditional wooden sailing ship in the country with the capability and qualifications for navigation. Cen also created replicas of other ancient ships, including "Fuchuan," a Fujian-style vessel in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Cen is capable of constructing over 100 types of ancient Chinese ships, representing the four major categories of boats in ancient China. He has preserved the blueprints for each type of ancient ship he has worked on. Additionally, he often visits primary and middle schools, as well as cultural halls, to teach the traditional craft of wooden shipbuilding.