Master Li Cailan’s Artistic Craft
On February 12, reporters walked into the Xi’an studio of Li Cailan, a Master of Arts and Crafts of Shaanxi Province. In the roughly 100-square-meter space, more than a dozen new horse-themed pyrography works—depicting everything from bronze chariots and horses to the Eight Steeds—were being completed one after another, with materials ranging from wooden boards to cowhide.
Putting down her pyrography pen, Li pointed to several works by the table. "The four or five Year of the Horse pieces I prepared earlier sold out before the New Year," she said.
Known as "fire needle embroidery" in ancient times, pyrography uses iron as a pen and fire as ink. In Li Cailan’s hands, an ordinary electric soldering iron becomes a brush that outlines gallant steed.
"First, turn on the pyrography pen and char this area black; next, scrape the surface white with a knife to create highlights; finally, use a flame torch to burn the dark sections for deeper tones," she explained while demonstrating. Gradually, the muscle lines of a horse emerged on the wooden board. "This horse is painted in a realistic style, which needs a three-dimensional effect to look vivid."
The most challenging part is the horse’s mane. She let the reporters touch the painting, and the distinct grooves of each stroke could be clearly felt. "Flying manes require deep pyrography, so that the touch has the texture of carved grooves. For the dark areas of the background and the horse’s body, where the soldering iron would be too slow, I just torch them directly with flame."
It takes four to five days to finish a single horse pyrography work, from sketching with a pencil to the final charring and ironing. "Good work takes time and patience, and perfecting every detail—that is both the merit and the cost of pyrography," Li noted.
The most touching moments in creation are those "uncontrollable" ones.
"Even for the same sketch, the final pyrography effect is completely different from the pencil draft. The soldering iron has a mind of its own. Sometimes at a certain step, I suddenly think, 'Wow, this effect is perfect,' and it guides me forward in the creation," Li said.
This year marks her 20th year of wood pyrography. To copy Xu Beihong’s Eight Steeds, she specially chose natural wooden boards with bark on them. "It has a pure, wild natural feel. I want every piece of my work to be unique." To find such "characterful" wooden boards, she once contacted many manufacturers. "Plywood is all the same; only in recent years have more factories been willing to process customized, unique boards for me."
A journalism major, Li Cailan has loved painting since childhood. In 2006, she heard a teacher in Xi’an mention pyrography. "I had no idea what it was, so I looked it up online and was amazed to find someone painting on wood with a soldering iron. It was such a magical craft—no pigments needed, just burning the wood to turn it coffee-colored, with a vicissitudes texture."
She bought an electric soldering iron and practiced on scrap wooden boards. The moment she made her first stroke, she knew: "This craft can touch people’s hearts." That first try led to a 20-year journey with pyrography.
"At first, I did it to make a living. Passion can’t put food on the table; if I couldn’t sell the works and support my family, I wouldn’t have been able to persist," she recalled. She once ran a gallery on Shuyuanmen Street and sold her pyrography works at a street stall—that was the first time she confirmed this craft could support her.
What materials can be used for pyrography? "Anything in nature that can be charred by fire is worth a try," Li said. Starting with wooden boards, she has successively experimented with bamboo and gourds. Later, someone recommended cowhide, and she found "it can also be charred to leave marks, with a unique effect."
She has worked with more than 20 materials so far: eggshells, bones, felt, cotton cloth... "Someone even asked if I could burn on stones? But stones don’t catch fire," she said with a smile.
A realistic wooden board pyrography of a steed is priced at less than 2,000 yuan. "Every piece is fully handcrafted, and each one is a one-of-a-kind original."
On the day of the interview, Li Cailan started creating new works again. "You can’t rush this craft," she said. "But it’s the Year of the Horse after all, so I need to create a few more steeds to gallop into the new year."