Zhao Yishen bends over, his eyes staring at the woodblock. Holding a chisel in his right hand, he guides it forward carefully and exactly across the woodblock using his left hand. To carve the woodblocks, the young craftsman has to hold this position for six hours. He has been carving woodblocks since 2012.

“It feels good and looks beautiful when a Chinese character slowly appears on the woodblock under your chisel,” says Zhao. Zhao is now the only full-time carver working at the Zhuyu Shanfang studio, a workshop that focuses on creating woodblock-printed books in Beijing. Each carved woodblock has ink applied and goes on to print a text onto hundreds of pieces of paper. Zhao carves around 20 Chinese characters each day, which means it takes him one year or even a longer time to complete a set of woodblocks fit for a whole book.

As a teenager he loved to read ancient Chinese books in the library, and the curiosity of how the books were made led him to get a job at the Guangling Guji ancient books woodblock printing studio in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, in 2011 after graduating as a law major from college.

Block printing was listed as a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Zhao was introduced to one of the technique’s masters, Chen Yishi, in 2012 and started to learn the skill from him.

In Zhao’s mind, the inked woodblock is a work of art. After a year of learning from Chen, Zhao found a job at Zhuyu Shanfang in 2013, where he upgraded his carving skills. With his progress, his carved woodblocks have been used for more and more books over the past years.

“I have just learned the basic skills, but to master it, I still need years of practice,” says Zhao. “A good craftsman can carve an entire book with every single character lined evenly.”

【小题1】What can we know about Zhao Yishen’s work?

A．It is a flexible part-time job.	B．It involves the printing work.
C．It needs much effort and time.	D．It includes creating characters.

【小题2】What made Zhao Yishen become a carver?

A．The family influence.	B．His major in college.
C．The difficulty of finding a proper job.	D．His interest in ancient Chinese books.

【小题3】Which can best describe Zhao Yishen as a carver?

A．Modest and hard-working.	B．Talented and knowledgeable.
C．Ambitious and clever.	D．Creative and confident.

【小题4】What does the text mainly talk about?

A．The popularity of woodblocks.	B．A traditional block printing studio.
C．A craftsman with a traditional skill.	D．The development of woodblock-printed books.