Paper cutouts honor China's Olympic idols
Updated: 2016-08-11 07:35
By Yang Jun and Zhang Zhihao(China Daily)
|
|||||||||
Deng Rongrong with her latest cut-paper album at Xiamen Olympic Museum in Fujian province. [Photo/CHINA DAILY] |
Every morning for two years, Deng Rongrong woke at 7 am to begin another day's work on her "heroes"-108 cut paper portraits of Chinese table tennis champions.
The 72-year-old former table tennis coach from Guizhou province devoted more than 11 hours a day perfecting the album, which she calls The Glory of National Sport.
Deng, who had no previous art experience, took up paper cutting as a hobby after retiring in 2009. Tutored by other artists, she began with simple designs such as fish and butterflies.
"People were skeptical whether my energetic 'racket hands' could hold a pair of scissors," she said.
"But sports has taught me to be determined, patient and calm. It actually helped me succeed in paper cutting."
She progressed from drawing simple signs of the zodiac to reproducing entire famous Chinese paintings, including a 12-meter-long version of Along the River During the Qingming Festival.
In 2012, Deng decided she wanted to pay tribute to her table tennis idols, but she worried that her artwork would not do them justice.
"They are all famous people. I feared my craftsmanship wasn't good enough," she said.
So, after completing a draft version of the portraits, Deng traveled to Beijing to meet all the champions she could, armed only with a map, a water bottle and her sketches.
"People thought I was crazy trying to find Olympic champions with a city map," Deng said, but after three months of searching, she met with Qiu Zhonghui, Wang Nan, Liu Wei and four other Olympic table tennis champions, who all praised her work.
Ma Lin, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, even wanted a copy to place next to his trophies.
With 108 paper portraits already under her belt, Deng's next project-to create a 222-portrait album featuring all Chinese gold medalists since 1984 called China, Olympics and Glory-began in 2015.
"I wanted to commemorate the Olympic Games in my own way and cheer for our athletes," she said.
Zhan Xiaoyong, Deng's husband, researched the photos and gave advice, while she worked on the portraits.
"He is the mind and I am the hand, we are a perfect team," said Deng, who took around three to seven hours to create each portrait, depending on how intricate it was.
Xu Haifeng, the first Chinese gold medalist, took Deng several days to complete.
"Sometimes the early photos are just not clear enough, and my husband and I go through several designs because we want every feature to be as precise as possible," she said.
"As a former coach, I fully understand the dedication of every athlete. They are all heroes in my eyes."
China, Olympics and Glory has been on display in Xiamen Olympic Museum since in Fujian province early August.
Zhang Zhihao contributed to this story.
- Nepal's newly elected PM takes oath
- Texas gun law worries incoming students
- China vows to deepen economic, trade cooperation with ASEAN
- Fire guts Emirates jet after hard landing; 1 firefighter dies
- Egypt's Nobel-laureate scientist dies of illness in US
- THAAD muscle flexing unmasks anxiety over declining hegemony
- Phelps writes new page with four wins in same event
- Ma Long wins Chinese derby to edge defending champion
- Yingjing County's hand-crafted 'black pottery'
- Ten photos from around China: Aug 5 – 11
- Inheritor of Songshan wood carving in C China
- "Born in China": Wild and fun
- Top 10 foreign destinations for Chinese tourists
- Ding Ning wins table tennis gold in Rio
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
Phelps puts spotlight on cupping
US launches airstrikes against IS targets in Libya's Sirte
Ministry slams US-Korean THAAD deployment
Two police officers shot at protest in Dallas
Abe's blame game reveals his policies failing to get results
Ending wildlife trafficking must be policy priority in Asia
Effects of supply-side reform take time to be seen
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to meet Kerry
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |