Calligrapher, jade sculptor, seal carver, teacher... He Ma has many identities. In He Ma's own opinion, he prefers to be a sculptor and a practitioner. After all, this is his profession and Pursue. As for trying and exploring other professions, whether it comes naturally or intentionally, there are many benefits to Hema's career as a sculptor or as a spiritual practitioner.
As a Shoushan stone carver, He Ma’s influence is not only in the Shoushan stone carving circle in Fujian, but also in many places in the jade carving industry, where he preaches and lectures. When I was invited to Fuzhou for an interview, I learned that He Ma had visited Henan twice in 2002 and 2004 to impart experience, talk about innovation and discuss the art of carving. To this end, I also interviewed the person involved and briefly learned about He Ma’s “preaching and preaching”.
I will not elaborate further on He Ma’s preaching in Henan. He Ma has said on many occasions such words as "thinking is on the way to practice" and "things and I are the same." He Ma's works are highly artistic and are collected by collectors at home and abroad. Faced with external comments about the high artistic quality of his works, He Ma said disapprovingly: I am just a craftsman. But his achievements are enough to be admired by his peers and lead the way, and have influenced a generation, even people in different industries.
Nowadays, all living beings are desperately chasing their "dreams." In Hema's view, we are all doing one thing: looking for our true self and cultivating ourselves. Maybe the way you are looking for and the way to achieve it vary from person to person. For He Ma, whether he is writing calligraphy, doing seal cutting, carving Shoushan stone, or being a teacher, He Ma is just trying to find his true self in a way that is different from ordinary people and ordinary enough to be inconspicuous.
There is a saying that due to culture, Chinese people have always focused on result orientation. In order to achieve the goal, the process can be ignored, and even the means are used. It is said that this is closely related to the fact that China is a culture based on agricultural civilization. Everyone believes that as long as the seeds are planted in spring, there will be a harvest in autumn. This recurring natural law constitutes the Chinese people's philosophy of life. They will not and are unwilling to try things that have no results.
As a jade carving creator, there is a "master evaluation" similar to professional title evaluation in the industry. With He Ma's achievements, he is naturally a "master". Privately, He Ma calls himself a "jade shaper". He Ma gives the impression to the jade carving community that he is a rather academic jade carving creator. In fact, He Ma is a sculptor who dropped out of high school and became a monk on the way. He Ma's artistic attainments and academic achievements are highly regarded by the industry. Chang Jiang Fujian of the Huaxia Jade Culture Research Institute called him a "sage".
My perspective on He Ma is looking up. When I suddenly received He Ma's invitation, I was filled with fear and prepared for a long time before leaving for Fuzhou. Before leaving, I tried my best to complete the interview successfully. I thought of the beginning of the story, but not the end. I will talk about this at the end.
As a witness in the jade carving industry, I try to discover, sort out and summarize He Ma’s so-called "successful experience" according to the result-oriented thinking habits of the Chinese people. I hope to achieve two purposes. First, I hope to add color to my work by summarizing He Ma's "way to success"; second, I hope to pass on the so-called experience to young jade carving creators. As a witness who considers himself competent, I set my sights on discovering the unknown secrets and genes of He Ma - that is, He Ma himself.
According to the theoretical understanding of dialectical materialism, Marx said: "The essence of human beings is not an abstract object inherent in a single person. In terms of its reality, it is the sum of all social relations." According to this theory, My purpose for the interview was not to hear what He Ma said, but to hear how the people around He Ma viewed him.
Trying to discover a person's essence and summarize a person's "true self" sounds simple, but the process of doing it is tangled and painful, at least that was the case during my trip to Fuzhou. The process of a person's pursuit of self and lifelong search for the true self seems contradictory. The true self is something that can be realized at any time but can never be exhausted. It is an incomplete but very real puzzle.
Hema took these things as self-consciousness, and Hema developed the habit of self-consciousness since he was a child. He seemed to be able to cope with various problems with ease.
The life of a jade carving creator is no different from that of ordinary people. For example, He Ma was busy on his way to work when his tire was punctured by a nail. The difference is that as a creator, he will treat it as an episode and write it into the article, and even keep the nails and use the inspiration of the episode to create creations. The so-called enjoyment of life is often those seemingly insignificant trivial matters. An "unexpected" time event will also make He Ma realize the rhythm of his life, reflect on the shortcomings in life, summarize gains and losses, and even reflect it in the creation of works. .
He Ma's works are considered very novel by everyone because the themes of his works all come from "local materials", which are born from the endless supply of materials between heaven and earth. Using local materials means that everything around us is a subject. He studies things to gain knowledge, and measures materials to make tools. Unlike most jade carving creators who copy masters and create empty innovations, He Ma's works have a unique flavor.