Eight Dragons

With an auspicious theme of dragons, this piece adopted the rule of strict symmetry in formal aesthetics, illustrating eight dragons radiating from the center towards the pearls. The image is composed of dragons, pearls and clouds, among which the clouds were outlined with well-arranged flowing curvy lines as thin as hair, contributing to the light, graceful and floating look of clouds, while the pearls and dragons were crafted based on the combination of “yin and yang”, namely, outline and openwork cutting techniques with blanks left for bodies and thin lines for dragon beards and pearl lusters, expressing tension of the subjects while echoing the lines on the clouds. Full of contrasts between black and white as well as between thick and thin lines, this piece creates an appealing scene of vigorous dragons flying above clouds.