The Little Stonemason

Written by Zheng Yan

Illustrated by Li Xingming

Dolphin Books

January 2024

72.00 (CNY)

Zheng Yan

Zheng Yan is a professor at the School of Arts， Peking University， and a scholar of archaeology and art history. He has worked at Shandong Provincial Museum and the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Li Xingming

Li Xingming is a picture book creator， illustrator， and designer. Li graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts’ Picture Book Creation Studio and has won the first prize of the graduation design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts， the first prize of the 7th Feng Zikai Picture Book Award， and the gold medal of the “Tianhe Award” International Innovative Design Competition.

This book tells the story of a little stonemason who followed his master to Datong， Shanxi， to carve the Yungang Grottoes， showing readers how the Yungang Grottoes came into being， the integration of ethnic groups during the Northern Wei Dynasty， and the changes in artistic style of Buddhist statues. The details of the illustrations have been strictly verified by historical researchers and through the illustrator’s fieldwork， and are supported by the latest research results of Yungang studies and archaeological findings.