Smallest leaf carved of QR code

2021-04-14

Mr. Kong Qingsi from Zoucheng City, Shandong Province of China, incised a square QR code with both length and width of 2.75 centimeters on a tree leaf. Forbes World Records certifies that the art work has set a world record of "The Smallest leaf carved of QR code".

 

Kong Qingsi has been carving characters on stones for 20 years and began to develop a strong interest in carving characters in his twenties. Any object that can be carved has become his art for more than 20 years. Glass, wine bottles, even egg shells can become a work of art through his craftsmanship.

It would be no exaggeration to say that Kong Qingsi at the age of 49 is a folklorist. It is not difficult to see from the wide range of works displayed in his home that he has reached a degree of perfection in this craft and is also well-known in the local community.

Nowadays, Kong Qingsi has been the inheritor of Zoucheng City-level intangible cultural heritage stone carving skills and has also participated in many programs such as "Travel Across China", "Village" and "Art View the World". He hopes to carry forward and pass on the traditional stone carving skills by carving artworks of Chinese culture on the stones.

 

In 2015, Kong Qingsi set a world record by carving a zodiac image on a light bulb. This is a new challenge that the light bulb is formed by dots. Each point need to tap on the bulb 3 times to complete and each work need to tap more than 6000 times to complete, Each knock is a test of Kong Qingsi's skills.

With the improvement of skills, Kong Qingsi is no longer satisfied with the stone carving. In 2017, he was working in the scenic area, looking at the leaves with a sudden thought that if the stone could be engraved, the leaves could also be engraved. Therefore, he had the innovative challenge of carving a QR code on the leaves. 

 There is also a lot of preparation work to carve on the leaves, selecting leaves that are free of bug eye and have clear lines, and pressing the leaves into books in advance. When carving two-dimensional code, the warp and weft must be tightly stitched because the different leaf thickness and grain are not the same. As time goes by, the leaves become more brittle, which makes it more difficult to carve.

 

Carving two-dimensional codes on leaves not only tests his basic skills but also focuses on the accuracy of the overall engraving. The leaf fibers can't be broken, otherwise the QR code can't be swept out. Under Kong Qingsi's careful carving, the final work of creating " The Smallest leaf carved of QR code " was successfully scanned. This year, he started to create leaf paintings on the theme of fighting COVID-19 through which he refueled for heroes in harm’s way and now has completed more than 10 paintings.