"I am a lucky dog"

Not long after arriving at the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute, He was assigned to sculpt the red-faced king on the north side of the niche in Cave 194 of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, she only thought that the king was exquisite and powerful.

A few years later, when she went to sculpt the Smiling King on the south side of the cave, she found that there were 13 differences between the two kings who were close at hand and had the same posture! "I was so excited at the time, as if I could touch the heartbeat of ancient craftsmen," He said.

The 12 years of copying, research, and edification in Dunhuang enabled He to understand that the Chinese nation with a splendid civilization of more than 5,000 years has left countless legacies.

"Heritage is full of 'codes', which is creation. What I touch is just a drop of spray in the ocean." He felt that she is a lucky person on the road of art.

In 1974, after He returned to Lanzhou from Dunhuang, she expressed her admiration for the creative wisdom of the unknown ancient sculptors and created the work "Master".

She respectfully engraved "Dedicated to the creators of ancient excellent culture" on the back of the work.

The work won the first prize at the Gansu provincial art exhibition in 1979 and was selected into the national art exhibition celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

File photo of a working scene of He creating the statue "Yellow River — The Mother". [Photo provided by Gansu He E Sculpture College]