Master of arts and guardian of crafts

A cave house is filled with a woman's Chinese papercuts. [Photo provided to China Daily]

But of course Huang and Han Sheng's horizons stretch well beyond these buttons. Each issue of the magazine focuses on a single subject, the topics as diverse as the cover art they inspire: 18th-century kite patterns, Shanxi noodle-making, Fujian mud houses. Issues are often closer to a book in length, packed with photos and hand-drawn diagrams. The research can take months, even years.

In fact, in going about his work, Huang seems to be obsessed with the same exacting attention to fine detail that has possessed the practitioners of the crafts he chronicles. For example, for readers to enjoy the glories of the finest traditional opera costume, in taking a couple of photographs, one of the front and one of the rear, will simply not do. Instead, readers are regaled with illustrations of the minutest details, including the various patterns found in its embroidery, every button, the collar band, and cuffs. Readers will also be given a step-by-step guide to how the garment is made and be schooled in any nomenclature relating to patterns.

Just as Han Sheng pays tribute to artisanship, the magazine itself has received widespread accolades for its own craftsmanship, perhaps none as lofty as when, in 2006, Time magazine in the United States, in a list titled Best of Asia, named it the "best esoteric publication".

The judging panel called Han Sheng the "Chinese art and culture bible", and said "every issue is almost as reverently handled as the artwork and craftwork it seeks to preserve".