The maker of miniature worlds

The resulting pieces, from scholarly brush pots and elegant incense burners, to decorative plaques embellished with couplets, demonstrate a masterful balance between form and function.

Some pieces captivate with their minimalist purity, while others dazzle with their intricate, patternrich compositions.

Guo has been exposed to the art since childhood, as he was born to a family of displaced craftsmen from Guangdong province who settled in Jiangxi's bamboo-rich hills.

His father was skilled in multiple fields — as herbalist, carpenter, and master of root carving — and maintained the Hakka tradition of training children through rigorous apprenticeship.

"My first lessons came through pain," Guo recalls with a wry smile.

When he was 6, he was tasked with fetching his father's tools.