Quiet and tiny, the perfect fit between architectural pieces hides a truth that spans past and present. Not a single nail in the body of the boat, yet it has sailed for a century. How can a black awning boat built without a single nail endure for a hundred years?

To find the answer, we came to South Lake in Jiaxin to meet Han Minghua, the intangible cultural heritage inheritor of the South Lake painted boat. to understand or understand the culture of Chinese trade.

So we have to follow the rules. This is a great inspiration for us later Each piece of wood has its own life and grain A true craftsman never opposes nature but listens to and follows it 随应求貌, this is the dialogue of wood.

To create and to respect, this is the breath of craftsmanship. Take only what is needed. use it wisely, and coexist with all things rather than conquer them. This is the philosophy of no-nails. To uphold this philosophy of no-nails centered on coexistence, Han Minghua has spent two decades crafting over 200,000 shape models.

We will do our best to do this work. This is our small goal. Listening to Han Minghua's words, we truly feel that he has lived his life like a nail. Nailing himself firmly to the lakeside, nailing himself to Sun Mao and most profoundly nailing into his life the belief in harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Finally, we understand, in building a boat, the highest craftsmanship is no nails. In preserving an art, the deepest commitment is to nail down.

Today, this philosophy, conveyed through each and every shape model, has become a universal language, softly whispering to more people the eternal truth of harmony and co-existence. Wow, incredible. It doesn't use any nails at all, just the flow of the wood itself.

It's a philosophy of cooperation, actually, as well as a philosophy of an artistic view. His observation goes straight to the core. From the snapping tightly via complementary shapes of Chinese Sun Mao to the bearing weight via structure flexibility of Japanese wooden structures from the building with the wood grain of Nordic architecture, to the weaving with bamboo's natural form of Southeast Asian bamboo crafts.

These techniques spanning regions and civilizations or hold a common no-nails tacit understanding, not to dominate nature, but to blend into its fabric. They also embody a two-nail-down perseverance, allowing human civilization and nature's rhythms to breathe in harmony.

How can a black awning boat built without a single nail endure for a hundred years? I believe we have found the answer, and more importantly heard the echo in the lifeblood of civilization.