AI summary
Summary of article:
Fan Lijie of Dongying, Shandong province created a giant statue of the Monkey King from thousands of dead branches. It took more than two months to complete and became an Internet sensation due to its shocking size, attracting large numbers of people to take photographs.
A giant statue of the Monkey King made of more than 10,000 dead branches in Dongying, Shandong province has recently become popular on the Internet, attracting many people to take photos and view it. Creator Fan Lijie spent more than two months cutting and fixing the original inconspicuous dead branches one by one to create Sun Wukong’s shape with an unrestrained expression. After the work was exposed, netizens said, “It’s so shocking” and “This is a real folk artist.”
According to reports from Red Star News and other media, it was created by Fan Liji, the “great sage of dead branches”, who was born in the 1980s. He used local materials and collected a large number of discarded dead branches to gently outline Sun Wukong’s figure and expression.
Fan Liji said, “I want to use a medium that is low-cost and can realize my own ideas, create things I dream of, and everyone can come and watch and play.” He believes that dead branches are common material in nature. If they are left to disintegrate and rot, it would be better to try to reuse them and give them a new life.
During the production process of more than two months, Fan Liji cut the collected branches one by one. He did not use any modern machinery for fine polishing. Instead, he used his hands and simple pruning tools, and then used the straight nail technique to fix and connect thousands of branches layer by layer, gradually outlining the skeleton and details of the Monkey King.
The completed “Monkey King with Dead Branches” is several meters high. Her articulation, from the shape of her body to the armor on her body, as well as the giant purple gold crown with phoenix wings on her head, are all details layered with branches. It not only retains the original rough texture of dead branches, but also shows the majestic, calm and rebellious movement of the Monkey King.
Some netizens took a photo of the sculpture and uploaded it to social platforms. The related photos spread quickly and received millions of likes. As the work attracted attention, more and more people began to come to the scene to take photographs, causing the statue originally located on the streets of Dongying to become a popular tourist attraction. Many netizens expressed surprise that this is the real “turning decay into magic”, which uses the harshest materials to express the “dream of the great sage” in everyone’s heart.
Fan Lizzie also shared her thoughts on the meaning of creation on her social account. He said he was not trying to prove how powerful he was, but rather wanted to show the feeling of “standing up again after falling” through each branch. When the work finally takes shape, it’s like seeing another version of yourself, “We’re not perfect, but we’re all working hard to take shape.”
Summary FAQ
-
This work is mainly made of collected and discarded dead branches. Fan Liji used local materials, cut them one by one, and then fixed and connected them layer by layer with direct nailing technology. Finally, he pieced together the details of Sun Wukong’s skeleton, expression, and armor.
-
It took him more than 2 months to complete it. He rarely used modern machinery during this process. Instead, he cut the branches with his hands and simple tools, and then assembled them layer by hand by hand to preserve the rough texture of the dead branches.
-
After the sculpture was exposed, it became increasingly popular due to its shocking speed and exquisite detail, attracting millions of likes and a large number of check-ins. Fan Liji hopes to convey the feeling of standing up after falling through low-cost construction and reuse of dead branches.
