Artist: Chang Shiqi

Dimension: 20 mm

Materials: Human hair

Creation Date: 1992

Forms: Hair filament

Main Features: Microcarving on human hair represents one of the most demanding forms of the art. Human hair is extremely fine and flexible, making it highly susceptible to damage during carving; even slight misjudgment of pressure can cause failure. The practice requires exceptional coordination of hand, eye, mind, breath, and intent, placing intense demands on the artist’s physical and mental control. Chang Shiqi is regarded as a consummate master of contemporary microcarving. His hair microcarvings are executed entirely with the naked eye, without the aid of magnification. At the height of his artistry, he was able to inscribe three lines of text within the width of a single human hair, an achievement widely considered unparalleled. It is worth noting that the material used is specifically human hair. In English, the term “hair” can refer broadly to various types of body hair, which has led some practitioners to blur this distinction by substituting coarser animal bristle (such as pig bristles, which are three to five times thicker than human hair) while still claiming to practice hair microcarving. Others refer to “body hair microcarving,” but in medical terminology, body hair does not necessarily indicate a finer material than scalp hair.

Description: In 1992, at the invitation of the Guinness World Records Asia Office, Chang Shiqi traveled to Singapore to present a solo exhibition and demonstrate his technique. On June 2, in a live broadcast, he carved 308 Chinese characters onto both sides of a 2 cm strand of human hair using only the naked eye, setting a Guinness World Record for micro-carving on human hair, a record that remains unbroken. The achievement was subsequently verified by the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research and widely reported by Singaporean television on June 3. On June 4, it was also featured on China Central Television’s national news broadcast, bringing international recognition to Chinese micro-carving artistry. (This piece is a reproduction by Chang Shiqi)

Awards: Guinness World Record for micro-writing on human hair. Chang Shiqi’s record in human hair micro-carving has remained unbroken for 31 years as of 2023.

Detail of the Guinness World Record hair microcarving (material: human hair; length: 20 mm; photographed by Chang Liang and Ma Shan)