Wang Dewen has had three different jobs during his life. First, at a young age, he was a farmer, Then he became a carpenter (木工) And now, at age 63, he has become an Internet star.
The carpenter is known as" Grandpa Amu" on YouTube. Because of his great wood working skills, his video about making a wooden arch bridge became popular on the Internet and got more than 42 million views. Wang uses traditional Chinese mortise and tenons kills to make wooden things, That means he didn't use any nails (钉) or glue (胶水) when building the bridge.
Wang was born in 1957 in a poor family in Shandong. He had a hard life when he was little. His father died when he was 9, and he had to help his family make money at a young age. To do so, farming was not enough. So he began to learn another skill and became a carpenter. In2017, Wang moved from his home in Shandong to Wuzhou, Guangxi, to live with his son and take care of his grandson. Most of the things he made in his videos finally became the toys of his grandson.
Now Wang has about 1. l8 million fans on YouTube. "We made the videos because we wanted to let more people learn about traditional Chinese woodworking skills. It's also a good way to pass on Chinese culture," said Wang's son.
