You can get this done at any respectable
tourist spot in
China,
artists sit by places such as the
Great Wall and the
Terracotta Soldiers and wait for the crowds of
pale devil tourists. The
quality is great, and it makes a much better
souvenir than say, a ripoff
plastic figurine "
antique". In addition to an uncooked grain of
rice, you can also choose from any of the
alternative surfaces:
Good places package their newly carved
wares in a nice embroidered box along with a
magnifying glass for your viewing pleasure. Given the complexity of most
Chinese characters, I am very surprised that each
brushstroke of the tiny
words was still very well-defined. The
brush used in these
pieces is very thin, not a
brush at all, rather a
needlepoint dipped in watered-down
ink.
Makes for better "Been there, done that" China bragging rights than a fake piece of jade souvenir, IMHO. Ahh, the wonders of tourism. The one I got in Nanjing only cost me US$5.
By the way, these two characters make my Chinese name:
http://zhongwen.com/d/167/d245.gif - li, my surname
http://zhongwen.com/d/176/d183.htm - jian, my given name
Li Jian is my Chinese name. Jian means healthy, strong. Many Chinese people have three characters instead of two for their names. My family decided to keep mine simple.