Xu Tao

From Qingdao, Shandong Province, born in 1961. A disciple of Masters Shen Peng, Liu Bingsen, and Zhou Huijun. Currently a National First-Class Artist, National Special-Class Calligrapher, State Gift Artist, Council Member of the China Calligraphers and Painters Association, Secretary-General of the China Culture Research Institute, Member of the China Cultural Arts Development Federation, Council Member of the China International Calligraphers and Painters Association, Art Consultant of the China International Modern Art Research Center, Council Member of the China Calligraphy and Painting Society, Deputy Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Wenhui Art Research Institute, Member of the Shandong Provincial Calligraphers Association, and Council Member of the Shandong Provincial Carving Artists Association.

In 1989, his calligraphy work was exhibited at the "National Higher Education Faculty and Student Calligraphy Exhibition" held at the China National Art Museum and was collected by the All-China Youth Federation. In 1994, his large-scale porcelain-carved calligraphy work "Jiang Jin Jiu" won the Special Prize at the First Shandong Provincial Carving Art Competition and was featured in special reports on CCTV and Shandong Television. In 1995, his calligraphy work was selected for the National Workers' Fine Arts, Calligraphy, and Photography Exhibition, hosted by the China Calligraphers Association, China Artists Association, and China Photographers Association, and exhibited at the China National Art Museum before touring eight provincial capitals nationwide. In 1996, his calligraphy work won the Special Prize in the Competition Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. In 2021, his large-scale clerical script porcelain-carved work "Jiang Jin Jiu," engraved on 180 wine bottles, was promoted by Shandong's Handmade Intangible Cultural Heritage Heritage Holder to the "Study Power" platform of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee!