It represented the four great inventions of paper, the compass, gunpowder and printing, and it was something of a hot potato because Li took over after another artist's work had been deemed unsatisfactory and he had to work day and night to finish it on time.
一來即將代表國家設置在世界博覽會的中國館前；二來是對他來說，這是個「燙手山芋」，因為之前已由他人做過另一個，成品並不理想，因此在李松林接下它時，時間已相當緊迫。