Revival of Chinese Clay Figurine Art

The traditional handicraft of clay figurines by Cai Daquan, the fourth generation of a Sichuan-based folk artist family, which gained a great reputation in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is staging a comeback.

The family, with the surname Cai, became one of the country's two major schools of clay figurine art in the Dynasty. The Cai family in Sichuan Province represents art skill in south China, and the Tianjin-based Zhang family represents a technique in north China.

The Cai-school art on clay figurine features delicate mud material compounded with a variety of traditional Chinese herb medicine. After unique technical treatment, a result of vivid skin color and lifelike hair could be realized on every clay figurine artwork.

Moreover, the figurines could keep their original color and shape without any cracking or transfiguration for hundreds of years.

The first and second generation -- great grandfather and grandfather of Cai Daquan, focused their art on creating religious figures and the deceased.

Cai Jiwu, father of Cai Daquan, began to add more contents to the art such as celebrities, ancient beauties and dramatis personae.

According to Cai Daquan, the most miraculous skill for the art is kneading a figurine in your sleeve. "While meeting a guest at home, my father often offered him a cup of tea. While chatting, a portrait figurine of the guest was being made secretly by my father inside his sleeves."

"Clothes at the time usually had big sleeves, so my father's petty action was hardly discovered. After having the tea, the guest was amazed by his clay portrait figurine which had magically turned up on my father's palm," he said.

The art works of Cai-school clay figurine are under state-level protection and on display in a number of art and history museums across the country.

After the founding of New China, clay figurine was listed as an important historical relics and attracted worldwide attention.

Late Chairman Liu Shaoqi encouraged Cai's family to pass the art from generation to generation to realize a prosperous development.

To better improve the art, Cai Jiwu decided to ask his son to learn further knowledge of the human body's skeleton and muscle construction. In accordance with the father's opinion, Cai Daquan started to receive higher education at Sichuan Medical College in 1959.

While studying and working, Cai Jiwu initiated strict tutoring on his son. Gradually, Cai Daquan mastered the spirit and soul of the art and became famous in the field.

Many Chinese and foreign people flock to Cai Daquan for clay portrait figurines and he has hosted a series of art exhibitions at home and abroad.

As a distinguished artist of clay figurine, Cai began to worry about inheritance of the art 20 years ago. "I am over 60 years old, but it seems that my son has never had any interest in handicraft," he said.

Now the dilemma has been solved because Cai broke the traditional rules that the handicraft art skill must be passed down among family members.

"Time has changed. Tradition should also follow suit to blaze new trails," he said, adding that the outdated traditional taboo can never be the reason to lose precious art relics.

At the end of last year, Cai made an advertisement to select apprentices. From 300 candidates, he picked out 10 outstanding youngsters to form an art workshop of Cai-school clay figurines.

Everyday, the apprentices are keen on learning clay figurine techniques from Cai at the workshop.

Recently, Cai and his apprentices received the first order to provide 1,000 panda-shaped clay figurines per month for a local hotel. "This marks a success of Cai-school clay figurines in the market," he said.

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