Tianjin clay figurine Zhang
"Clay figurine Zhang" is a representative of northern folk colored sculptures founded in the late Qing Dynasty. "Clay figurine Zhang, founder named, was born in Tianjin, and his family was poor. He has been kneading clay figurines with his father to support his family since childhood. He is ingenious and imaginative, often observing people from all walks of life in the market, watching various roles in the theater and secretly kneading them in the cuffs. The clay figurines he squeezed out were all realistic, which was passed down as a much-told story for a while. He inherited the traditional clay sculpture art and drew nutrition from sister arts such as painting, opera and folk woodblock New Year pictures. His clay figurines, including characters in folk stories, novels and operas, instant images of working people in real life, positive characters and negative characters, are very interesting. People love his works and affectionately give him a title-"Clay Fighter Zhang".
"Clay figurine" is made of pure clay with low sand content and no impurities. After weathering, beating, filtering, dewatering, adding cotton wool and repeatedly crushing and kneading, it is made into "cooked clay", which is characterized by strong adhesion. Auxiliary materials include wood, bamboo and rattan, lead wire, paper, silk flower, etc. The molded work is placed around the fire or naturally dried.
After the "clay figurine" is completely dried, it needs to be fired in the VIP kiln at a temperature of about 700 degrees Celsius, and then polished and trimmed before it can be colored. The color application of colored plastic sculptures has made great progress than in the past. In the past, the pigment was water pink, which was poor in hiding, easy to burst, fall off and fade, and difficult to preserve for a long time. With the development of science and technology, acrylic color is now used. Although acrylic color is expensive, it has many advantages, such as strong hiding power, no bursting, no falling off and no fading. It is insoluble in water after drying and can be washed with water. It takes about 30 days to complete a work.
Fengxiang clay sculpture
The colored sculptures in Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province began in the pre-Qin and Western Zhou Dynasties and have been circulated among the people for 3000 years. It is the oldest and most ethnic clay sculpture handmade product in China. Its painted patterns are different from the bronzes of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The image modeling featuring flowers, birds, fish, insects and auspicious birds and beasts is the legacy of totem worship, reproductive worship and deity worship in ancient China, which embodies the cultural characteristics of the totem era.
Shaanxi Fengxiang colored plastic sculpture has beautiful shape, vivid image and strong local flavor. Clay sculptures include figures, animals and plants, mostly hollow circular sculptures and embossed pendants. The manufacturing method is simple and easy. Mixing clay and paper pulp into plastic mud, first making a mold, turning the blank to dry, coating it with white base powder, then painting, painting and polishing.
Fengxiang clay sculpture has a unique color, very gorgeous and strong contrast. It uses few colors, mainly red, big green and yellow. With black ink lines and simple brushwork, it gives people a bright and eye-catching feeling.
In recent years, Fengxiang colored sculptures are mainly distributed in Liu Ying Village of Chengguan Town and its surrounding areas. According to legend, during the Ming Dynasty, the Sixth Battalion of Zhu Yuanzhang's army camped here, and this village was named "Sixth Battalion". Jiangxi soldiers of the Sixth Battalion have pottery-making skills. When they have nothing to do, they mix with mud, knead out various forms of masons as toys, and paint them for people to see. Later, the sergeant became a local resident, and some people returned to their old jobs, making clay figurines with local clay and clay, making molds and dolls, and then selling them at major temple meetings. Local villagers buy clay sculptures and put them at home to pray for their children, protect students, ward off evil spirits, suppress evil spirits and collect happiness. Liu Ying Village's bodiless painted clay figurine is therefore famous and passed down from generation to generation, becoming a unique fine work in China folk art and enjoying a high reputation at home and abroad.
Jiangsu(Province)
Responding to the "clay figurine Zhang" in the north is the Huishan clay figurine in Wuxi, Jiangsu.
Here, almost every family is a clay figurine during the slack season. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "every family is good at shaping and painting". Every Spring Festival, at temple fairs and fairs, people hold a plate with clay figurines made by themselves and sell them everywhere, which is also an income for farmers. Wang Chunlin, a colored sculptor in the Qing Dynasty, made five sets of clay fetuses, which were appreciated by Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty. During the period from Tongzhi to Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, a large number of opera clay figurines with drama as the theme appeared, which was also the most prosperous period in Huishan clay figurines' history. During this period, Huishan has more than 40 workshops and shops and more than 30 professional craftsmen. On the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, local officials presented a set of large hand-held opera clay figurines "Pan Taohui" to the Forbidden City, and Huishan clay figurines became a tribute from then on.
The themes of Huishan clay figurines are mostly dramatic figures, such as the spring cow, the tiger, the big lucky man and the birthday boy. Huishan clay figurine is plump and concise, exaggerating the head and focusing on depicting expressions. Craftsmen pay special attention to painting, which is called "three points blank, seven points painting". Commonly used colors are red, green, gold, cyan and other primary colors, with strong contrast and clear priorities.
Among Huishan clay figurines, Huishan Daafu is the most familiar and favorite. Such folk stories are still circulating in Huishan. A long time ago, wild animals ran rampant in Huishan area, endangering children. There is a child named "Sha", who fights against wild animals and exterminates pests for the people. In order to commemorate "sand", people used Huishan clay to mold a brave image of "sand". Later, through the continuous processing and improvement of artists of all ages, this artistic image, which entrusted people with their longing for a better life, was rooted in people's hearts forever.
Gaomi clay sculpture
Shandong Gaomi clay sculpture has a history of more than 400 years. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, farmers here designed and sold a kind of fireworks made of clay, called "potted flowers" (also called clay chopping boards).
Later, the clay adobe filled with gunpowder was molded into a doll shape, and after setting off fireworks, it was placed as a toy or ornament. Since then, the types of clay sculptures have gradually increased, including tigers, lions, monkeys, puppies, kittens, chickens and ducks, as well as classic stories such as The Legend of the White Snake, The Journey to the West, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and painted with various colors to make them lifelike.
Since then, clay sculpture is no longer an accessory of fireworks, but has developed into an independent handicraft art. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, Niejiazhuang clay sculpture used the artistic characteristics of Yangjiabu New Year pictures for reference, reformed its expression techniques and coloring, and gradually increased its acoustic effects and local movements to integrate sound, color and movement. There are clay toys in every market. There is a folk song that says, "If a child cries, find his mother, and her mother will buy a clay doll, which will make the child happy." . It can be seen that mud toys were deeply loved by children at that time.