Nie Fangjun

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Nie Fangjun, Male, Unspecified, from Fenghuang, Hunan, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship (Ⅶ-66). The tradition is documented in Fenghuang, Hunan. Within the regional tradition and school record of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship in Fenghuang, Hunan: In some places, straw stalks are used in place of bamboo splints for the armature, with plain cloth, silk, or bark paper as the surface; the colorful cloth platform craft (caibu ningtai) of Handan, Hebei, is mounted directly with various colored fabrics. Color decoration also takes on different characteristics from region to region. Fenghuang has seasonal paper effigy products throughout the year, and the Spring Festival is the peak season for paper effigies. The endlessly varied paper effigy products — lion heads, dragon heads, clam shells, decorated boats, shrimp, crabs, fish, softshell turtles, clouds, potted flowers, and lanterns — are sold not only locally but also in neighboring counties and other regions, exerting considerable influence along the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou border. In the late Qing dynasty and early Republican era, Fenghuang paper effigies became a thriving local craft trade; more than ten paper-effigy shops opened in the county town alone.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Born into a family long engaged in paper-effigy craft, he learned the Nie family's paper effigy making from his father as a child. After decades of study his lions, dragon heads, arhats, flower baskets and flower boats are rendered with striking fidelity and each has its own spirit, and he has long enjoyed a high reputation. While preserving the traditional manner, he has drawn on the strengths of Miao dyeing, carving, paper-cutting and silversmithing to make improvements. In the lion heads and dragon heads he has improved the framework, using bent bamboo strips to increase the resilience and spring of the structure, so that the modelling combines traditional presence with a new look of the times. He founded the Fenghuang Nie Family Paper Effigy Workshop, where he teaches apprentices, and has trained eight apprentices from within and beyond the province. Within the documented technical tradition of Paper Effigy Craftsmanship in Fenghuang, Hunan: Caizhai (colored paper-and-bamboo mounting) is a traditional folk craft widely practiced throughout northern and southern China. It is inseparable from folk activities such as sacrificial rites, festivals, and entertainments, and through continuous development it has exerted enormous influence among the people. The caizhai technique is based primarily on a bamboo-spline armature covered with paper, supplemented by painted decoration on the surface. Because customs and local products differ from place to place, the specific materials used also vary. In general, northern caizhai is bold and unrestrained with strong contrasts, while southern caizhai is refined and delicate, lively and lovable. Caizhai products take a rich variety of forms, including festival lanterns, lion heads, opera stages, and models of historic architecture. When crafts such as lion heads are made, they are usually modeled on the opera facial makeup of their place of origin; once completed, they are fitted with cloth, hemp, silk flowers, and other ornaments, often achieving a remarkably lifelike and vividly expressive effect. Paper effigies are a folk art closely tied to the social life of the people, very widespread in China, and used mainly for prayers and sacrifices, festivals, and various ceremonial celebrations. Fenghuang paper effigies are practiced mainly in the Fenghuang area of Hunan Province and have a very long history of development. Fenghuang paper effigies use bamboo splints to build the armature, which is covered with bark paper and decorated with painted designs, displaying a high artistic standard. The "Nie family" paper effigies draw on the strengths of many schools and stand out from the rest; the human figures, animals, flowers and plants, insects, and fish they fashion are all vivid and lifelike. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "A dozen paper shops in the county town": By the late Qing and early Republic a dozen paper shops served the county town, supplying lion heads, dragon heads, shells and boats for weddings, funerals and lantern festivals. "Seasonal paper offerings": Paper work follows the calendar, peaking at New Year when lion heads, boats, shells, flowers and lanterns fill the shops and travel beyond the county. "Nie Fangjun's structural improvements": Nie Fangjun, born into the craft, borrowed Miao dyeing, carving, paper-cutting and silversmithing to rebuild lion and dragon frames with springy bamboo. "A four-province market": Sold across the Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou border, Phoenix paper work is tied by river port to the Tujia region’s festivals, markets and boat races.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Male, of Han ethnicity, born in June 1933, died in February 2015, a native of Fenghuang County, Hunan Province. National representative bearer of paper effigy craftsmanship (Fenghuang paper effigy), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. His works have been exhibited and have won awards many times, are held by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the National Art Museum of China and other institutions, and have been included in such books as the Complete Works of Hunan Folk Art: Gleanings of Folk Art and Juehuo'er: Fenghuang Paper Effigy in the Chinese Folk Art series.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Nie Fangjun · National Representative Bearer Archive