Wang Xijin

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wang Xijin, Male, Han, from Cao, Shandong, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Dough Figurines (Ⅶ-52). The tradition is documented in Cao, Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Dough Figurines in Cao, Shandong: Caoxian jiangmiren are transmitted in Taoyuan Town, Ancailou Town, and surrounding villages of Caoxian, Shandong, with itinerant artists making and selling on the spot while traveling from village to village as the main mode of transmission. They belong to the “qianjushi” (stick-held) edible-plaything line of dough modeling. Used both for “huagong” sacrificial offerings and as children’s playthings, they share the same origin as the Shandong Li School of dough modeling but have diverged into a distinct style of their own in southwestern Shandong. Caoxian jiangmiren is a traditional dough-modeling art popular in the Caoxian area of Shandong Province, evolved from offerings used in ancient sacrifices to deities.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of the Han ethnic group, born in February 1935 in Cao County, Shandong Province. From the age of 15 he studied the craft of making jiangmi figurines, figures modelled from glutinous rice dough, under his master Wang Qinsheng. Over several decades in the craft he has developed original insights into every type of jiangmi figurine. His jiangmi figurines take auspicious birds and beasts, fresh flowers and sacred herbs, opera stories, myths and legends, historical figures, everyday life and folk customs as their subjects; the workmanship is meticulous, the forms are full, the bearing is lifelike and the colours are bright, producing a strong visual impact. Past the age of eighty he still persists in researching and making figurines and in teaching apprentices the craft. Within the documented technical tradition of Dough Figurines in Cao, Shandong: Dough figurines, also called “miansu” (dough modeling) or “jiangmiren” (glutinous rice figures), are a traditional plastic art that uses edible wheat flour and glutinous rice flour as its main materials. Popular throughout China, they are deeply loved by the people. Dough figurines mostly take animals and figures from mythology and legend, historical stories, and local opera as their subjects, and the two basic forms are the “qianjushi” (stick-held) type and the “anzhishi” (table-display) type. The former are mostly edible playthings for entertaining children, with simple but lively forms; the latter are refined display artworks, meticulously made and exquisitely modeled, and additives must be mixed into the raw materials to guard against cracking, insects, and mildew. Dough figurine making generally begins by using pinching, rolling, kneading, and pressing gestures to shape the overall form; a bamboo knife is then used deftly to dot, cut, carve, and score such local details as the hands and feet, the head and face, and the expression. Finally, hair ornaments, garments, and related attachments are added, and the work is complete. Dough figurine art relies mainly on the improvisation of itinerant artists who wander the streets. Having mastered skilled modeling techniques and keeping the process conventions of subject, form, and coloring firmly in mind, they can turn a ball of dough into a vivid, radiant artistic image in a moment. According to elderly local artists who make jiangmiren, as early as the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, places such as Taoyuan Town and Ancailou Town in Caoxian already had the custom of using “huagong” (floral offerings) to sacrifice to heaven and earth and the God of Fire; these offerings included figures, auspicious animals, and flowers and birds modeled from glutinous rice flour. This folk custom of expressing wishes for blessing through dough-modeled offerings has continued to the present day, but its range of subjects has greatly expanded to include auspicious birds and animals, immortal flowers and ganoderma, opera stories, myths and legends, historical figures, folk customs, and real life. When not used as offerings, Caoxian jiangmiren are mainly “qianjushi” (stick-held) edible playthings made and sold on the spot by itinerant artists to entertain children. Caoxian jiangmiren come in a rich variety of styles, with simple forms, brilliant colors, and expressive modeling, displaying considerable artistry. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Flower offerings": Local elders trace the craft to Ming Hongwu-era flower offerings to Heaven and the Fire God in Taoyuan and Ancaolou townships. "Stick-held edible toys": Outside ritual use the figures are street-side stick-held toys, richly varied in form and colour. "Wang Qinsheng's line": The inheritor Wang Xijin, born in 1935, learned from Wang Qinsheng at fifteen and still taught in his eighties.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

A national representative bearer of dough figurine making (Cao County jiangmi figurines), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project.

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. Wang Xijin · National Representative Bearer Archive