Changhong
01 · Lineage & Regional School
She is the fifth-generation inheritor of the Putao Chang (Grape Chang) glass craft. At sixteen she began studying under Chang Yuling, a bearer of the Putao Chang tradition, and at eighteen she took a post at the Beijing Silk Flower Factory; since 2004 she has worked to revive the Putao Chang craft. Within the regional tradition and school record of Liaoqi in Dongcheng, Beijing: Putao Chang glassware originated and circulates in the Huashi area outside Chongwenmen, Beijing. Chang Zai was a descendant of Mongols, and his workshop was long housed in his own courtyard in the Huashi district; the works flowed through the temple fairs and shops around Huashi and Longfu Temple to all parts of the capital. Because the old family rule restricted the technique to women surnamed Chang, outsiders could learn little of its details, which kept Putao Chang glassware in a uniquely single-family, single-surname form for a long time. Its fame spread far and wide after it won an award at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, United States. The works of “Putao Chang” won the appreciation of Empress Dowager Cixi, who bestowed a plaque inscribed “Tianyi Chang”; they later won an award at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, United States.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Female, of the Mongolian ethnic group, born in September 1962 in Beijing. Her works are fresh and natural, and their forms, colours and textures are visually convincing; her skills in colouring and in applying the frost-like finish are especially outstanding. Representative works include Fragrance Everlasting and Dragon and Phoenix Bring Auspiciousness. She has long taken part in cultural and artistic exchange activities at home and abroad, actively presenting and promoting the Putao Chang glass craft. Within the documented technical tradition of Liaoqi in Dongcheng, Beijing: “Putao Chang” glassware refers to glass artworks in the shape of grapes made by the Chang family using techniques handed down from its ancestors; it is one of the traditional fine-art forms unique to Beijing. In the twentieth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty (1894), Chang Zai, a descendant of Mongols living in the Huashi area outside Chongwenmen in Beijing, created a unique technique for making glass grapes on the basis of improving his mother's skill at making clay grapes. The glass grapes he produced became famous throughout the capital for their vivid likeness, and the family came to be known as “Putao Chang” (Chang the Grape Makers). For family reasons, the Chang family laid down the rule: “transmit it to women, not to men; within the family, not to outsiders.” Putao Chang glassware uses low-temperature glass as its raw material. In production it passes through eleven process steps: batching the glass, blowing, making the stems, making the leaves and tendrils, coloring, waxing, applying “frost”, and final assembly. Among these, the coloring and frosting of the grapes are secret techniques passed down within the family. The glass grapes made by the Chang family are vivid in both shape and color, representing the highest level of folk glass-grape making. As the only glass-grape making technique in Beijing, and indeed in all of China, it has circulated since the Qing dynasty, has had wide influence nationwide, and is a typical representative of traditional folk craft. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Record of the Process Steps": Putao Chang glassware uses low-temperature glass as its raw material. In production it passes through eleven process steps: batching the glass, blowing, making the stems, making the leaves and tendrils, coloring, waxing, applying “frost”, and final assembly.
Archival Record of the Process Steps
Putao Chang glassware uses low-temperature glass as its raw material. In production it passes through eleven process steps: batching the glass, blowing, making the stems, making the leaves and tendrils, coloring, waxing, applying “frost”, and final assembly.
Core Technique I
“Putao Chang” glassware refers to glass artworks in the shape of grapes made by the Chang family using techniques handed down from its ancestors;
Core Technique II
it is one of the traditional fine-art forms unique to Beijing.
Core Technique III
In the twentieth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty (1894), Chang Zai, a descendant of Mongols living in the Huashi area outside Chongwenmen in Beijing, created a unique technique for making glass grapes on the basis of improving his mother's skill at making clay grapes.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
She is a representative bearer of glasswork (Putao Chang glasswork), a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. She has taken apprentices since 2004, transmitting her skills to Chang Kaixin, the sixth-generation bearer.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
The works of “Putao Chang” won the appreciation of Empress Dowager Cixi, who bestowed a plaque inscribed “Tianyi Chang”; they later won an award at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, United States.
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.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xing Lanxiang | Beijingjingchengbaigongfangyishupinyouxiangongsi | 03-1294 | Other regional school |
| Changhong | Dongcheng, Beijing | 05-2698 | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。