Yang Zhigang
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Yang Zhigang, Male, Han, from Xicheng, Beijing, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Inside-painted Art (Ⅶ-15). The tradition is documented in Xicheng, Beijing. Within the regional tradition and school record of Inside-painted Art in Xicheng, Beijing: Beijing inner-painted snuff bottles took Xicheng District of Beijing and the area outside Chongwenmen as their centers of the craft; in the late Qing and early Republican period, inner-painting artists concentrated in snuff-bottle workshops and shops in places such as Liulichang and Huashi. The Jing school of inner painting takes the 'four great masters of inner painting' — Ma Shaoxuan, Zhou Leyuan, Ding Erzhong, and Ye Zhongsan — as its founders. Its subject matter mostly draws on historical figures and literary and historical allusions, and it emphasizes the overall harmony of poetry, calligraphy, and painting as well as the relationships between figures. The bodies of Beijing inner-painted snuff bottles are mostly made of paste glass, crystal, and agate; painters reach into the mouth of the bottle with a hooked brush to paint, and the movement of the brush relies entirely on feel.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Yang Zhigang is anchored in the documented technical standards of Inside-painted Art in Xicheng, Beijing. Within the documented technical tradition of Inside-painted Art in Xicheng, Beijing: The inner-painted snuff bottle is a distinctive national handicraft that appeared after snuff was introduced to China. Its production techniques are mainly transmitted in Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, and Shantou, giving rise to schools such as the 'Jing', 'Ji', 'Lu', and 'Yue' schools. After snuff bottles flowed into Beijing, they were used by imperial relatives and nobles, princes and high officials, and Banner men of standing. In addition to the imperial workshops (zaobanchu) of the court, snuff bottles were also produced in large numbers among the people. Beijing inner-painted snuff bottles now have four generations of inheritors. Beijing inner-painted snuff bottles are a historical witness to the development of China's tobacco industry during the Ming and Qing dynasties. As a special craft category, they encompass not only traditional folk crafts such as carving, inlaying, and filigree, but also gather together various Chinese and Western painting techniques, becoming an epitome of the development of handicraft skills of that era. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The four great inside-painting masters": Between about 1890 and 1945 the craft peaked with the four celebrated masters Zhou Leyuan, Ding Erzhong, Ma Shaoxuan and Ye Zhongsan, the folk artists who created the first Beijing inside-painted snuff bottles. "The Ye family and the Beijing and Hebei branches": In 1954 Ye Zhongsan's descendants Ye Xi and Ye Qi joined the Beijing arts and crafts institute, training Ye Shuying and from 1958 Wang Xisan, later Liu Shouben; after the brothers died around 1970 Wang founded the Hebei school in Hengshui and Liu led the modern Beijing school. "Liu Shouben's figure subjects": Liu Shouben fully inherited the Ye manner and blended the schools with modern technique, working mainly on traditional figures with animals and flowers besides; works include Three Calls at the Thatched Cottage and A Hundred Children, and he has taken over thirty pupils since 1972. "Bottle blanks of glass, crystal and agate": In 1696 the Kangxi emperor set up the first glassworks to make snuff bottles for princes, ministers and foreign envoys, and under Qianlong the materials widened from glass and porcelain to ivory, amber, coral, agate, crystal and bamboo root; carving, inlay and filigree are also involved.
The four great inside-painting masters
Between about 1890 and 1945 the craft peaked with the four celebrated masters Zhou Leyuan, Ding Erzhong, Ma Shaoxuan and Ye Zhongsan, the folk artists who created the first Beijing inside-painted snuff bottles.
The Ye family and the Beijing and Hebei branches
In 1954 Ye Zhongsan's descendants Ye Xi and Ye Qi joined the Beijing arts and crafts institute, training Ye Shuying and from 1958 Wang Xisan, later Liu Shouben; after the brothers died around 1970 Wang founded the Hebei school in Hengshui and Liu led the modern Beijing school.
Liu Shouben's figure subjects
Liu Shouben fully inherited the Ye manner and blended the schools with modern technique, working mainly on traditional figures with animals and flowers besides; works include Three Calls at the Thatched Cottage and A Hundred Children, and he has taken over thirty pupils since 1972.
Bottle blanks of glass, crystal and agate
In 1696 the Kangxi emperor set up the first glassworks to make snuff bottles for princes, ministers and foreign envoys, and under Qianlong the materials widened from glass and porcelain to ivory, amber, coral, agate, crystal and bamboo root; carving, inlay and filigree are also involved.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Yang Zhigang was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Inside-painted Art, with Xicheng, Beijing as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Inside-painted Art in Xicheng, Beijing: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Xicheng, Beijing as its declared area, and Beijing Xicheng District Wen Wu Safeguarding Management Center as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Between about 1890 and 1945, the production of inner-painted snuff bottles reached its peak, and Zhou Leyuan, Ding Erzhong, Ma Shaoxuan, and Ye Zhongsan emerged as the so-called 'four great masters of inner painting'; these folk artists created the earliest Beijing inner-painted snuff bottles. In 1954, Ye Xi (Xiaofeng) and Ye Qi, descendants of Ye Zhongsan, were invited to the Beijing Arts and Crafts Research Institute, where they began training Ye Shuying; in 1958 they took on Wang Xisan (Wang Ruicheng) as a disciple, and later took on more disciples, including Liu Shouben.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wang Xisan | Hengshui, Hebei | 01-0065 | Other regional school |
| Liu Shouben | Xicheng, Beijing | 03-1222 | Same declared area |
| Yang Zhigang | Xicheng, Beijing | — | This page |
| Zhang Guangqing | Ziboshizhangdian, Shandong | — | Other regional school |
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。