Clay Sculpture
01 · Historical Records
Longde folk sculpture originated in the Tang and Song periods and matured in the Ming and Qing dynasties; as early as the Shaoxing reign of the Song dynasty, Longde sculpture was already renowned in all quarters. The Yang Qihhe family of Yangpo Village, Wenbao Township, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, famous throughout the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region and known as a 'sculpture family', is representative of Longde sculpture. Yang family clay sculpture originated in the twelfth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty (1832); the founder sought instruction from many masters, absorbed and drew on the strengths of various folk arts, and integrated them, combining clay sculpture, painting, woodcut, seal carving, papercutting, and pyrography into a single whole and initially forming the basic artistic style of Yang clay sculpture.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Longde County lies in the south of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, at the western foot of Mount Liupan. The production process of Yang family clay sculpture is fairly complex, with more than twenty process steps, including material mixing, clay curing, image forming, and color application; round carving, relief, openwork, and other methods are used in the course of the work. The finished pieces win by their refinement, with vivid colors and exaggerated forms, and they stand as the foremost representative of folk art in the Longde region. With the development of society, Yang family clay sculpture has begun to decline.
Archival Records of Process Steps
The production process of Yang family clay sculpture is fairly complex, with more than twenty process steps, including material mixing, clay curing, image forming, and color application; round carving, relief, openwork, and other methods are used in the course of the work.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yang family clay sculpture takes Yangpo Village, Wenbao Township, Longde County, Ningxia, as its ancestral home; the family is known as a 'sculpture family'. It began in the twelfth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty (1832); the founder sought instruction from many masters and integrated clay sculpture, painting, woodcut, seal carving, papercutting, and pyrography. The fourth generation, Yang Qihhe, and the fifth generation, Yang Jianian, inherited the learning. The works employ round carving, relief, and openwork; they circulate through the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region and are used mostly in temples and shrines and in folk activities.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Yang family clay sculpture is rich in content; through artistic idol forms it expresses religious ideals and feelings about life, giving it high research value for folklore studies and historical culture. Constrained by financial, material, and human resources, this fine folk art, which records the regional history and customs of Ningxia, cannot be effectively protected and transmitted; it faces the danger of extinction and urgently awaits rescue. Yang Qihhe (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): He practiced art for more than seventy years, traveling throughout the northwest and creating a large number of painted clay works rich in local character. Male, Han ethnicity, born in June 1930 and deceased in December 2016, from Longde County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Representative inheritor of Clay Figurine (Yang Family Clay Sculpture), a third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item. Fourth-generation inheritor of Yang painted clay sculpture and recipient of the Xingchuan Award for Inheritors of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage, presented by the Chinese National Academy of Arts (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center). He participated in many exhibitions at home and abroad, winning awards, and many of his works have been collected by friends at home and abroad. Yang Jianian (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1964, from Longde County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In recent years he has undertaken intangible cultural heritage teaching at Ningxia Normal University, Ningxia Vocational and Technical College, and other institutions. Representative inheritor of Clay Figurine (Yang Family Clay Sculpture), a fifth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item. Representative works include 'Li Bai Travels South of the River', 'Wu Song Beats the Tiger', 'Horse Shehuo', 'Yu Gong Moves the Mountains', 'Children Playing with the Zodiac', 'Chang'e Flies to the Moon', and 'Zhang Fei'; he has received many honors.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Yu Xianglian 01-0108
- Wang Nanxian 01-0109
- Hu Shen 01-0110
- Wang Xuefeng 01-0111
- Wu Yucheng 03-1251
- Wu Guangrang 03-1252
- Xu Xingguo 03-1253
- Yang Qihe 03-1254
- Nie Xiwei 04-1791
- Shuangyan 05-2622
- Zhu Wenqian 05-2623
- Xu Shuzhang 05-2624
- Wu Weiqing 05-2625
- Wang Dengshu 05-2626
- Hu Xinming 05-2627
- Yang Jianian 05-2628
- Liu Chengyin
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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