Paper Effigy Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The Pizhou paper-molded lion head is a paper-molding craft that arose along with wedding, funeral, and festival customs in northern Jiangsu (Subei). Its forms are mostly based on the lion-head caizhai seen at local temple fairs and private performances, being shaped from paper pulp with a bamboo-spline armature and finished by molding and painting. Pizhou was formerly a key hub of north-south canal transport and a commercial center in the lower reaches of the Yi and Shu rivers; the paper effigy trade gradually took shape with the concentration of population and the demands of the New Year and festival seasons, and in modern times the transmission of the Shi family has been the most continuous.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
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. The Pizhou paper-molded lion head is a folk caizhai art form practiced in the Pizhou area of Jiangsu Province. According to records, the making of paper-molded lion heads in Pizhou already has a history of more than five hundred years. It integrates sculpture and painting, and is connected by a common root to local Pizhou arts such as folk dance, painting, and clay sculpture. Pizhou paper-molded lion heads are used mainly for folk lion-dance performances; they come in various forms and in large, medium, and small sizes, suiting the requirements of different dance routines and movements. They are made with a bamboo-spline armature, paper applied to build up the form, colored-pen outlining, and qingma (Indian mallow) hemp ornamentation, bearing a strong northern Jiangsu local character. The structure is slightly trapezoidal in form, with exaggerated modeling that is vivid and expressive. The five facial features are outlined in color — bright, with strong contrasts. The coloring draws on traditional woodblock New Year prints and imitates traditional opera facial makeup, reflecting the bold, unrestrained, and humorous character of northern caizhai art, in sharp contrast to the refined delicacy of southern lion-head masks.
Shi Rongsheng and the Shi family
Shi Rongsheng comes from the family line and, having studied local modellers and painters, has absorbed many hands into the inherited technique.
The northern Jiangsu manner
His boldly coloured, exaggerated heads are distinctly northern Jiangsu in style; hundreds of his pieces are held by museums and private collectors.
Temple-fair lions as models
Lion heads are modelled on local opera faces and temple-fair lions, then dressed with cloth, hemp and silk flowers until they seem alive.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
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.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship · Paper Effigy Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Shi Rongsheng (related inheritor, official archive record): male, Han ethnicity, born in January 1957, native of Pizhou City, Jiangsu Province. He inherited and fully mastered the family technique of making paper-molded lion heads, and also visited folk modeling and painting craftsmen throughout Pizhou, drawing on the strengths of many schools while continually summing up and studying his experience. By renewing materials, creating new varieties, and expanding the range of uses, he made the craft better meet public demand. His works have exaggerated forms, expressive images, bright colors, and strong contrasts, full of the cultural character of the northern Jiangsu region. The several hundred works he has molded are held by museums, folklore halls, and other institutions as well as by private collectors. Representative inheritor of caizhai (Pizhou paper-molded lion heads), a third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item. He comes from a Pizhou paper-molded lion head family and is the fifth-generation inheritor of the Shi family line. In order to transmit and protect the Pizhou paper-molded lion head technique, he abandoned the old custom of passing the craft only to men and takes apprentices broadly, regardless of gender.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Nie Fangjun 03-1284
- Xu Yanfeng 03-1285
- Zhou Tingyi 03-1286
- Shi Rongsheng 03-1287
- Li Wei 03-1288
- Huang Suming 05-2678
- Nie Dayong
- Li Wanzhen
- Zhou Heping
- Liu Yinling
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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