Paper Effigy Craftsmanship

01 · Historical Records

The Foshan lion head is a folk craft art form practiced in the Foshan area of Guangdong Province. Its mounting (zhazuo) technique originated in the Ming dynasty, formally rose to prominence in the locality during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, and has a history of more than two hundred years to the present day.

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 Foshan lion head draws on the formal characteristics of Guangdong stone-carved lions, pursuing likeness in spirit; both its bodily form and its decorative design employ an exaggerated, romantic mode of expression. The civil lion (wenshi) uses the faces of Liu Bei and Guan Yu as its facial pattern, expressing the lion's gentle, tame, and kindly nature; the martial lion (wushi) uses Zhang Fei's face as its pattern, reflecting the lion's fierce and combative character; the young lion (shaoshi) is a lion-head mask made for children to play with. Distinguished by the facial patterns and coloring of the lion heads, they can be further divided into two major varieties: the Liu, Guan, and Zhang lions and the colorful lion (caishi). Foshan lion heads are both exaggerated and romantic, both majestic and humorous, vivid and true to life, lively and lovable. The patterns and motifs of the lion heads have bold, unrestrained lines — vigorous, flexible, and varied, compact and lively. The colors are clearly layered, with a bright basic tone and a strong sense of rhythm, fully bringing out the different individual styles and characteristics of the various lions. Foshan lion heads emphasize decorative effect: differently colored facial patterns are fitted with ornaments of different colors, setting each other off in radiance; at a glance they appear alive and full of spirit. The anthropomorphic forms, characteristically Chinese coloring, colorful ornamentation, and exquisite, consummate mounting craft give Foshan lion heads a marked local character, making them a typical representative of southern lion-head art.

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. The mounting process consists roughly of the steps of building the outline with bamboo splints (forming the armature), applying paper (giving the shape), and surface assembly (adding ornaments). The finished lion heads can be divided by form into three major categories: the civil lion, the martial lion, and the young lion.

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

The Foshan lion head is an important implement in local folk festive activities and in mass martial arts and sports activities. Lion dancing has now been listed as a traditional folk entertainment item of Foshan, and competitive martial contests named after the lion head have spread throughout South China, Hong Kong and Macao, Southeast Asia, and even Chinese communities in Europe and America, playing a positive role in the inheritance and promotion of traditional culture and in communication between Chinese and foreign cultures. Li Wei (related inheritor, official archive record): he not only inherited the traditional caizhai style and characteristics of the Foshan lion head but also developed them in form, structure, pattern, coloring, and assembly, newly creating "eagle spreading its wings" lion horns, "twin dragons playing with a pearl" lion brows, and "twin phoenixes facing the sun" and "two dragons contending for a pearl" lion cheeks, making the lion-head forms more vivid and uniquely charming. He also created new varieties such as toy lions and fine-quality lions. The lion heads he mounts are of exquisite workmanship, unique style, light, and durable. He systematically organized the caizhai art of the Li family lion and has trained five apprentices in succession, actively transmitting the Foshan lion-head caizhai art. Male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1945, died in December 2019, native of Foshan City, Guangdong Province. Representative inheritor of caizhai (Foshan lion heads), a third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage item.

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

1. Paper Effigy Craftsmanship (Foshan, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Li Wei · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗