In order to welcome the arrival of the Year of the Tiger, Nie Peng planned the theme clay sculpture of the Year of the Tiger in advance. The picture shows Nie Peng showing the clay sculpture production process. Photo by Shami Long
"Roar... Roar..." A clay sculpture with a strong color, raised eyebrows, standing tall, a large pink flower hanging from its chest, and a vermilion pen "Wang" on its forehead, which was both majestic and awe-inspiring, and a cute clay sculpture "Calling Tiger", made a loud whistle under the push and pull of Nie Peng's hands. The Year of the Tiger in the lunar calendar is approaching, and this Niejiazhuang clay sculpture, which is known as one of the "Four Treasures of High Density", is one of China's national intangible cultural heritages, ushering in the annual peak sales season.
The picture shows the large model of Gaomi Niejiazhuang clay sculpture "Called Tiger". Photo by Shami Long
Gaomi, Shandong is famous as the "Hometown of Chinese Folk Art", and "Hometown of Three Sages and Four Treasures , Mo Yan" is its cultural brand. As one of the outstanding representatives of The Clay Sculpture of Niejiazhuang, the clay sculpture "Called Tiger" has developed over the centuries and has now become a folk handicraft with excellent shape, color, sound and movement, which is unique in Chinese clay sculpture art. Nie Peng, the "post-90s", is the youngest representative inheritor of this national intangible cultural heritage.
The chest of the "Golden Tiger" is written with "Nijin Doujin, Eight Directions to Come to The Wealth", "God of Wealth Tiger" Head and Body "Mix and Match" with festive faces, "Colorful Tiger" fusion of intangible cultural heritage elements... In Nie Peng's newly opened studio last year, the reporter saw the "calling tiger" with different shapes and colors in the first entrance hall. Some are as high as one meter, some are as small as fists, each of them is exquisitely crafted, exquisite, and "unique".
The Year of the Tiger in the Lunar Calendar is approaching, and the clay sculptures in Gaomi Niejiazhuang, Shandong Province, have ushered in the annual peak sales season. Photo by Shami Long
Nie Peng used to show the traditional clay sculpture "Calling The Tiger", with a red nose, black eyes, long eyelashes, a half-grinning mouth, with a strong color, and the "leakage" is all festive. To complete such a "mud tiger", it is necessary to go through more than 10 large and small processes such as molding, blank repair, whistle, bonding, coloring, etc., and the actions of picking up and putting down should be repeated nearly a hundred times.
"This year, 'Calling the Tiger' ushered in a 'highlight moment.'" While displaying his works, Nie Peng introduced to reporters that in order to welcome the Year of the Tiger, he planned a series of clay sculptures on the theme of the Year of the Tiger in early 2021, and also made innovations in pigments, color collocations, pattern drawings, etc., "giving more color and vitality to this old craft that has been passed down for hundreds of years, while giving it a 'colorful' 'life year'".
The Year of the Tiger in the Lunar Calendar is approaching, and the clay sculptures in Gaomi Niejiazhuang, Shandong Province, have ushered in the annual peak sales season. Nie Peng introduced clay sculpture products to customers. Photo by Shami Long
In 2010, Nie Peng officially devoted himself to the clay sculpture business in the Year of the Tiger, and the Year of the Tiger will be exactly 12 years by 2022. He also regarded this "coincidence" as the "year of his life" in his clay sculpture business. He recalled that the development of clay sculptures was difficult at first, "Calling Tiger" annual sales of only one or two thousand, in recent years can reach 30,000, "this year's annual sales of tigers in about 50,000, pure hand creation production is limited, but sales are considerable." ”
The exponential increase in sales volume confirms Nie Peng's slight understanding of engaging in clay sculpture culture. In the past 12 years, he has participated in countless large and small exhibitions, cultural exchange activities, and "study tours" lectures, and has felt the importance attached by government departments to traditional art and culture, the people's cultural self-confidence and the improvement of people's recognition of cultural products. Not only are hometown people in other places proud to see the clay sculptures in their hometowns, but also the purchase of folk products to give to relatives and friends has become the first choice of more and more people.
On the basis of inheriting the tradition, the clay sculpture "Called Tiger" in Gaomi Niejiazhuang has achieved a variety of innovations. Photo by Shami Long
Nie Peng, the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage Niejiazhuang clay sculpture, was interviewed by reporters. Photo by Shami Long
With the expansion of production scale in recent years, Nie Peng began to transfer the mud embryo production process to local villagers, and also selected high-quality clay sculptures to help villagers sell them uniformly and drive the surrounding villagers to get rich. He wants to create an exclusive brand belonging to Niejiazhuang clay sculpture, "truly integrating clay sculpture culture into people's lives."
"The collision of various ideas can bring new life to traditional art." In Nie Peng's heart, attracting more young people to join is a "good recipe" to break through the bottleneck of the current development of Niejiazhuang clay sculptures, so that people can appreciate the charm of traditional culture from the "monotonous" creation. And how to better "prescribe medicine" has become the young man's "heart disease".
In the new round of "Honmei Year", Nie Peng looks forward to seeing the development of Niejiazhuang clay sculptures with a more vigorous and modern atmosphere.
(China News Network reporter Sha Jianlong)