"Clay Man Zhang" was originally given by the people of the time to the Tianjin folk clay sculpture artist Zhang Mingshan (1826-1906). Zhang Mingshan was already famous in Beijing and Tianjin when he was 18 years old, and later founded the "Plastic Guzhai" clay sculpture workshop. Zhang Mingshan's descendants inherited Zhang Mingshan's career, integrated the aesthetics and technological innovations of the times, and passed on the title of "Clay Man Zhang" from generation to generation. Today, when people mention "Clay Man Zhang", they no longer think of Zhang Mingshan, but tianjin's famous time-honored brand, and even the representative of the northern clay sculpture style.
Clay sculpture is an ancient Chinese folk art. It uses soil as raw material, or kneading or turning the mold, and the mud is formed. In Chinese myths and legends, Nuwa created people from the soil to create people, and only then did she have everything in the world. Clay sculptures have been found in Neolithic sites. In the tombs of the ancestors of the Han Dynasty, clay dolls or animal funerary products were also commonly used. The clay statues of Buddhas in the temples of the Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang dynasties marked a peak in the development of clay sculpture art. After the Song Dynasty, not only did the clay sculptures with religious themes continue to prosper, but also the folk clay sculpture toys developed.
The formation of Chinese folk clay sculpture production areas mostly arose in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In areas with relatively developed economies, farmers use local materials in their spare time to make some mud "tricks" and sell them at New Year's Festivals and temple fairs. Some are toys for children, and some can be used as customary items for sacrifices or town houses. After the Qing Dynasty, with the further development of commercial trade and temple fair culture, the population flow was frequent, and the citizen economy and folk culture were more prosperous. Many people in clay sculpture production areas specialize in clay sculpture as a family unit. For example, in Dawu Village, Fuyang Town, Chaozhou at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, clay sculpture practitioners accounted for 40% of the total population, almost every household had workshops, and everyone would make clay sculptures. Wuxi Huishan also has the saying that "every family is good at plastic, and every household will be colorful". These clay sculpture production areas are basically mass-produced in the form of industrialization and supplied to the local and surrounding areas.
The seller of clay children, selected from Qing Dong Di's "Taiping Joy Map"
The classic clay moldings around the world are mostly small animals or hiwa. For example, the mud coo of Junxian County is mostly in the shape of a small animal, with small holes in the tail, and the "grunt" sounds when blowing. The "mud called tiger" in Gaomi Niejiazhuang was originally a "pot flower", that is, a firework lit in the first month. After the fireworks are released, the mud mounds where the gunpowder is set off can be used as a decoration. Another example is Fengxiang's sitting tiger, which is festive and gorgeous, and has the meaning of exorcising demons and ensuring peace in the local culture. Wuxi Huishan's "Big Afu" is a fat doll based on the "sha bao'er" in folk tales, and it is also an auspicious decoration loved by locals. This kind of best-selling classic clay sculpture products, the shape is simple, mostly using the molding method of turning the mold, and then manually coloring, the color matching is gorgeous and exaggerated. Production is fast, demand is high, and prices are low. Drama clay people are also quite popular with the people, and large households often use opera clay people as offerings or decorations during weddings and funerals or New Year festivals to increase the atmosphere of the New Year. This kind of theme is mostly kneaded by hand, and the workmanship is more refined, and it also shows the skill of clay sculpture artists. Many clay sculpture production areas are characterized by this.
Fengxiang clay sculpture "Big Sitting Tiger"
Huishan Clay Man "Big Afu"
The fame of "Clay Man Zhang" must be based on Tianjin's local folk culture and clay sculpture industry. In the past, in Tianjin, there was also a clay sculpture industry. Tianjin Wei is located at the lower end of the Jiuhe River, since the opening of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty, water and land docks have been built one after another, and by the Time of the Yuan Dynasty, it had become an important military town and grain transportation center. The prosperity of Caoyun not only brought grain from the south, but also brought Mazu culture. The Mazu enshrined in Tianjin Tianhou Palace is not only the god of the sea, but also the blessing of the descendants of the local people. The custom of Tianjin people to ask for a son is to go to the Tianhou Temple to tie a mud doll. Gradually, the clay sculpture industry related to clay dolls also developed.
"Clay Man Zhang" was originally the title given to the folk clay sculpture master Zhang Mingshan by the people of the time. Zhang Mingshan (1826-1906), known as Changlin, was known as a character, and at the age of 18, he was already famous in Beijing and Tianjin, and later founded the "Plastic Guzhai" clay sculpture workshop. Zhang Mingshan's descendants inherited Zhang Mingshan's career, and also integrated the aesthetic and technological innovation of the times, passing on the title of "Clay Man Zhang" from generation to generation. Today, when people mention "Clay Man Zhang", they no longer think of Zhang Mingshan, but tianjin's famous time-honored brand, and even the representative of the northern clay sculpture style.
"Clay man Zhang" Zhang Mingshan
Clay sculpture industry "big V" Zhang Mingshan
Unlike the formation of other clay sculptures in China, the stereotype of the clay man Zhang Cai sculpture style is closely related to the personal experience of founder Zhang Mingshan.
It is said that Zhang Mingshan's father, Zhang Wanquan, was a reader. Zhang Mingshan moved to Tianjin with his father from Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, when he was young. Zhang Wanquan made a living in Tianjin by making and selling small clay sculptures. In order to help the family, Zhang Mingshan learned some clay sculpture techniques from his father at a very young age. At the age of 13, he left private school and began to concentrate on clay sculpture. At first, Zhang Mingshan also imitated the popular tricks of production, but he was good at observing and learning, and soon combined his hobbies and strengths with clay sculpture making, creating a style that was also vulgar and elegant.
At that time, there were often temple fairs in Tianjin, and Zhang Mingshan also loved to catch up with the temple fairs and watch foreign stage plays when he was young. Much of his early knowledge of history was learned from opera stories. He has long been familiar with the characters on the stage, their heads, their stature and the storyline. Zhang Mingshan's "Yellow Crane Tower" costume statue sculpted by the famous actor Yu Sansheng at the age of 18 was exquisite, so his reputation rose. Later, Zhang Mingshan also made statues of Peking Opera celebrities Tan Xinpei, Yang Xiaolou, Wang Guifen, Cheng Changgeng, tian Guifeng and so on. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, watching drama was still the main way of mass entertainment. The popular celebrities are like the current traffic stars, some rely on real kung fu, and some rely on power to win the red. But everyone with a red horn has a bunch of die-hard fans. If they like an actor, they will not only chase after his or her performance, but also collect reports, photos and other items related to the actor, and give the actor a tip, advertise, and invite him to dinner. Zhang Mingshan's exquisite clay sculpture technology has not only won the recognition of the famous characters themselves, but also rubbed the benefits of the "fan economy". Since then, famous statues and drama stories have become a major classic category of clay man Zhang Cai sculpture. In July 1943, Yuan Ludeng, Zhou Xinfang, Mei Lanfang and others launched the "Theatrical Relics Exhibition" in Shanghai, and also exhibited the "Strange Artist 'Clay Man Zhang' Handmade Yu Sansheng Tan Xinpei Clay Statue Photo" as an exhibit.
Zhang Mingshan sculpture "Yu Sansheng Costume Portrait"
Zhang Mingshan sculpture "Tan Xinpei Casual Dress"
Mr. Tan Xinpei casual clothes photo
During the tianjin temple fair, some tea sheds will be built for people to rest while watching the drama. Local gentlemen and merchants used the tea sheds of the temple fair to display calligraphy and painting antiques to show their collection of works of art. Zhang Mingshan took this opportunity to admire many famous calligraphy and paintings. Long-term study and observation have improved Zhang Mingshan's artistic accomplishment. Later, he studied calligraphy and painting himself, studying the ancient patterns and lace on stone carvings and inscriptions. According to the late Qing Dynasty Tianjin educator Yan Fansun recalled, Zhang Mingshan "can paint huge landscapes, work and speed", he once helped the famous Tianjin smith "inlaid with Li" to complete the Lianjing Shouping, "where its gaps, all with pen and ink to make up for it, peaks and peaks and towers, instantly, complement each other, so it is a masterpiece." "On the wall of the main hall in the backyard of the second gate of the Plastic Ancient Zhai, there used to hang a statue of a birthday star about 2 meters high, which was made by Zhang Mingshan. Today, the Tianjin Art Museum has some white drawings of Zhang Mingshan, as if they were sketches made of clay sculptures. All this confirms that Zhang Mingshan is also good at painting.
Zhang Mingshan integrated the aesthetics and creative techniques of traditional Chinese painting into folk crafts, and created a clay sculpture style that was appreciated by both elegant and customary. Clay man Zhang Cai sculpture is not limited to children's toys, there are few animal shapes, almost all are clay people, more in line with the taste of the city's citizens. The production process never requires turning the mold, and each piece is shaped by hand. The descendants of the clay man Zhang in the past, the most important tool for kneading the clay man is a "pressure bar". A pressuron is a willow leaf-like flake made of bamboo, wood or other hard material. This gadget is like a soldier's weapon, an extension of the function of the hand, and many artists will polish the pressure of the hand themselves. Use the pressure barn to write with the outlined lines and work belts, and the trend is smooth. Clay man Zhang Cai sculpture pays attention to "five points of plastic, five points of color", follows the color principle of "color with class" in Chinese painting, pays attention to the harmony of color and object image, and the unity of color. Compared with other folk clay sculptures, the shape and style of clay figure Zhang are more elegant and permeated with the atmosphere of books. For example, the "fine work" in the Huishan clay people - "hand pinch drama text", the fame is slightly earlier than the "clay man Zhang", which belongs to the fine work in the clay sculpture. "Hand pinch drama text" is rooted in folk life, with a strong local atmosphere and handicraft fun, bright colors, simple and cute. The clay man Zhang is more adept at designing the dynamic image of the character, pursuing authenticity and conveying the spirit. The colors are elegant and the ornamentation is exquisite. Usually a group of characters represents a drama story. Two or three characters, caring for each other, the most exciting part of a play is about to come out.
Zhang Mingshan's "Lady Sun's Sword Test"
Zhang Yuting sculpture "Three Niang Godsons"
Huishan hand pinch drama text "Yangmen Female General"
The elegant temperament and characteristics of the times of the clay man Zhang Cai sculpture not only make the citizens feel new and interesting, but also sought after by the scholar class. Tianjin is close to Beijing, and literati and officials from the north and south entering Beijing pass through Tianjin, especially in the late Qing Dynasty, the civilization of the city was developed, and many cultural celebrities and rich merchants lived here for a long time. Zhang Zhang, a clay man who belonged to the class of craftsmen, became a legendary figure who was famous far and wide. Therefore, there is also a story of Li Hongzhang inviting the clay man Zhang statue, and the clay man Zhang Cheap selling hai Zhang Wu, showing the morality and art of folk craftsmen and the integrity of the powerful.
"3D Printing" in the Age of Craftsmanship
The high degree of realism shown by Zhang Mingshan's works is amazing. At that time and even later, the newspapers said that he had a unique job of "pinching images". Legend has it that Zhang Mingshan only watched the drama as a model on the stage, "detailing the appearance, picking out the characteristics, unconsciously, secretly imitating the sleeves." One out is not over, but the craftsmanship is like a finish.". "Tianjin Zhiluo" records: "Zhang Mingshan, proficient in kneading, skilled in kneading and molding, capable of handing pills in the sleeve, pinching images of people and talking and laughing freely, pinching them in an instant, forcing Xiao Qiren, so it is called 'clay man Zhang'." "This non-clay man Zhang's unique skill is a traditional folk craft. In the Ming Dynasty, in Suzhou Tiger Hill, a group of "Su Pinch" artists gathered, and during the conversation and laughter with the guests, they pinched the statue in the sleeve tube, instantly becoming a small statue of three or five inches high. This practice is the same as Zhang Mingshan's "unique work". In the Qing Kangqian period, the Tiger Hill clay people were extremely popular, and tourists would always be curious to try. The sixty-seventh time in "Dream of the Red Chamber" writes that Xue Pan brought two boxes of things from Suzhou to his mother and Xue Baochao, including a small statue of Xue Pan pinched in the mud of Tiger Hill, which was no different from Xue Pan. However, the Tiger Hill clay people gradually disappeared in the late Qing Dynasty, and Zhang Mingshan's descendants did not engage in "pinching images" anymore. Bao Tianxiao, in the twenty-fourth time in the social novel "Rain Over Azure", borrowed the mouth of Zhu Airen to say the origin of the rise and fall of "pinching the image". She said: "Chinese pinched image, which has existed since ancient times." According to my grandfather, there used to be a pinched statue in Suzhou Tiger Hill, who grabbed a lump of mud and looked at your face while only pinching it in the sleeve tube. Pinching it out is actually very similar, which is really a divine skill, but it has gradually been lost. Later, it was said that there were people in Tianjin who could make statues, and a famous one was called 'Clay Man Zhang', but it was not as good as the one in Suzhou before. It is not surprising that the current carvings have photographs and the casts have models. Like before, it was really skilled, and it was not scientific. There is no pretense at all, but unfortunately it has been lost to this day. "Pinching portraits, like painting portraits, is the way ordinary people used to "take pictures". With the popularity of photographic technology, these "non-scientific" tricks have also lost their market.
Suzhou Clay Man "Young Woman Feeding Baby"
According to legend, Zhang Mingshan once taught the Hai school painter Ren Bonian the art of "pinching images". Ren Bonian is one of the few painters who also does sculpture after the Song Dynasty. He played with purple sand in Shanghai, made tea sets, pipes, and left behind a clay sculpture of his father, Ren Songyun. According to his son Ren Yan, "The statue of songyun gong, the father of the first king, was obtained by the virgin by the method of pinching the image. Sitting on the side of the cage sleeve, it seems to be alive and radiant. Ren Bonian's father was a folk portrait painter and an enlightened teacher of his painting. Ren Bonian was able to paint the people he had seen as a child, laying a solid foundation for figure painting. According to Ren Bonian's life experience, his method of pinching statues is most likely learned from folk clay sculpture artists such as Suzhou Shantang and Tiger Hill. Although Ren Bonian did not open business in Tianjin, he enjoyed a reputation in Tianjin. During the Guangxu years, maritime traffic between Tianjin and Shanghai was already very developed, and there were many merchants traveling between the two places. At that time, Ren Bonian's paintings had become a reliable investment in the eyes of merchants. Therefore, his works are often sold from Shanghai to Tianjin. At that time, clay man Zhang's works were also sold in Shanghai. From late May to early June 1886, the "Declaration" carried an advertisement for a new clay sculpture of The Clay Man Zhang Figure in Tianjin by Baoshan Pavilion. According to reports, after the age of 60, Zhang Mingshan traveled south to Nanjing, Shanghai and other places, and gave Ren Bonian a clay sculpture of "Wujiapo" as a souvenir. There is also a widely circulated story that Zhang Mingshan was summoned to the palace in his later years by the Qing Palace, but he did not covet the powerful and longed for freedom, so he fled to Shanghai and lived in seclusion in Ren Bonian's house for several years before returning to Tianjin. This may be a folk legend compiled for two listeners. Whether the two are closely related, there is no direct evidence. The many similarities in the life trajectory and creation of the two masters of the north and south of the same era have left people with great imagination.
Ren Bonian purple sand clay sculpture Ren Songyun small statue
Ren Bonian's "Portrait of Ren Songyun" (partial), collected by the Palace Museum
The mystery of the unique skill of "pinching images" is now unknown. However, today, it can be seen that Zhang Mingshan's clay sculptures "Jiang Men Shen" (11 cm high) and "Civilian Official Portrait" (6.5 cm high), small in size and unpainted, are quite in line with the characteristics of "pinching in the sleeve". These two small statues are exquisitely shaped and realistic. In particular, Jiang Menshen has a face of horizontal flesh, tightly wrinkled eyebrows, and a delicate facial expression. The body line is simple, the hands are on the back, and the belly is poopy. In just a few strokes, the bully's domineering arrogance is expressed.
Zhang Mingshan's sculpture "Jiang Men Shen", Tianjin Museum collection
Although these two small statues convey the gods, they may not have a real archetype. Looking at several painted sculptures created by Zhang Mingshan based on acquaintances, it is known that the folk praise for the "image" and "truth" of Zhang Mingshan's clay sculptures are not exaggerated. For example, Zhang Mingshan's neighbor Peng Shougang, Tianjin gentry Yan Renbo, Yan Zhen father and son, known as "Hua Huo Liu" wood carving master Liu Guohua, etc., not only the appearance and shape of the characters have their own characteristics, the characteristics of different occupations and identities are also very obvious, even if they have not seen the real face, it is enough to make people convinced. Mr. Xu Beihong has long heard that the clay man Zhang's skills are exquisite, but before he sees the clay man Zhang's handwriting, there are still doubts. In 1931, after Xu Beihong saw the seated statue of Yan Rinpoche made by Zhang Mingshan in Yan Mansion, he was deeply impressed, saying that "the whole structure is photographed thirty years ago"
Zhang Mingshan's "Peng Treasurer"
Zhang Mingshan's Sculpture of Yan Rinpoche
Zhang Mingshan's "Portrait of Liu Guohua"
The sound of the back wave of "Clay Man Zhang"
While inheriting Zhang Mingshan's clay sculpture art skills, Zhang Yuting innovated and developed the painted sculpture art of clay man Zhang, and pushed the painted sculpture art of clay man Zhang to another peak. Zhang Yuting (1863-1954), known as Zhaorong, was the fifth son of Zhang Mingshan, and he and his sixth son Zhang Huatang (named Xurong) were representatives of the second generation of "Clay Man Zhang". Zhang Yuting began to learn art at the age of 13, but did not get his father's personal instruction, and taught himself by imitating his father's works. As Qi Baishi said, "Those who learn from me live, and those who seem to me die", Zhang Yuting eventually created his own style and took over the title of "Clay Man Zhang".
Zhang Yuting, the second generation of "Clay Man Zhang"
The Tianjin Museum has Zhang Yuting's "Mei Lanfang Costume Portrait". On the fourteenth day of the first month of 1916, Mei Lanfang premiered his first Red Chamber play "Dai Yu Funeral Flower" at the Beiping Jixiang Theater. Different from the Kunqu era's "Funeral Flowers", the new costume play "Dai Yu Funeral Flowers" has made great innovations in clothing, hairstyles, makeup, singing and dancing. In the third scene, As soon as Dai Yu, played by Mei Lanfang, came on stage, it gave people a refreshing feeling. Dai Yu combs the "pin" shape of the ancient costume bun, wears a blue placket short jacket on the top, and a white embroidered long skirt on the bottom. In the first paragraph, the purple crane took the hoe and took off the coat for Daiyu. Then, Dai Yu made guan yan, swept flowers, and buried flowers, and integrated into Mei's original "scythe dance". Zhang Yuting's sculpture of "Daiyu Funeral Flower" focuses on this classic scene, whether it is the face, clothing, and posture of the characters, they are restored very accurately, inheriting his father's artistic style.
Mei Lanfang's "Dai Yu Funeral Flowers" costume photo
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Zhang Yuting sculpture "Mei Lanfang"
Zhang Yuting worked diligently all his life, until he was over ninety years old and his eyesight declined, and he stopped creating. Zhang Yuting left more than 20,000 works, including a large number of costumed ladies, which were widely popular. But the most wonderful image he created was a group of small people living at the bottom of society. If zhang Mingshan used the famous horns on the stage as models in the early years, Zhang Yuting was sketching against the people of the city. Among his works, there are "Sugar Blower", "Yawning Monk", and "Ear Pulling Monk", which reflect the daily life of the city, as well as "Dumper", "Carpenter", "FisherWoman", etc., which reflect the working people, which are full of human fireworks. Zhang Yuting's works capture the character's momentary looks and actions, such as blowing sugar people's feet and cheeks, the moment when the green tendons burst out, and the micro-expressions that the more itchy the monks are, the more they want to pull out, are all random actions in ordinary people's lives. However, once these movements are gazed at, they appear exaggerated and flexible, and the viewer seems to be able to empathize.
Zhang Yuting sculpture "Fisher Woman"
Zhang Huatang plastic "Counting Gua"
Xu Beihong compared Zhang Yuting's clay man works with the art of Western realist masters, believing that his technical level was even better, he said: "These two cake sellers and one sugar seller believe in the masterpieces of realism. The sophistication of his observations, and the ingenuity of his practice, is enough to impress Prince Troubetskoi of Russia, the world's largest sculptor today. Prince Tetu wrote about nobles and celebrities, but did not write about the people. Dalou, the great sculptor of the nineteenth century, has a variety of manuscripts of his workers, which are hidden in the Petit Palais in Paris. Yu's expression is also inferior. If the author can expand its size and cast it in bronze, it is difficult to compete with constantin Meunier for a day. Xu Beihong's more emotional Zhang Yuting took ordinary people and working life as the object of creation. At that time, those who engaged in clay man painted sculpture belonged to craftsmen and did not enter the mainstream. The artistic theme is also based on the Four Kings Landscape as authentic. After inheriting the "Clay Man Zhang" golden signboard, Zhang Yuting did not take advantage of the situation to cling to the magnates, but chose to use the perspective of the commoners to create the beauty of life and the beauty of the people. This choice also opens up a long-term path for "Clay Man Zhang" in the inheritance of skills and the continuation of style.
Zhang Yuting sculpture "Sugar Blower"
Zhang Yuting sculpture "Cake Seller"
In his later years, Zhang Mingshan traveled around and entrusted Zhang Yuting with the task of taking care of the ancient temple. Under the auspices of Zhang Yuting, Plastic Guzhai opened a different business model from the previous workshops.
First, he cultivated a clay sculpture team. His sons Zhang Jingfu and Zhang Jinghu, and his grandsons Zhang Ming and Zhang Kun all made clay sculptures in The Ancient Sculpture Hall, ensuring the inheritance of Zhang's craftsmanship. In the production process, a collective division of labor and cooperation has been adopted to expand production efficiency.
Secondly, he entrusted the work to the "Tongsheng Number" of Yiyi Street, opening the joint venture mode. Zhao Yueting, the owner of tongsheng, is a good friend of Zhang Yuting and Zhang Huatang, and not only runs clay people, but also sells yangliu youth paintings. At first, Clay Man Zhang's works were put on consignment in the store and sold well. Later, Zhao Yueting purchased a large number of clay man Zhang Cai sculptures, and over time it became a specialty store of "clay man Zhang", and then opened three specialty stores from one store. Tongsheng no. took the goods from The Plastic Guzhai according to the sales situation of the store. At that time, the clay people of "Magu" and "Fulu Shou Sanxing" sold well, and the plastic ancient jai cooperated with the store to agree on the size, quantity and pick-up time to produce these three kinds of clay people. The original new products of Plastic Guzhai are also recommended by Tongsheng to high-end customers.
Zhang Yuting sculpture "Magu Dedication"
Third, participate in international competitions to win a greater reputation. As early as the era of Zhang Mingshan, the clay man Zhang Cai sculpture has been paid attention to by people in Western China. According to reports, when Zhang Mingshan and the Jinmen painter Liu Xiaoyu went to Shanghai, they would bring many works to sell at a price each time. "After arriving in Shanghai, Westerners came to visit more, and the portal was worn. Clay craftsmen who have been abandoned for Chinese art are worshipped by Westerners and want to be hired in foreign countries, and Zhang resigns in old age. Later, the emperor would buy a set of sets from westerners at huge sums of money. The Imperial Society, also known as the "Queen of Heaven Holy Society", is a grand scale in Tianjin and brings together various performances to welcome the gods. The clay sculpture of the imperial meeting of the clay man Zhang, there are more than 300 characters of different shapes, as well as the palace bridge umbrella fan and other competition props, which are extremely exquisite and magnificent. The "Miscellaneous Records of Jinmen" also records that "Westerners once bought it for a lot of money and placed it in a museum for people to see." In 1915, 16 works by Clay Man Zhang were exhibited at the Panama International Exposition and received the "Honorary Award". During the Republic of China period, Tianjin was the commercial and financial center of the north, and chinese and foreign tourists were weaving. With the endorsement of international awards, the sales promotion of Clay Man Zhang is also more convincing, almost becoming a must-buy famous product for tourists to Tianjin. When Mr. Xu Beihong went to Tongsheng to buy clay people, he "wantonly said that the American Games, such goods, how to get honors, how foreigners like to be rewarded, all come to Tianjin, all those who buy." According to the example of foreigners, all those who buy and sell sugar, those who sell cakes, 1 who sell gua, and 2 fat monks are happy to return to the south. It can be seen that Xu Beihong listened to the sales of the store and purchased the regular "package" of foreign tourists.
In 1915, clay man Zhang's works were exhibited at the Panama International Exposition and won the Honorary Award
Zhang Yuting's sculpture "The Queen of Heaven"
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, the development of Clay Man Zhang turned into a period of decline. Tongsheng's business withered, Zhang Jingfu died, Zhang Kun, Zhang Ming, Zhang Yu should have inherited the ancestral business, forced to make a living, they had to change careers to work in factories. The only person who insisted on making clay people was Zhang Jinghu. By the eve of the liberation of Tianjin in 1949, Zhang Jinghu was still selling handmade clay people on the street and barely making ends meet.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the staff of the Tianjin Military Control Commission quickly found Zhang Jinghu and invited him to join the Tianjin Art Task Force. In 1950, Xu Beihong invited Zhang Jinghu to Beijing and successively engaged in teaching and research and creation in institutions such as the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, and the Beijing Institute of Arts and Crafts. Zhang Yuting was hired as a librarian at the Tianjin Museum of Culture and History, and under the care of the government, the old artists had no worries about food and clothing in their later years. In 1958, "Tianjin Paint sculpture studio" was established, which is subordinate to the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture. The daily work is handled by Zhang Jinghu and Zhang Ming, and the members include painted plastic professionals working in the museum and comrades from the clay sculpture department of the Arts and Crafts Factory. In the new social environment, clay man Zhang Cai sculpture also has a new theme. For example, Zhang Jinghu's series of clay sculptures of ethnic minority figures has greatly broken through the scope of the creative themes of his predecessors. The trainees recruited by the studio are facing the whole society, and the craftsmanship of Clay Man Zhang has been inherited and carried forward by more young people who love clay sculpture. In 1962, after visiting the clay man Zhang Cai sculpture art exhibition, Guo Moruo had the feeling to write down the verse "Using mud to create the first daughter of the person, the clay man of Mingshan is on the cake, yesterday only one person was created, and now the peach and plum are full of the world", praising the deeds of the clay man Zhang Chuanren who carried forward the inheritance of clay sculpture art.
Zhang Jinghu, the third generation of "Clay Man Zhang"
Zhang Jinghu sculpture "Flower Selection Cloth"
Zhang Ming (right), the third generation of the "Clay Man Zhang", and his two Tibetan apprentices
Clay sculptor Yang Zhizhong, "Granules Return to the Warehouse", 1978
Since its name, "Clay Man Zhang" has been passed down for six generations and has been passed down for nearly 200 years. Nowadays, the sixth generation of "Clay Man Zhang" heir Zhang Yu guards the old brand of "Clay Man Zhang". He is in charge of the "Clay Man Zhang Shijia Painting and Sculpture Old Workshop" and the "Clay Man Zhang Art Museum". However, he once bluntly stated on a television program that "'Clay Man Zhang' is over." He said that his father and grandfather also believe that skills follow people, "clay man Zhang" has ended in history, and future generations need to constantly innovate and change.
Innovation, in fact, is not a new idea that contemporary "clay man Zhang" has. Zhang Mingshan integrated the Ya culture and the city box culture into folk crafts, jumped out of the traditional Chinese clay sculpture, and laid the stylistic characteristics of the clay man Zhang Cai sculpture art. Each subsequent generation faced different challenges. They did not follow Zhang Mingshan's old path, but seized the opportunity of the times, opened up and persisted, and found their own artistic fulcrum that belonged to each generation of "clay man Zhang". Six generations of "clay man Zhang" have been passed down from generation to generation, and there are famous masters from generation to generation. This spirit of seeking change in inheritance and inheriting in innovation may be the enduring charm of clay man Zhang Cai sculpture art.
(The author is an associate research librarian of Shanghai Municipal History Museum)