A path of the Ancient Culture Street in Tianjin leads visitors to a quiet place: No. 5 Tongqingli Block, where the Zhang Gallery of Clay Figurines is located.

Zhang Naiying is the fifth-generation grandson of Zhang Mingshan, who was the initiator of the “Zhang Clay Figurine”. Inside his tiny studio on the second floor of the Gallery, a marvelous scene is presented: scores of clay figurines spread out in the small room of less than 8 square meters, exquisite and vivid, including characters from all walks of life, such as the sugar figure maker, sugarcoated haws vendor, clapper talker, and so on.

Zhang Yu, son of Zhang Naiying and the sixth-generation grandson of Clay Figurine Zhang, told me, “Selecting the clay, the first step of the whole procedure, already requires much attention and consideration. We have to search for clay with a lot of minerals yet without any sand in it.

After the clay is cracked in the sun, we make it into a slurry and then take the upper layer without impurities. After that, cotton batting and sticky rice milk would be added into the clay in order to enhance its solidity. Next, we put the clay into the cellar for cold storage for 3 years before it can be used.

When we start the following process, the series of steps like shaping, drying, polishing and dyeing need all to be carried out before the final craft is completed.”

While Zhang Yu was making the introductions, Zhang Naiying was sitting at the desk to start his work. He held in hand the Taoist figure Liu Hai which had already been dyed and began to draw on it in detail, meticulously, skillfully, and intently.

“This is being crafted for the National Art Museum, which intends to collect a full set of artistic crafts from the first and second generation of “Clay Figurine Zhang”, including over 70 pieces in total. Thus, my father devotes all his time and energy in the crafting from 9 am to 11 pm every day,” Zhang Yu whispered to me.

Edited by Wang Yifei and Brian Anthony Salter