Clay arts -- color clays in Liuying Village

Among the Chinese folk arts, the painted clay crafts are unique in their style. They are beautifully shaped, vivid, lively, and lovely. They have become an art that is appealing to both the elite and the unsophisticated.

The history of the painted clay crafts goes back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), more than 600 years ago. Popular themes include mystical and historical figures, and animals as well as fruits. The process of making such clay crafts is not very complicated. The artisan will first make a model, and then make roughcasts of the model by using a mixture of clay and pulp, which are to be sun-dried, powdered, painted, and finally varnished.

Chinese clay crafts usually do not copy the forms of the objects they depict. They try to represent only the salient features of familiar animals or popular objects, with more interest in the idea than in the representation itself. Therefore, the method of distortion or deformation is widely employed. This method is typical of traditional Chinese art which "does not seek a resemblance in form but a resemblance in spirit" of what it represents.

In Liuying (a place in Guanzhong), there are only about 70 families. But more than half make color clays, and many of them have got international awards. And the clay horse they made has been used as a stamp image.

  Facial makeup on the ladle

For a long time in history, people in Guanzhong would hang a ladle with facial makeup on it to keep the evil outside. Whenever people had bad luck, they would paint a face on the ladle and hang it on the doorway or under the roof, under the belief that this could protect them from attack by evil spirits. Though today it may seem ridiculous, it really provided comfort to the people of that time.

 

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