Huishan clay figurines have been passed down for 400 years. Why are the most representative treasures the parts of the Qing Dynasty?

What do you think of when you mention intangible cultural heritage? Intangible cultural heritage is actually familiar and unfamiliar to everyone, because some intangible cultural heritage is around us, such as dragon and lion dancing, but some are far away from us. Today, Bian Xiao wants to introduce "Huishan Clay Fighter" to you. It is a national intangible cultural heritage, but the most representative work of Huishan clay figurine is spare parts. What's going on here?

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Huishan clay figurines have a history of more than 400 years. According to Dream of Taoan, Huishan clay figurines were sold in grocery stores in the Ming Dynasty. During Emperor Qianlong's southern tour, famous artists in Huishan once made clay figurines for worship. When Emperor Qianlong saw the clay figurine, he immediately praised the craftsmen for their exquisite craftsmanship.

There are many legends about the ancestor of Huishan clay figurine, and there are two more reliable ones. The first legend is that the ancestor of Huishan clay figurine is Sun Bin, because he pinched many clay figurines to break the five thunder arrays in Pangjuan when he lived in Huishan area. When I left Huishan, the craft of kneading clay figurines was handed down; The second legend is that the ancestor of Huishan clay figurine was Liu Bowen. It is said that when Liu Bowen was visiting Huishan, he found a local king. In order to prevent another emperor from being born, he decided to make clay figurines with local soil, so that Wuxi only produced clay figurines, and directly trained a large number of folk artists who were good at making Huishan clay figurines.

In 2006, "Huishan Clay Fighter" was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list, so that more people can take the initiative to understand it. There are many representative works of Huishan clay figurines, such as Daafu and Harmony, but the most representative works are all related to Empress Dowager Cixi.

1884, Empress Dowager Cixi will celebrate her 50th birthday. Court officials want to take this opportunity to make Empress Dowager Cixi notice herself, so that she can be promoted and made a fortune in the future, and the most direct way is to send birthday gifts.

Empress Dowager Cixi, the actual ruler of the late Qing Dynasty, spent money like water and collected countless precious cultural relics. Because of this, she simply disdains ordinary items.

After some thinking, the county magistrate of Wuxi decided to make a unique birthday present with local characteristics, which is Huishan clay figurine. The county magistrate immediately called two masters who made Huishan clay figurines, one named Zhou Asheng and the other named Chen.

The Huishan clay figurine made by Wuxi county magistrate takes the theme of "Flat Peach Blossom Club", takes the birthday of the Empress Dowager as the background and celebrates the immortal, which means that Empress Dowager Cixi will live a long life and enjoy wealth forever. We can see that the whole clay sculpture is in the shape of a mountain. There is a red attic at the top, where the Queen Mother sits. There are 24 immortals under the attic. The clay figurine on the "Flat Peach Club" has a vivid expression and a joyful atmosphere, which is definitely a rare boutique.

After the production of Flat Peach Club is completed, it will be sent to the palace for Cixi. But why was it left in Wuxi? Cixi didn't like it. Did you return it?

The main material of "Flat Peach Club" is "mud", which will be damaged if you are not careful during transportation. In order to transport this item to Beijing completely, Wuxi county magistrate invited two masters to make an identical one again. In other words, if one Huishan clay figurine is damaged because of a bump on the road, the other one will be replaced in Wuxi immediately and sent to Beijing, and there will never be an accident of "rudeness to send".

However, the process of sending the "Flat Peach Club" to Beijing was smooth and undamaged. The spare clay figurines who stayed in Wuxi stayed behind and became a treasure handed down from generation to generation in the local area.

Empress dowager cixi was very happy to receive the flat peach club, and specially gave it to the magistrate of Wuxi, and ordered the eunuchs around her to keep it for her. However, after the birthday party, this work of Flat Peach Club disappeared, maybe it was destroyed by mistake, maybe it was hidden, and gradually everyone forgot its existence. The flat peach society, backed by the magistrate of Wuxi, stayed in Wuxi and became a clay figurine in Huishan in Qing Dynasty.

At present, the painted sculptures of "Flat Peach Club" are collected in Wuxi Museum. If you are interested, you can take a look before the festival and further experience the unique history and culture of Huishan clay figurines. Intangible cultural heritage is a non-renewable resource. We should not only protect it, but also be the messenger of inheritance, so that this craft will not be lost.