Composition of Huishan clay figurine

Wuxi is located in the east of China and the south of Jiangsu Province. The clay figurines in Huishan, Wuxi have a long-standing reputation for their unique style of simple modeling, bright colors and both form and spirit.

Huishan clay figurines began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties with a history of 1000 years. The Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368 ~ 1644) reached its peak. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, professional clay figurine workshops began to appear, and with the popularity of Kunqu opera at that time, hand-held opera characters with opera characters as the theme appeared. In 1930s, gypsum production technology was incorporated into Huishan clay figurine craft. Since then, new varieties of gypsum clay figurine have appeared, and Huishan clay figurine art has gradually developed into a "Huishan style" with local characteristics in the south of the Yangtze River. After the founding of New China, the production scale of Huishan clay figurines was expanded, and a large number of new products and new processes were developed, which further developed Huishan clay sculpture art by leaps and bounds. In 1950s, Wuxi Huishan Clay Fighter Factory was established, and later Huishan Clay Fighter Institute and Huishan Clay Fighter Museum were established.

Huishan clay figurine is made of black soil with fine and pure soil and excellent plasticity near Huishan. The production process is divided into several parts: embryo rubbing, painting and phase opening. From the product variety, it can be divided into two categories: "hand-kneading play" and "impression mud toy". It is meticulous in workmanship, beautiful in shape, rich in colors, pays attention to the shaping of characters' personalities and expressions, has a strong local flavor, and is deeply loved by people.

Huishan clay figurines not only sell well all over the country, but also are exported to more than 60 countries and regions in the world. In recent years, many famous Huishan artists have also been invited to visit the United States, Japan and other countries for performance exchanges, which have made great contributions to cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.