Traditional clay sculpture form in Tang Dynasty

Clay sculpture, commonly known as "painted sculpture", is an ancient and common folk art in China folk tradition. That is, folk handicrafts that shape clay into various images.

The production method is to mix a little cotton fiber into the clay, tamp it evenly, knead it into mud blanks with various patterns, dry it in the shade, coat it with base powder, and then color it.

It is an ancient and common Han folk art in China. It takes soil as raw material, hand-shaped, or plain or colorful, with figures and animals as the main ones.

Clay sculpture is commonly known as "painted sculpture" and "clay play" among the people. Clay sculpture originated in Fengxiang County, Baoji City, and is popular in Shaanxi, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Henan and other places. On May 20, 2006, it was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Since the Neolithic Age, China clay sculpture art has been uninterrupted, and it has become an important art variety in the Han Dynasty. Archaeologists unearthed a large number of cultural relics from the tombs of the Han Dynasty, including a large number of pottery figurines, pottery beasts, pottery carriages, pottery boats and so on. Some are hand-pinched, and some are molded.

The ancestors of the Han Dynasty believed that the dead had the same material needs as life. Therefore, a large number of funerary objects are needed in funeral customs, which objectively promotes the development and evolution of clay sculpture.

After the Han Dynasty, with the rise of Taoism and the introduction of Buddhism, as well as polytheistic worship activities, Taoist temples, Buddhist temples and temples rose in society, which directly promoted the demand for clay sculpture idols and the development of clay sculpture art. In the Tang Dynasty, clay sculpture reached its peak. Yang Huizhi, known as the master of sculpture, is an outstanding representative of sculpture in the Tang Dynasty.

After studying under Wu Daozi in Zhang Sengyou, Hui Zhi was unwilling to lag behind. He resolutely burned the brush and inkstone and devoted himself to plastics, eventually becoming a famous artist. Only then can it be praised by the world: "Tao painting, the plastic of wisdom, can get the pen of Tao monk."

With the development of clay sculpture art in Song Dynasty, not only the large-scale Buddha statues with religious themes continued to prosper, but also the small clay toys developed. Many people specialize in clay figurines and sell them as commodities. The famous clay figurine toy "Moeli" in Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty was sold around July 7th. Not only ordinary people buy them for "cleverness", but also dignitaries buy them in Chinese Valentine's Day to play.

After the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China, clay sculptures, especially small clay sculptures, are still popular in society, which can be used not only for viewing furnishings, but also for playing with children. It is produced almost all over the country, among which the famous producing areas are Huishan in Wuxi, Zhangman in Tianjin, Fengxiang in Shaanxi, Baigou in Hebei, Gaomi in Shandong, Xunxian in Henan, Huaiyang and Beijing.