Travelogue: Clay Zhang Figurines
Part 1: Help us celebrate 200 years and six generations of art.
Along with Yang Liu Qing Nian Hua paintings, the most celebrated and distinctive speciality of Tianjin are the Clay Figures of Master Zhang, a six generation family of artists who have created a cherished National Heritage art form. A part of my life now for twenty years, “Clay Zhang” is a cherished core memory of Guwenhua and Tianjin. Any time I would come to the culture street, the main draw for me was this quaint and crowded shop of figurines. I want you to experience Clay Zhang the way I first experienced it, as a chaotic riot of colour and cuteness, yet with a potent sense of so much more under the surface.
I may have twenty years of familiarity and admiration for Clay Zhang, but until very recently I knew next to nothing about the business, techniques, and family behind this China National Heritage Brand. You see, I was a different person then. Caught up in a mad race of shipping targets, year-on-year revenue, politics and backstabbing, I would almost stumble drunkenly into time off, and into the Clay Zhang shop, for a breath of fresh air. Without thinking, I guess I knew there was more to existence than that never-ending misery. I have learned that it is best to accept that part of the journey, though practicing it daily is hard.
I want you to experience the shop as I first experienced it. Of course not as a maniacal corporate henchman, of course, but with fresh eyes, unconcerned of what lies behind these colourful figurines. Enjoy the creative energy, just the fun in the expressions and colours.
Clay Zhang Figurines are fire-hardened, painted clay figures that depict anything from every day characters in historical garb and occupations, to mythical and spiritual individuals of great detail and complexity. The cultural and historical references are so dense but over all is a sense of humour and unseriousness that takes the lead.
What we see in this shop is the commercial end of Clay Zhang. Affordable, modestly scaled and priced, designed to appeal to the masses. Cute characters, particularly grannies and toddlers, references to the twelve animals of the calendar, Chinese opera masks, and congratulatory marriage couples are popular gifts and home decorations. We have a good range collected over the years. Who can say no to fun like this?
But I am a different person now, a person recognizing his curiosity and willing to take the time to satisfy that need to know and share, and Guwenhua obliged us again today. The recent renaissance of the culture street has shrewdly pulled Clay Zhang to the forefront. To my surprise, there were two more shops on the main street!
I would describe this new shop as mid-to-high-market Clay Zhang. These are art pieces, still mostly affordable (but not all!). While the pieces in the first small shop are surely made by apprentice-employees in a semi-mass-made process, these are one-of-a-kind numbered works of art.
Walking into this shop I finally began to realize the depth of Clay Zhang. The original shop had changed, though I had failed to notice it. before, because it was the only retail space, there was a wider range of styles and prices than the simpler line-up there is now. We see market segmentation.
This shop showcases the works of Zhang Fanyun (no relation to the founding Zhang family), a student who traces her apprenticeship to a master trained by the fifth generation. Her skill is amazing and shows how an artist can develop her own style within the Clay Zhang brand.
Clay Zhang is distinctive for the uncanny human quality of its characters. The expressions and the gestures are so lifelike that you become certain real people sat for these sculptures. But 200 years ago, before photography, this ability of the artist must have seemed almost magical. You will see as we move to seeing the oldest and most masterful pieces.
As in this exquisite work from Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the four great classic novels of China. You get all the main characters here: Baoyu, the only male in the red; Lin Daiyu, the frail and intelligent heroine; and their friends and housemates. It’s a long story with hundreds of characters. You won’t get any spoilers from me!
I will, however, spoil the price, and hint at the level of art that is to come in Part 2. Remember, the Clay Figurines of Master Zhang will be 200 years old in 2026. That’s right, 2025 is the 199th year of this family of artists.
If you wish to take this collection home, the bidding begins at 586 万, or 5.86 million yuan. That is $825,000 at the current exchange rate.
Our family is happy to appreciate such art through the shop window for a much lower price, but we aren’t immune to the charms of taking a bit of Clay Zhang home. These two naughty boys playing with firecrackers remind us of our boys, so we took them with us.
And here they are, proud in their new place, joining our “Elegant Mom and Merchant Dad” figurines we got as gifts some years ago. One big happy family.
I hope that you can share in what Clay Zhang has come to mean to me, and maybe you can sense the opportunity this presents to further deepen, explore, and branch into new subjects, and new characters, so pivotal to China’s history and culture.
Next week in Part 2, we visit the showroom of Mr. Zhang Yu, the sixth generation master of this craft. He gets to work with the best characters, and I was so excited to get an invitation to his private gallery.
I guess I have expensive taste. The high-end works are amazing. Thanks for sharing, Paul.
Love this. The first shop reminded me of the Caganer figurines of Catalonia. The second gallery was spectacular.