Huishan clay figurine information

Two *A Fu* (Chinese: 阿福; pinyin: *Ā Fú*) figurines, consisting of a boy with a red carp (homonym of the Chinese word for “prosperity”) and a girl with a chicken (homonym of the Chinese word for “auspicious”).

Huishan clay figurine (Chinese: 惠山泥人; pinyin: Huìshān ní rén) is a traditional Chinese folk art in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, with a history of more than 400 years.^[1]^[2] The production of Wuxi Huishan clay figurines began at the end of the Ming dynasty and developed in the Qing dynasty with specialized Huishan clay craftsmanship workshops.^[1] On May 20, 2006, Huishan clay figurine was added to the first batch of National intangible cultural heritage lists with the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.^[3]

Huishan clay figurines are clay figures with concise and full shape, smooth and lively lines, bright and eye-catching colours and ingenious and meticulous ideas. The raw material of Huishan clay figurines is black mud,^[4] which is taken from the foothills about 1 meter below the ground on the northeast slope of Huishan Mountain.^[5] The black mud has excellent "moulding" plasticity as it is delicate and soft for rubbing, consistent when bent and does not crack when dry. Huishan clay figurine was nurtured as splendid splendid folk art and culture with this unique natural resource.

Huishan clay figurines are generally divided into two categories:^[6]

Mould-made "simple" or "coarse" figurines, which are highly stylised, with bright colours, usually drawing inspiration from folk traditions and decorated with symbols of good luck, prosperity, and happiness.
Purely hand-crafted "fine" figurines, with characters more often drawn from Chinese myths and legends and characters in classical opera.

^ ^a ^b Zhonghua-wenming-da-cidian. Deping Lu (1. ban, 1. yinshua ed.). Beijing: Haiyang Chubanshe. 1992. ISBN 7-5027-2147-9. OCLC 1106807832.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ "Explore the 400-year history of Huishan Clay Figurines". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
^ "国务院关于公布第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录的通知". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
^ "新民晚报数字报纸". xmwb.xinmin.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
^ Li, Ping (2012). "An Appreciation for Clay:Discussing the Rise of the Huishan Clay Figurines". Southeast Culture. 05: 122–126.
^ "泥塑（惠山泥人） - 中国非物质文化遗产网·中国非物质文化遗产数字博物馆". www.ihchina.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-17.

[:0-1] Zhonghua-wenming-da-cidian. Deping Lu (1. ban, 1. yinshua ed.). Beijing: Haiyang Chubanshe. 1992. ISBN 7-5027-2147-9. OCLC 1106807832.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[2] "Explore the 400-year history of Huishan Clay Figurines". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2021-06-18.

[3] "国务院关于公布第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录的通知". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-17.

[4] "新民晚报数字报纸". xmwb.xinmin.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-18.

[5] Li, Ping (2012). "An Appreciation for Clay:Discussing the Rise of the Huishan Clay Figurines". Southeast Culture. 05: 122–126.

[6] "泥塑（惠山泥人） - 中国非物质文化遗产网·中国非物质文化遗产数字博物馆". www.ihchina.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-17.