Editor's Note: This article is produced in collaboration with the Chongqing Institute of Foreign Studies as part of a series of ongoing reports exploring the city’s abundant intangible cultural heritage resources.
Dough sculpture has written records dating back to the Han Dynasty, some 2,000 years ago, giving it a long and profound history.
A line from Dongjing Meng Hua Lu (Reminiscences of the Eastern Capital), a book written in the Southern Song Dynasty, reads: “Small dimple-shaped pastries are molded from oiled dough, sugar and honey.” This refers to the time-honored Chinese folk art of dough sculpture. Back then, dough figurines were edible and known as "guoshi," or fruit pastries. While the basic techniques, summed up as "one press, two pinch, three inlay, four roll," are easy to pick up, capturing a vivid, lifelike spirit remains an immense challenge. Through thousands of rounds of kneading, trimming and refining, a plain lump of dough blossoms into a miniature world of wonders.
Dough sculpture has written records dating back to the Han Dynasty, some 2,000 years ago, giving it a long and profound history. It is an integral part of Chinese culture and folk art, and an invaluable physical resource for research in history, archaeology, folklore, sculpture, and aesthetics. However, in the old days, dough sculptors roamed the land with their carrying poles and boxes, “shedding tears as they wandered, merely to earn a living.” The public adored their figurines, made in mere moments, yet dismissed them as trinkets rather than fine art.
Tan Xianhua has been making dough sculptures independently since 1987. To hone his skills, he traveled widely to learn from fellow artisans. At that time, however, folk craftsmen fiercely guarded their secrets. So Tan quietly watched from the sidelines while the masters worked and practiced in secret when they were out or asleep. His covert lessons were soon discovered, but his persistence paid off, and he eventually mastered the craft. Today, Tan has brought Chongqing dough sculpture to audiences overseas, allowing more people to appreciate the charm of Chinese culture.
Traditional dough figurines had major drawbacks: they cracked, grew moldy, and faded easily, lasting anywhere from just one day to a month at most. Watching his painstakingly crafted figures ruined by mildew filled Tan with deep frustration. Once spoiled, they lost all preservation value, along with the spirit they once conveyed. Determined to fix this, he improved the ingredients and developed his own “Tan-style” formula. Today, his figurines are sturdy and safe. The dyes used in the past have been replaced with edible pigments, making them child-friendly and able to last for a long time.
In 2014, Chongqing dough sculpture was officially inscribed on the Chongqing Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage List. In the skilled hands of Tan Xianhua, a municipal-level inheritor of the craft, a lump of dough is pinched, rolled, kneaded, and pulled. With a slender bamboo knife, he nicks, cuts, carves, and scores it to shape the body, hands, and face, then adds hair ornaments and garments. In the blink of an eye, a vivid, lifelike figure springs to life at his fingertips, just as the saying goes: "A thousand charms unfold in the palm." With the devotion of "choosing one craft and dedicating a lifetime to it," Tan Xianhua showcases the ingenuity and innovative spirit of Chinese artisans to the world through his dough art.
Chinese script: Yuan Yufei
Tutored by: Zhou Hanjin
Translation: Long Xinyu
Tutored by: Gu Tiantian, Jiang Jun
Voice-over: Huang Yuqi