Shuang Qixiang: Inheritor of Old Beijing Clay Toys

Author: Wang Lianhai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Shuang Qixiang was born in 1931 into a Manchu family in Beijing. He had a deep love for colored clay sculpture from a young age and began watching and playing with them in the Huashicheng area outside Chongwen Gate when he was three or four. At the age of 13, he learned colored clay sculpture from his uncle Li Rongshan, and by 17, he started his own production and sales. After the liberation, he worked at Shengshunxi Toy Store in Dong'an Market, creating colored clay figures, animals, flowers and birds, and sand tables. In 1953, he began producing and selling independently at home. After the cooperative movement in 1956, he became the head of the colored clay sculpture group in the colored clay factory. In 1964, when the colored clay factory merged with the metal handicrafts factory, he became a metal handicrafts mold worker. He is currently a member of the Beijing Art and Craft Society, the Folk Art Committee, and the Folk Toy Research Association.
Shuang Qixiang's master, Li Rongshan, was a folk colored clay sculptor with high skills. His works were rough yet vibrant in color, primarily depicting folk scenes, figures, and birds and animals. He received guidance from Huajian Guizi in creating face paintings for sale. Due to financial pressures, he had to produce and sell more to make a living, leaving little time for collecting materials. Li's works, though limited in scope, had developed a unique style. The old Beijing newspaper "Shi Bao" once wrote an article titled "The Folk Clay Sculpture Master Li Rongshan," praising his distinctive style and profound artistic depth. Shuang Qixiang not only learned all his master's techniques but also made significant advancements. Over the years, he refined his colored clay sculpture skills, and his works have won numerous awards. He made major innovations in modeling, ornamentation, and color. His works are steady and grand in form, with fluid ornamentation and color, achieving simplicity amidst complexity and harmonious groupings, constantly innovating. Coming from a family of folk artists in Beijing, he remained humble, learned from various masters, and diligently explored, forming his own unique style.
Shuang Qixiang enjoys Peking Opera and uses it to observe and study the art of face painting for the jing role, seeking guidance from various experts. He collects materials without restriction, avoiding adherence to any particular school and forging his own path. He believes that colored clay face painting, unlike stage art, does not require long-distance visibility, so the color contrast is strong, and the ornamentation is exaggerated. However, since colored clay face sculptures are only a few inches in size and viewed up close, they must achieve a sense of movement within stillness, with harmonious, stable colors and delicate, fluid lines.
He often watches performances and seeks advice from various theatrical schools. He observed that the faces of Hao Shouchen and Yuan Shihai had wide foreheads and broad lower jaws, with expansive ornamentation, so he widened the cheeks of his colored clay face sculptures to create a seven-fen face, making them immediately recognizable. The art of ornamentation is like a painting. After studying ornamentation, he found that each school had its strengths. For example, Hao Shouchen's face painting of Dou E Dun was attractive with clear lines but overly vibrant in color. He adjusted the large green to a lighter green, enhancing its decorative appeal. Yuan Shihai's Zhang Fei had a spirited, fiery face painting that highlighted his character. When painting, he simplified the brow area to convey a sense of vigor. Jin Shaoshan's Bao Gong face exuded integrity, but Shuang Qixiang reduced the black to make the crescent on the forehead more prominent, portraying a just official. He learned from Qiu Shengrong's steady Yao Qi face and Xu Maogong's upright face. Hou Yushan's Zhong Kui was lively and vivid, but it didn't fit colored clay face painting, so he changed the purple bat on the forehead to a red one and the black beard to a red beard, aligning it better with painting aesthetics. This modification won first prize for Zhong Kui in the 1963 industry competition.
The eyes are the most crucial element in painting, reflecting a person's inner life and serving as the window to their soul. Therefore, the eyes in colored clay face painting are equally important. Sometimes, when painting eyes, he felt as if the colored clay figures were speaking to him, showing how deeply he was immersed in the art. He learned the technique of dotting eyes from Niuren Zhang but added his own insights. For instance, Cao Cao, once called a crafty tyrant, he portrayed as a wise prime minister, strategist, and military leader. His (Phoenix eyes) were slightly narrowed, as if pondering, with a glint of light in them, reflecting Cao Cao's cunning and thoughtfulness. Zheng Yuhuo, a disciple of Niuren Zhang, was a colored clay sculptor who saw Shuang Qixiang's Zhong Kui and remarked, "The eyes are so beautiful—it feels like I'm looking at myself." This was Shuang Qixiang's unique strength. He believed his face paintings could "speak" to him, as the focus of both eyes converged on a single point.
Shuang Qixiang has never been satisfied with his achievements. Despite Zhong Kui winning multiple awards, he continued to study Ren Boren's portrait of Zhong Kui, repeatedly refining it. The final version, with an official hat and the image of a judge eliminating evil for the people, was well-received by both domestic and international audiences. Over the years, Shuang Qixiang has studied and created colored clay figures and animals, earning praise and awards from the industry and beyond. He has also devoted himself to crafting metal Buddha statues, achieving great success. In the past six decades, he has traveled throughout Beijing to gather creative materials and find clay for sculpture. He classified Beijing's soil into five colors—red, yellow, blue, white, and black—and treated each according to its unique properties, turning them into his artistic medium. With these raw materials, he created various handicrafts, participating in exhibitions in recent years. His works "May Day" and "Tuer'er" have been collected by the Capital Museum. His colored clay tigers and other works have received acclaim from artists worldwide.
Shuang Qixiang's traditional Beijing folk colored clay sculpture is a gem in the garden of Beijing's folk art.