Scale-model artist adapts designs for home kits
THE Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in Beijing, an imperial ritual structure built with traditional Chinese mortise and tenon in 1420, will soon become a home craft after Minhang artisan Wang Zhenhua developed it into a toy kit.
Wang first became known to the public in 2015 after he spent five years replicating the ancient building. The scale model included over 7,000 parts and 100,000 steps without any nails or glue, and was 81 times smaller than the original hall.
The toy kit simplifies reconstruction to half the size of Wang’s model, with up to 800 parts. Each door and window can be opened, too.
Wang said of the roof structure, “One twist at the top and the components all will fall apart. These are just basic. The craftsmanship of mortise and tenon dates back 7,000 years.”
Wang has won accolades for his Hall of Prayer models. And he didn’t stop there. He has also made models of other ancient Chinese structures, such as the 1,400-year-old Zhaozhou Bridge.
He said he accept the toy company’s idea of turning his model into a hobby kit because he wants to encourage young people to take up the craft.
Wang’s model will be the first kit of its kind on the market. He was active in its development.
“The design was, in fact, quite difficult,” he said. “I used wood in my model, but the kit uses plastic. That can be a challenge.”
The Hall of Prayer pieces are all white. Children can paint them if they like.
Wang is already busy looking into his next models, possibly the turret in the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan or a pavilion in the Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou.
“If indeed there are children drawn to the craft, they can create a lot with it,” Wang said.