Inheriting a Legacy
Young artist continues a family tradition of the ancient art of dough figurine sculpting
on a lazy afternoon of October 2, when most people in China were enjoying time off for the National Day holiday, Lang Jiaziyu was showing his students how to make a simple dough figurine in a small back alley of old Beijing. As part of the 2018 Beijing Design Week from September 22 to October 7, he was to teach several groups of students during the holidays.
The classes focused on practical skills. The students were shown how to use the colorful dough pieces to shape the small figurines. All their materials were provided and Lang’s sense of humor and enthusiasm made the classes fun.
“Make sure the eyeballs are looking in the same direction. Don’t give me any crosseyed looks,” he quipped to hoots of laughter.
Although only 23, Lang is already a master of his art and is applying to become the third-generation representative inheritor of the Lang Dough Sculpture legacy, a national intangible cultural heritage named after the family. For better protection and inheritance of China’s intangible cultural heritage, starting 2005, the Chinese Government issued a series of regulations to include traditional art, calligraphy, music, dance, drama and other projects on a list of national intangible cultural heritage. It is stipulated that local governments should designate representative inheritors for representative projects, provide them with necessary workspace and funds, and support them in activities such as recruiting apprentices, transfer of skills and promotion. As of May 8, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced a total of 3,128 representative inheritors nationwide. In 2008, Lang Dough Sculpture in Beijing was inscribed on the national intangible cultural heritage list, along with three other schools of dough sculpture originating in Shanghai and Shandong, and became a representative of this ancient folk art. Lang Jiaziyu’s aunt Lang Zhili was designated as the representative inheritor of Lang Dough Sculpture.
Inheritor
The Lang family’s involvement in dough sculpturing started with a tour his grandfather Lang Shao’an made in Beijing’s Baita (White Pagoda) Temple in 1921 when he was 12 years old. There he was attracted by his later master Zhao Kuoming making dough figurines for tourists. Interested in the art form, he often went to help Zhao and eventually became his apprentice.
In the early years of Lang Shao’an’s dough