Leaning against the chair, Zhang Naiying gradually recalled the remarkable history of his family tradition of art. He started to learn the artistic skill at 5 or 6 years old. His first toy was clay.
In his childhood memory, his father and grandfather were always busy doing things around long working desks, burning-red electric stoves and the deep cellar for clay storage.
The family of Clay Figurine Zhang has strict rules in selecting successors. They do not force their descendants, however. When they pass on their artistic skills to the next generation, they respect the successors’ own choice.
It is never an easy job to learn crafting skills through oral instructions to inspire the understanding by heart in the workshops.
Apart from the fundamental skills of crafting, painting, calligraphy and poetry reading are all part of the basic training. There is no spare day all year round even in the coldest days in winter or the hottest period in summer.
In 1976, Zhang Naiying worked in Tianjin Art Museum, which was established by his father Zhang Ming with all the efforts devoted in it. A number of the crafts from the first and second generation of “Clay Figurine Zhang” were collected there.
Unfortunately, a sudden earthquake ruined most of the figurines. Those most destroyed were almost beyond recognition.
“That hurt me a lot, really. If I hadn’t restore those pieces, it is very likely that later generations would never have a chance to see these artistic works of Zhang Clay Figurines, which have been collected through troubles and challenges.
Meanwhile, I would also feel sorry for my ancestors.” Bearing such a belief in mind, Zhang Naiying started off to restore and study more than 400 artefacts damaged in the earthquake.
Edited by Wang Yifei and Brian Anthony Salter
