Bristle Figurine

Many people like Peking Opera because they are fascinated by the costumes and make-up of the different characters. The characters are often reproduced as bristle figurines, a well-known Beijing folk art.

Bai Lin is the fourth-generation and the only successor of the art of bristle figurine making. The figurines are made of pig hairs, which allow them to rotate when placed on a gong that is struck by a performer. This folk craft is native to Beijing, and the history of bristle figurines can be traced back to the last years of the Qing Dynasty.

A bristle figurine is a clay figure with pig's bristles densely pasted onto the bottom. Because they are sturdy, the bristles can cause a figurine to move or turn around when their strands vibrate. Taking advantage of this feature, craftsmen make bristle figurines of characters in Peking Opera and put them on a copper plate, and when the plate's edge is lightly struck, the figurines move as if they were on stage.