The Beijing Dough Figurines is one of the traditional folk art made of sticky rice powder and flour. It is popular among Chinese people for its characteristics of combining itself with animal figurines, legends, historical records and characters from opera. Dough modeling has a variety of colors and small sizes thus making it easy to carry. The material to make dough modeling is rather cheap so it won't cost much to do dough modeling. After long-term exploration by Dough modeling artists, dough modeling works now will not mold, not crack, not distort, and not fade. So it becomes a favorite for tourists and it is a memorial gift to share with their relatives. Foreign tourists who see the dough modeling during a visit are all greatly admired for the artist's consummate skill, wonderful lifelike characters. They praise Dough modeling as "China's sculpture." Dough modeling is not only a barrier to people's pursuit of aesthetics and a better life, but also stands as an important aid to researching Chinese folk culture and customs.

Beijing dough modeling was created by Lang Shaoan who once learned from Zhao Kuoming, the King of Dough Modelling in China and later developed the techniques of dough modeling with his own characteristics. Artworks of Beijing dough modeling reflect people’s common life and folk customs. The dough-made artworks are vivid in their shape with bright and eye-catching colors and with distinct style characteristics. To finish a charming dough figure with exquisite designs, diverse skills and tools are used. In 1957, Lang’s daughter Lang Zhili published a book, My Father’s Pursuit of Dough Modelling Art on the basis of her father’s experience. In recent years, Lang Zhili founded the "Dough Modelling Art Studio", which is committed to the inheritance, research and development of dough modelling art in Beijing. The dough figurine artworks not only have strong artistic appreciation and collection value, but also provide an important reference for the study of old Beijing folk customs and folk handicraft skills.

Translator: ZHANG Ruochen

Reviewer: WANG Jiahui