On chinadaily.com.cn

Culture: Art in minutes with dough figurines

Gao Shan, 43, has been making dough figurines for more than 10 years in Jiyuan, Henan province. The traditional craft dates back to the late Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and is listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage. Folk artists make the figures by hand, using wheat flour and glutinous rice flour as raw materials. Gao learned the traditional skill from his grandfather. Guan Yu, a character in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and characters from Dream of the Red Chamber are among his favorites figures. Gao, who studied at the China Academy of Art in 1999 for one year, said making dough figurines is a part of life, and he hoped his work would attract more people to take part. His biggest wish is to see the traditional culture passed on.

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