Sculpting a legacy

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Zhang Yu carries on his family's craftsmanship of clay figurine making. The owner of a gallery in Beijing and a workshop in Tianjin, he is dedicated to the evolution of the age-old craft. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhang Yu carries on his family's craftsmanship of clay figurine making. The owner of a gallery in Beijing and a workshop in Tianjin, he is dedicated to the evolution of the age-old craft. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A sculpture gallery in Beijing's 798 Art Zone seems at first glance to be a contemporary art workshop-the light is soft, and the design is simple yet exquisite.

A mysterious atmosphere prevails. A banner hung in the gallery says: "To retreat" in Chinese, which may arouse philosophical contemplation.

But looks can be deceiving. The space is a center for promoting Niren Zhang, a folk-art brand of clay figurines from nearby Tianjin municipality that has survived for nearly two centuries. It's a household name nationwide.

Niren Zhang's traditional craftsmanship was inscribed on the first national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

The owner of the gallery, which opened in October, is the sixth generation of his family to fashion the figurines.

"It's like Walt Disney," 39-year-old Zhang Yu says.

"The original pursuit remains but has been updated several times on the technical level.

"Many people cling to the archetypical idea that (traditional) fine art shouldn't change over time. However, Niren Zhang advocated creativity even in its earliest days."

Zhang expects the modern-looking gallery in Beijing to nurture new thinking about, and a globalization of, traditional fine art.

He still runs an old-fashioned workshop in Tianjin that operates according to the master-apprentice model.

"I wish people would view Niren Zhang as something that belongs to today's world-not only to the past," he says.

"Traditional art is just another form of expression and isn't defined by chronology."

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