Wang Fushi and Ying Yulan, both professors of theatre arts with the Shanghai Academy of Drama, have between them taught around 1,000 students each over their 30-year teaching careers.

Some of their students have risen to national renown, for example, Mao Geping and Yang Qingqing.

Mao Geping, a leading makeup artist, has served as head makeup artist for several television series, as well as many movies and stage plays since 1994, and in the process has shaped the images of many memorable characters on stage and screen.

Working from her Shanghai studio, Yang Qingqing is recognized as a pioneering image consultant. She teaches women about makeup, coaching fashion show models, among other things.

Now retired, Wang and Ying, a husband-wife team and accomplished in the plastic arts, have not used their excellent skills to set themselves up in the business world.

Instead, they dedicate all their time and energy to the study of the ethnic costumes of China, a folk art which they believe they must do something to rescue and revive.

Though some scoff that the couple have become addled with age, Wang and Ying are still working to complete their life-long dream of creating 56 dolls wearing the distinctive costumes of China's 56 ethnic groups. The dolls are all one-quarter life size and their costumes are accurate in every detail.

As plastic artists, they find it easy to capture the facial features, the costume and accessory designs of the different ethnic groups.

However, making the dolls does not come without some challenges. For example, it has not been easy to find the materials they needed to make the dolls.

But the two have not been discouraged by the difficulties. In the first two years of their study, they solved their raw materials problems and mastered the craftwork techniques needed to make the dolls.

Ying gave one example to illustrate the difficulties faced in finding the materials to make the faces of the dolls.

"The material used for the faces not only has to be able to carry a finish that looks like human skin, but should also retain its color and shape for a long time," Ying said.

The material must be tough, but at the same time it should be easily moulded. Otherwise, it would be difficult to create the delicate but essential elements: the eyes, the ears and the mouth.

It took them a year to find the right sculpturing clay for the faces.

Wang and Ying's persistence has impressed experts in other fields.

Once Wang showed his dentist friend the tiny teeth for the dolls that he had perfected after many failed attempts.

The dentist stood dumbfounded and then uttered, "You have done a great job!"

But these were only preliminary problems. The bigger challenges still lay ahead.

It took the elderly, albeit nimble-fingered, a couple of months to find the right way to glue the tiny teeth into the mouths and the beautiful eyes onto the faces.

The sewing and embroidery work for the doll's costumes, was another challenge for the pair.

Jiang Hua, one of their friends, said making the costumes one-quarter their original size, made reproducing the complex details of the costumes much more difficult.

"It took Ying a long time to work out how to sew the less-than-a-centimeter-long Chinese-style buttons, although she had been an excellent embroiderer as far back as her university days," Jiang added.

After having sewn and ripped off the buttons numerous times, Ying finally succeeded with the help of her deft fingers, two of which had become crooked because of years of fine needle work.

Her deformed fingers, obviously, did not slow her down.

She once spent two days and nights plaiting over 200 little braids for the Tibetan doll.

The couple have changed themselves into tailors, goldsmiths, carpenters and painters for the dolls, to realize the dearest dream of their lives.

Whenever asked why they are so deeply immersed in the study of the ethnic costumes of China, Wang always says with pride: "These costumes of different ethnic groups are one of the treasures of our country."

He feels that the costumes embody profound knowledge of the history of these ethnic groups, and that they are by no means out of date.

He also says: "They embody the uniqueness of the lives of ethnic peoples, and some techniques used in making them are quite ingenious."

Take for an example the coconut fiber raincoats of the southern ethnic groups. They are very advanced and much better than those made of nylon in terms of ventilation and warmth, Wang said.

In the past six years, they have completed 36 of their beloved dolls. They are now striving to finish the other 20.

(China Daily March 13, 2004)