 All You Knead Is Dough |
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Zhao Yanlin, 63, a noted dough figurine (mianren) artist in China, would never have dreamed that the tiny figures she moulds from wheat-flour dough would bring her ties with the outside world and establish a long-term friendship.
"Nor could my father, (late dough figurine artist Zhao Kuoming) have foreseen that one of his works made in the late 1930s would travel to the other side of the ocean to the United States, and then be returned to my hands some 40 years later," Zhao marvelled.
Zhao Yanlin said these things when recalling her visit to the United States with some other folk artists in 1980.
When Zhao demonstrated her skill in making dough figurines, along with other folk artists at an open fair in Houston, Texas, an 80-year-old lady whose first name was Cherry got extremely excited, with tears welling up in her eyes.
With the assistance of her children, Cherry approached Zhao in her wheelchair. She opened a box with her trembling fingers, and carefully removed six layers of paper packing to reveal a dough figurine of a painted-face Peking Opera character.
"I immediately recognized it was my father's work, as the shape and colors clearly bore the characteristics of my father's style," Zhao recalled, obviously still moved by her memory of the occasion.
Zhao's father, Zhao Kuoming, was an enthusiastic fan of Peking Opera. He was famous for his ability to mould dough figurines of opera characters in less than 10 minutes, all while watching an opera performance.
Before he passed away in 1980 at the age of 81, Zhao Kuoming created thousands of tiny dough sculptures with exact human proportions, his vivid dough figurines full of strength and individual character. Zhao Kuoming's style was unique, so it is no wonder that his daughter, and indeed many others, can identify his works on first sight.
"I was deeply touched by the old lady, she had taken very good care of the dough figurine, and only one little bit of one of the miniature opera star's legs had been broken," she added.
While Zhao was carefully repairing Cherry's figurine, it started to rain. But Cherry and all the other onlookers as well just wouldn't leave.
Cherry let her kids hold their only umbrella for Zhao, and she stayed there in the rain watching Zhao's magical repair work.
Zhao later sent Cherry her own dough figurine, a fairy named Chang'e, who legend says flew to the moon with a rabbit. Every year, they exchanged cards, until Cherry passed away in the early 1990s.
"My work has brought me recognition and respect, but my father never got that. I am the lucky one, and I am trying to further improve my technique and skills in making dough figurines," Zhao said.
One area of improvement for her has been broadening her range of subjects.
While Zhao creates many exquisite opera characters in dough, such as Zhong Kui (a legendary awesome-looking man who becomes an immortal and drives away evil spirits), she does not confine her creations to opera characters alone.
"I love to watch films and cartoons very much, and some of my father's friends also have given me lots of suggestions over the years," Zhao added.
World renowned cartoonist Wan Laiming was one of her mentors. When she was still a child, Uncle Wan had shown his funny pictures to her. As Zhao grew up, Wan's cartoons inspired her in many ways. The greatest work of Wan and his two brothers was the 1964 cartoon movie "Monkey King" (Danao Tiangong), a world-class masterpiece even by today's standards.
When Zhao Yanlin asked Wan how he thought she could give life to her creation of Monkey King, Wan shared all his inspirations with her.
"I always find exchanges with other artists very helpful," Zhao said.
Zhao's husband Chen Enhua is also a folk artist and the two find inspiration in each other.
Chen, a miniature carving artist, has worked together with Zhao on many projects.
Their first joint work was a god of longevity holding an auspicious peach. The god was made of dough and the peach of ivory, and Chen carved 100 variations of the character "longevity" (shou) on the peach.
In the old days when craftspeople struggled to make a living, they passed on their knowledge to their children only so as to prevent competitors from taking over their businesses.
"Now the situation is totally different. We cannot be selfish and we should teach as many students as possible to save our dying folk arts," Zhao said.
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